final reflection + Advice to 21-22 Freshman

On Achiever's night, a lot of people asked me if I would see hockey sticks differently, or if it changed the way I see modern-era hockey equipment. And, of course, the answer was yes. Having to study a bunch of high-end sticks to see what really makes them tic, not to mention what keeps them on the shelves with such high prices, was a really eye-opening experience for me because it showed me that price does not always matter with sticks. Most of the time all the sticks were exactly the same, with minor adjustments that did not always justify the price of the stick. Yes, these adjustments would help me as a player, but they were not worth the price, so maybe sticking with the originals is best as opposed to getting something expensive that might work but more likely would not change anything about the performance of myself on the ice or the performance of the stick in general. For this project, I really had to learn about time management because when I started this year, I had assumed this project would almost be too big for the amount of time we had, but I was very wrong. This project took me very little time, and looking back I would have expanded the project to something more challenging, like working with a different type of material for the stick or really trying to make it as good as I could.

Some advice I would really give ninth grade Idea students is this: when I started this year, my ultimate goal was to do the easiest project I could that would get me a barely passing grade, so that I could do the least amount of work possible. And I mean, it worked out. I'm really proud of my project and all the work I put into it. However, if I could go back and have a conversation with myself mid-August 2020, when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, and how I could do it the easiest, I would tell myself to think bigger. As I said, I'm really happy with my project and I think it made an impact on a lot of people who saw it, and I think I introduced some new ideas into hockey. But I would have gotten a lot more out of this year of the program if I had really challenged myself, and I could have something that I'm even more proud of. I prioritized the wrong things when choosing this project. Anyway, to wrap it up, do something you're passionate about, but don't sell yourself short. Challenge yourself, take your ideas to new heights and do something awesome. And, just to conclude this painfully long but necessary conclusion to this project- a lot of people came up to me on Achievers' Night and were flabbergasted that I made my stick completely by myself, with very minimal help. And to just kind of put a dot at the end of the paragraph of what to tell 9th grade Idea students next year, if you reach far enough you will shock people. And that's amazing, because that shows that you are making a difference in this world! But don't let people underestimate you. This is sounding to start like a cliché, but deal with it. Show people that you can really accomplish what you put your mind to. That's all.

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