Talking to People

This sounds crazy but my ex-job has helped me with my talking skills.
I was working in retail so its expected of me to approach customers if they need assistance or answer any questions they have.

When I started the internship, my manager would always tell me how to stand to look 'approachable' for customers to talk to and she always told me to make eye-contact so I won't look 'closed off'. She was basically teaching basic things that I usually don't do because I like to avoid strangers. She also told me that the customers also feel as awkward as I felt haha which made me feel better. In Burbbery, its expected for us to greet and shadow a customer. When I started, I hated it because firstly, I hate greeting/ approaching people. It makes me super anxious because I never know if people are going to respond but again, my manager told me that when people don't respond its their problem for being rude not mine. So   after 3 months of working there, I think I've learnt a lot of people skills which for me helps with my talking skills. This sounds super weird but I had to practise talking to all customers who came in just in case I got a mystery shopper who rates the service. So I was always put on the spot but after a month, I got use to it and wasn't afraid anymore.

Dr. Ivan Joseph illustrates how negative self-talk does not help with confidence. I really related to this because I'm the most pessimistic person . To me, after achieving something, I am very happy but then I sit and I'm like this is expected. 
However, I am trying to not think like that anyone. I am trying to see that achievements to everyone is different.

urgh..

image from rookiemag.com

Im not going to lie - information systems is harder than i thought it was going to be.
I'm a little   very worried because I don't think I tried hard enough for this subject know that I haven't tried hard enough. I've been focusing on accounting and ecos because repeating that for the 3rd time would be a seriously indication of 'BCOM is not your thing lisa!'/ 'Time to move on' and that would be sad because thats TWO years wasted.

and in addition to this, this random guy told me that I should totally just drop out and 'follow my dreams' and as cliche as that sounds i just sat there and i was like YES! you're making life sound so beautiful. So right now - I'm in this slump. Like i just feel urgh*
I know that I have to carry on this degree because I reread my pros and cons slideshow of 'dropping out vs. degree first' from last year and its just too stupid for me to quit now.

ANYWAYS, My sisters boyfriend little brother who was about to take IS (but changed last minute) recommended coding academy. Its really awesome because its online so I don't have to have the application installed onto my computer which has been a problem because the laptop we have at home is so old that the C Sharp application won't install haha

also, i resigned from my job today. I didn't think I was going to be so sad from it but having nothing to do on a friday afternoon really made me feel more icky like I came home and didn't really know what to do. I know that I should be studying but when theres 'more' time I always feel the need to create playlists that associate with my mood or like make a collage slash read something that will inspire me TO DO something like make notes or organise stuff but it then becomes too overwhelming  and I end up sitting  - stressed from thinking of having to do stuff. it really is a terrible roller coaster of doing nothing and stressing over nothing which is why I kinder  liked my job because it would be work and then do homework and then sleep and that was it. Anyways, I resigned mostly because exams and that having no weekends to study really messed with my mind and my parents.

The group project is way more hectic that any other group work project. Tanielle did express to us that she was disappointed with us as a whole as we didn't respond very well on the whatsapps group and that she got very stressed and anxious from it. I felt really bad because I was not in that week and the communication over whatsapp really isn't very good ever so i understand where she's coming from. We all, however, agreed to improve on this for milestone 3.


*Urgh - a mixture of negative feelings such as confused/empty/regret

group work

This image depicts how our group work usually starts. 

Last week we had a meeting on wednesday at 13.15 - lunch break. It started off with ordering food from sizzlers - small chips for everyone except for Junior. He ordered a flavored fizzy drink. We started work an hour later. We concentrated for not longer than an hour on the project and somehow ended up on a group of guys baking this large oreo (tanielle's fav video). 

This week, I'm on a family holiday.

 I've been communicating and contributing my work via dropbox. Tanielle has been one of the best project managers I've ever worked with, I really hope she doesn't stress too much. I'm also trying to catch up on work. I should of utilized the break but procrastination always seem to sweep over and I'm always stuck in this position of regret. 

I've also started to try and implement this. I'm constantly finding myself making the same mistakes and … at the end of the day, i don't want to be stuck at university my whole life/ an extended time.

Time Management

I've been pretty stressed but i think thats good. I have work on monday, wednesday (if theres no group meetings) and weekends. My job has actually helped me organised my time better. I'm forced to use time that I have to study where as I usually just sit around and procrastinate and then never actually get to the work. I've also read that making lists of what I have to do also helps.

