What’s the purpose to reflect on yourself, on your studies and on your professional practice?

I am a very visualized type of person. I can understand things easier if I create a vision about the ideas, projects, anything come to my mind, or even better if I draw or write it down. If I think about reflection I imagine it as a mirror… a mirror to look at and try to see the details, the meanings to get the real picture. It’s like you look at the mirror and you see a pretty face, but is it you? People will know who you are if they look at your face? The answer is very easy for it, of course NOT!!! Like we say, don’t judge a book by the cover! So you need to look at the details to find out who is behind that pretty face.

I’m a women (I know it is not a big news for you). Usually woman ask more questions and like to combine things in their heads, sometimes we like to do even movies in our heads, but that’s a different story. We like to analyse things around us even in private life, even in our professional life. We are always looking for every possibility may happen. Just think of an interview. I am sure all of you already been in these shoes… you imagine how it will be, what questions will be asked and what your answers would be…maybe there will be a question, which you didn’t think of and then you need to improvise but most of the time you already know what questions can come up…But when you are reflecting on yourself, or on anything the questions are not clear. There will always be a new question, which you didn’t think will come up! Maybe that’s why I find it quite exciting, because you don’t see the end even if analysing is in my blood as I am a women.:)

I think in reflection the most important is to see the whole picture…not only the surface, not only the deeper meaning, not only the details, but the way how you got your answers and the way how you were progressing in your journey.

Last weekend (6 days ago) we had our monthly scheduled skype conference talk with MAPP DTP. One of my question was how to imagine this reflective journal? I got my answer from the call, but I think before I started actually do it I have just imagined it…I didn’t understand how it actually happens and how will I see the improvement of mine or how my questions will change etc. etc….

Like I said in the conference talk I feel I need a little research… don’t misunderstand, I don’t need this research to please others, but to please myself. I didn’t feel myself ready to write about reflective journal before my own reflection… I didn’t research on the internet, but I made my research what’s happening inside me… I have put everything in the practice because I was curious what can I see after a week from my reflective journal. Is it really worth it? Can I really see something what I would not see if I was not writing a diary about my professional life and studies and their connections?

WOW! I was impressed…the results are even more surprising than what I have could ever imagine! Not only I realised that I am still learning every day from my professional practice without noticing it, but I realised how my questions are changing after finding a different opinion, or an article or experience something at my work or anything else… actually the questions inside me have more meaning than the answers because they show the way of my thoughts how they develop and how they improve in quality and also the goal where I am heading to…

I think now I am more excited than ever before about this course….. I think even after this course I wish to continue this reflective journal as it is an amazing way to learn from the way I am working, I am practising and I am studying…

What have you realised from your journal? Is it anything else? Or do you have similar experience with it?

Tricks of Study

It’s my second blog post…I am intensively reading and reflecting the read knowledge on my journey. I was struggling with the context of my next blog article as I wished it to be helpful for all of the students of MAPP DTP. So what shall I write about? Shall I write about what have I done this week? How was the books I was reading? Or shall I write about the surprising knowledge I gained from my CV? And after I realised the most helpful thing would be to write about learning…because it is helpful for all of us and maybe you can also share with me your opinion and some of your advices.

The very first thing as everyone said it already on the skype conference talks to find a calm relaxing place to study. It sounds very easy, but I don’t think it is easy for all of us. To be able to concentrate well enough for our studies, the environment should not take away any concentration because if it does the study time would take longer, frustration would develop and our creativity level would just drop and that’s why it will be maybe painful and that is the last thing we want. So let’s say bye for some of the things could take away our focus. What could take away our concentration…??? Housemates, Family, Friends, Phone, TV, Radio and everything else is not connecting to our studies.

The next big issue is the time…. If we don’t organise our timetable carefully. We could end up not finishing everything on time or if we would finish on time maybe it would not be as well written or thought through as we could have it happen. We are all professional people who have jobs to do already and of course we have our master degree program as well. Also do not forget about our private life. It also has some commitments and a “to do list”. So I think it is one of the biggest barrier we could have. I think the best way to organise it to make for ourselves deadlines. Maybe it will change, but at least we could work around it and it also helps to keep it under control and also see the end of our route.

When I started to study for the MA (few weeks ago only) I was in the excitement mode….don’t misunderstand, I am still in my excitement mode, but what I mean is in the beginning I tried more effectively find days off from my work and commitments to be able to read and start the journey towards the MA easier. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I think it helped a lot! Right now I realised if I think only about the studies than I won’t be able to deliver my works on time and actually my works are supposed to help my studies… they need to complete each other! So right now I am trying to combine these things in my diary to find the fine line and be successful in both of them.

I don’t know about you but when I am tired I can concentrate less effectively than usual…the thing is in the last week I had lots of commitments and I feel very tired. I realised when I study it is easier to understand the reading or even my thought if I say it loud out…like that I hear my voice and it sticks in my mind and it helps me to understand the logic as well.

