Assessment in the post

Gulp...it's gone...my assessment submission is in the post...done...dusted...many late nights and some rather 'gurning-desirable' bags under my eyes to show for it! I didn't anticipate it taking so much effort, although I dare say it isn't all entirely necessary. I am pleased with the final submission - I just have to hope the assessors are too!...wobble... 

Compiling and editing work for assessment has been an informative and reflective process. I know we're not in the business of 'pleasing' the assessors and tutors, but I'm sure we quietly hope that they 'appreciate' our work, at least on some level! Being acutely aware of advice made to me personally, and to others on various fora, I do think twice if I diverge. However, finding the balance between trying/trying not to appease, applying what the course stipulates and what the tutors advise, as well as being true to yourself, may not always be cordial.

Ultimately, I prepared my submission with the aim of showcasing my best work and creating something that I would be proud of. I know the assessment shouldn't be an end in itself but it does provide an important marker in the sand, concluding what has been a mercurial journey. I am pleased to finish this course on a high and to feel I've finally compiled a portfolio of 'social documentary' images that I can be proud of.  Even a few months ago I doubted this outcome.

The following is a hugely inspiring and pertinent quote I think, taken from the Stanford Commencement Speech made by the late Steve Jobs, in 2005:

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

Now I have to be patient...another virtue I need to work on...