It actually calms me down when I have it written down like 'thats all lisa. time to focus!' because I find that when its in my mind, I'm usually freaking out because I make it 'bigger' than it is. 

UPDATE: I'm surprisingly passing accounting and ECOS:D I'm so scared for these subjects!

Writing

refer to reflective review ( PDP 2) 

OMG

i'm not too happy with my test mark as i got 47.  i thought i understood what was being asked...but i guess i didn't. i think i need more practise in the way i answer questions. i found that during test 1, i spent more than 15mins on the first question and wrote to much.
i'm actually terrified of information systems right now. i know this is really wrong but i thought i could depend on my theory marks to pull up my non-existent coding marks but really i'm in the same place i was in last year which was what i was trying to avoid.
hopefully test 2 will be better - fingers crossed.

!!!!

I just saw my C Sharp coding mark. It was not surprising as I know that I am a VERY weak coder( actually, I just don't know how to code). I kind of expected that mark because during the test, I sat there for a long time freaking out and then just submitting it - which is not really good mind frame.

I am stressed about coding but I feel like I should treat coding as an obstacle to overcome and learn from rather than be afraid of it... It is learning a new language, which I suck at.
I am however, trying to improve my coding skills. I'm coding with Matthew every Friday morning and he is very helpful in explaining why and how everything works. I'm also trying to change my mind frame with coding. I find that I usually look at what we have to do and I get in this weird slump and procrastinate because my code is literally full of red squiggly lines. So right now, I'm adding little comments that remind of why I'm coding what I'm coding with little smiley faces just to make myself feel better which is really sad but works.

Also, this week I realised that I forgot to submit my Lab1 - I need to start writing in my diary and reminding myself about homework and submitting things on time

Milestone 0

I really enjoyed being project manager for milestone 0. It, obviously, was not a lot of work... but it was so much fun starting off the project whilst getting to know everyone in the group. The group consists of Lydia, Junior, Palesa, Tanielle and I. I would describe us as a crazy but introverted group in class.
Every meeting is fun yet focused. We usually spend about 10-15 minutes catching up and talking about everything except for  information systems but after a while we re-group and get focused, splitting the tasks and discussing what needs to be done.

I screwed up milestone 0 as I did not submit the dropbox. Well, i thought i did but it didn't seem to go through. 

Reflective Review ( PDP)

I enjoyed creating my PDP.  It was a fun process trying to figure out what my ‘life’ goal is. I found it difficult in the beginning because I still trying to figure out what I want to do in the future. I came to Wits last year knowing that I wanted a degree a Bcom as it is ta good degree to have if one( i.e. me) is confused with what to do with their lives.

However, going through the process of what I enjoy and the university subjects I am taking narrowed my option down to become a multimedia programmer. It links both the skills I am learning and creativity skills I’m interested in, together.

I enjoyed writing out my goals for this semester/year. It is very interesting reading over what I should try achieve as I usually try and avoid my bad traits by procrastinating or ignoring them. I think that because I’ve set these goals, it’ll be easier to try and achieve them.

During the one month of Information systems, I have been extremely frustrated with coding. I get put off it because I can’t do it but I’m slowly starting to learn that it takes time to learn this skill.

However, I enjoy working with my group. We get along quite well and have fun working together. I’ve learnt that I’m not a strong speaker but I enjoyed putting the slideshow together.

Petcha Kuchas

Today, we presented our Petcha Kuchas to the class. The group that I am in consists of Junior, Palesa, Tanielle and Lydia. Over the past week, we spent time every day during the 12.00-12.30 breaks discussing and coming up with ideas.
We loved the idea that consisted of food so we had a lot of fun putting the presentation together and presenting it ( even though it was very nerve-wracking). In truth, I think we were all very happy that the presenting part is over. The last speech I gave was in matric to a group of my closests friends and our english teachers, so even though i only spoke for 30-45 seconds, I was not use to presenting to new people.

I think that overall, I need to work on my presenting skills as they are very weak.
After class, we spent time in the library tutorial rooms working on milestone 0.

2nd week in Class

image from rookiemag.com

To start off the class today, we re-capped last weeks work before continuing.

I sat in class and I actually could not remember anything which again was very concerning. After class, I went to the labs and started making notes - i hope this helps. 

C Sharp Revision Lesson

During the C Sharp revision lesson, I thought I understood everything that was explained. My friend, Matthew, and I went through last year project the week before. I thought that helped a lot however, during the test I did not know how to do anything.  It was very stressful as the subject Information Systems requires coding and coding is also one of its main components.