Perhaps one of the biggest projects students have during their junior year is the Personal Credo Project. This project asks students to challenge themselves by selecting an activity that is outside their comfort zone, journaling their experiences each time they perform the task.  In terms of what the students are learning or taking away from the project, English teacher Ms. Blake said, “I think students learn what parts of themselves they would like to develop during their high school careers. Students often struggle with success and failures during this project, and getting to know what helps them to succeed versus what causes them to fail is a truly important life lesson.”  One of the large concepts of the Personal Credo Project is sticking with the activity for the full month but also encountering and overcoming obstacles.

Junior Andrew Ross took on the obstacle of teaching his four year old brother Jack the alphabet and how to write his name.  When asked about the obstacles he faced, Ross said finding time to sit down with Jack was difficult because he has a busy schedule with homework, sports and other activities.  When asked about how Jack felt about the whole process, Ross responded, “One problem that I encountered was Jack was not always in the mood to learn, or just sit still. He really enjoyed when we got to play things like basketball, and soccer.”  Ross said he was thankful for the project because it made him find free time to spend with his brother. He said his biggest takeaways from the project were learning to have patience for his younger brother and respecting his mom and dad for how much work and effort goes into having a four year old child.  The final result of the project is Jack is now able to sing the alphabet and spell his name.  When asked what he could take away from this experience, Ross said, “I learned that at the beginning, I really didn’t have any patience. This project taught me to have patience, and lastly enjoy life. Instead of never wanting to play with my brother, I got to spend good family time with him.”

Junior Samantha Hassett decided to teach her grandmother how to use an iPad and other basic forms of technology for her personal credo project. Hassett said her grandmother also enjoyed the credo project because of how “amazing” the iPad is and how easy it is to find information and communicate with people.  When asked about the biggest obstacle she had to face, Hassett said, “Definitely putting myself in her shoes and trying to understand that she had never used technology before.” She said, “It’s harder than it seems to teach a person something that they know nothing about and being patient throughout it.”  Besides being able to spend more time with her grandmother, Hassett said she was able to appreciate technology for all the information located at the tips of our fingers. “I realized that a lot of us use technology as a hobby or a way to escape from awkward situations,” she said, adding, “technology is great, but I think we can all agree that we need to balance it out with other things.” Sam saw her personal credo project as successful because her grandmother learned from the experience and they shared many “good laughs.”

Junior Maeve Glancy went out to dinner by herself. not allowing herself to take anyone with her or use her phone. Glancy said, “The goal of my personal credo project was to challenge the idea that, if you’re out at a restaurant, you are expected to be with someone or be multitasking.”  She said, “At first it was hard to sit alone and eat. It felt like people were watching me.” Glancy explained, “It didn’t take long to realize that most people either didn’t care about what I was doing, or they were too absorbed in their own lives to even notice me.”  When asked if she appreciated the project, Glancy said she loved the project because it allowed her to make time for herself and push her limits of comfort.  When asked about what she took away from the project, Glancy said, “We, as a society, tend to be too wrapped up in our own lives. People were constantly ignoring each other, isolated in their own little world. Often, they were glued to their phones. While this was unsurprising, it became very real after I’d seen it a couple times throughout my project.”  After the project, Glancy plans to do more things on her own, be less attracted to her phone, and focus on the people she is with more than the person she is texting.

For Junior Megan Nally’s personal credo project, she adopted a vegan eating lifestyle for a month. Vegans do not eat or use any products produced by animals; therefore, Nally said, “At first, it was difficult to find things to eat. You can’t just grab whatever you want.” She said it took time to think about her choices, and she had to prepare certain foods. Nally said it became a lot easier as time went on, but it was also difficult when she was out somewhere that didn’t have any vegan options. “Watching my friends eat pizza or ice cream wasn’t very fun,” she said. Nally is very proud of herself for going a whole month being vegan, and she plans to stay vegan after the project ends.  Nally said she is excited to stay vegan because of the enjoyment it brings her; she is also looking forward to trying even more new foods. Nally said the project made her try new things that she would not have necessarily tried before.  When asked about what she took away from the whole experience, Nally said, “I did appreciate this project. It was very interesting and I learned a lot about the world and about myself.” Nally added, “I learned that I can push myself more than I thought I could. When you’re set on doing something, motivation and support from the people around you can really help you stay on track.”