Sometimes it is hard for me to stay in one position for all day long… and than I remembered how I was coping with it when I was in school years ago. I didn’t have much time than as well and I was stretching or practising while I was studying…you know? While Sitting in each splits, or walking up and down in point shoes, or stretching my point etc….. So I started to use this technique again and I feel my body is grateful for itJ even now when I’m typing my blog I’m sitting in my split. 🙂

…And lastly is to find time to rest! I know it is not a big news…everybody knows if you had a great rest, you will be better with the things you do…I think that is the biggest point to solve as I feel I do not have time to rest. I think I should also include it in my timetable. 🙂

Right now nothing else coming to my mind about the tricks of study…but I am sure you have your own technique as wellJ please share it with me and with the rest of the MAPP DTP community;)

Is taking the very first step in any goal the hardest thing to do? Is from “Zero to One” the hardest step to take?…Hmmm, I’m not sure. Should I believe it?

It is hours now, I am sitting on my desk (I have a chair, btw!) trying to start a blog for a new exciting chapter of my life, a new university course: MAPP DTP (MA Professional Practice Dance Technique Pedagogy). I am typing something and after I feel “No….Let’s delete it”. The time seems to be melting away.

I am the type of person, who loves talking (…a lot!). If there would be someone to listen to me all the time, 24/7, then I would talk non-stop. So the problem to start my blog is not the missing thoughts and what I’d like to say but it’s how to organise my thoughts and which one should I start with.

My brain is in a storm, I have lots of ideas but coming and going in different directions. I write something down and then I don’t like it; I write something down and then it’s not what I want to say, ….after pressing the delete button already hundreds of times my document is still empty than my mum’s words from when I was a child suddenly are whispering into my ears and something she always told me whenever I was struggling to start something, came to my mind: “Zero to One is the hardest step of any goal”.

I hope I am not alone with this issue and I really hope next time when I am writing something here it will be easier to share my thoughts.

Last Sunday we had our first Skype conference chat with MAPP DTP. I think I was very quiet during the call. I felt a bit “confused”, maybe that is the best word to use. So much information, lots of good, sensible advice, lots of questions, to do lists, etc., etc… I tried to concentrate, it was my Birthday as well and a few friends were waiting for me in the other room. I tried to understand as much as possible and the fact that my 3G internet was not really stable didn’t help (I was in Italy recharging my batteries).

Once the conference call was over, the “confusion” turned into excitement, I couldn’t wait to get back to the UK and start some reading, start to do things but it was not so easy as I imagined…. As usual when I go away for a while, the “to do list” grows and grows, so much that is beyond believe. I ended up using every spare minute, whenever I could, reading while soaking in a bath, on the train, on the bus, at night before going to sleep. Even if I was very tired I felt I can’t stop reading…I felt I started to understand more and more… I felt I’m hungry for knowledge!

Hmmm..???? So is “Zero to One” the hardest step of any goal? – now, some people would say yes… but I am not sure anymore!

I remember how I started dancing for the very first time. I was 3 years old and my grandmother told my parents “this little girl should do some kind of sport, any activity where she becomes tired. She’s just got too much energy!”. They agreed and asked me what I liked to do: Swimming? Playing Tennis? Playing Basketball or Volleyball? All the time my answer was always “Nohhhh”. One day my grandmother saw an advert of a dance school in the local newspaper, they advertised free Kinder Surprise egg on the first dance class. At the time, in 1991, in Hungary, it was a very expensive chocolate to buy and she knew I loved it. So she asked me if I wanted to go for that first class. I said yes, of course! I went along, got my Kinder Surprise Egg, but the real surprise, even more surprising then the surprise in the Kinder egg was that I did not want to stop dancing, I refused to come out from the studio even at the end of the class. I felt in love with Dance and since that very first step a new passion had started, a burning desire, still alive and strong after 23 years and I never stopped dancing ever since.

Yes, I agree the first step was hard but was it the hardest? I don’t think so.To learn dance professionally means lots more than just fun, it’s perseverance, determination, self-discipline, will power, pain and etc. How many times did I choose to go dancing and not playing or going out with my friends instead? How many times did I go to sleep 3-4 o’clock in the morning because I had to study for the next day of my school since the previous afternoon I had been dancing until 11 o’clock at night? How many times did I miss celebrations, parties, holidays, birthdays, etc., etc., because I had an important competition or a performance or just an intensive class? Believe me, lots more times than my family ever imagined for a 3 years old, hyperactive, little girl!

Don’t misunderstand, I do not regret anything! Overcoming challenges, sacrifices and pushing boundaries beyond limitations gave me the greatest satisfactions in life. I loved every single moment, even those which did not kill me but made me stronger!

So, is taking the very first step in any goal the hardest thing to do? I think I have my answer for now but maybe you should ask me again in a few year’s time when these present moments will just be a distant memory.

I am very excited for the journey towards the MA, I think it will be challenging and inspiring. I am sure the first steps are hard but I have that feeling there will be even harder steps and let’s not even talk about movements and step combinationsJ I always say to my students to delete from their mind the sentences starting with “I can’t…”, “can’t” doesn’t exist in my dictionary!. So watch out hard steps, movements and step combinations! Suzy is coming!:))))