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Do you ever wonder what lies behind how we talk to others and how we present ourselves? After the personal project introduction session, I had a plethora of ideas running through my mind; nevertheless, I knew I wanted to further research anxiety disorders, reinforcing my passion for psychology. I deeply thought about what type of anxiety disorder I wanted to delve into, as all of them intrigued me. I knew I had to take the most prevalent one to create a bigger impact; therefore, after taking a survey, I found that social anxiety disorder (SAD) had a 70% prevalence in approximately 30 MYP students’ lives. Gradually, with the supportive guidance of my supervisor, Ms. Kavita Govil, I created my learning and product goal. I wanted to learn about the causes, impacts, symptoms, and solutions of social anxiety disorder and how it’s associated with emotions. Initially, I was perplexed about what product I wanted to create. I pondered how to combine my love for creative writing, literary writing, and poetry all in one while simultaneously creating an impact on the community. That is when I had one of my eureka moments. I thought about making a digital emoji self-help book on social anxiety disorder. 

Although the summer was a time to rejuvenate and spend our time on recreational activities, I kept in mind that doing personal projects was going to be one of the integral parts of this summer. I would ensure to connect with my supervisor about three times a week during the summer break to obtain effective feedback on my process and my product. While I was doing the first draft of my product, I realised that my personal project was a project that allowed my creativity and passion to flow. Not only did it keep me busy, but it was extremely amusing. Outlook and WhatsApp soon became two of my best friends over the summer as I continuously shared my progress with my mentor, such as deciding what to include in my product, how I should showcase it in the product, and working on the rigorous feedback.  

One major challenge I encountered with my digital self-help book was the ‘aesthetics’. I was unable to grasp how to align my book in an aesthetically pleasing manner and what themes should be included in it, such as what the Colour scheme should be. However, with resilience and hope, I was able to combat this challenge and do secondary research on platforms that allowed the aesthetics and alignment to be engaging. I also in-depth looked at the preferences of my target audience (adolescents) to interpret what aesthetics they would like to see in a book. Mr. Shubhrum Pun was of great assistance when it came to enhancing the aesthetics of a draft of my product. We had captivating conversations about typography, typeface, alignment, justification, and other design principles such as micro and macro white space, which I was unaware of. I learned that these aspects were extremely important to inculcate in my product to make it engaging and aesthetically pleasing for my viewer.

Along with this, Ms. Kashika Dabra played a great role in providing me feedback on my content; she informed me of the specific terms I must use in association with social anxiety disorder and how I should be aware of the tone being used in the text considering this is a sensitive topic. 

Although the journey is not close to finishing, much work lies ahead. I have developed skills such as communication, from connecting with psychologists to specialists to teachers, in both verbal and visual forms. I enhanced my skills in literature by understanding what rhetorical techniques should be utilised in my book and what effect they can have on the reader while simultaneously taking care of the mood and tone created by the text. I understood that Personal Project requires dedication, interest, and time; it is not something one can complete overnight. It requires you to be openminded and resilient to work towards feedback and repeatedly make your product better than the previous version. I will carry on to work on my product and the rest of my project with a positive outlook and the assistance of my supervisor. Most importantly, I enjoy the journey as I continue to learn everyday. 

By: Saira Dua, MYP 5E