It’s Not Just You

For as long as I can remember, my friends have always been an important part of my life. Whether it be stress from school or personal conflict, they are most likely the first ones to hear it. These often heart-to-heart conversations have allowed me to grow a better understanding of those that are close to me. An issue that is often mentioned would be the issue of negative self-perception. I noticed that this is no longer uncommon amongst teenagers nowadays, with social media allowing them to constantly compare themselves. I often witness how their insecurities take a toll on the way that they view themselves, even if it is something that no one else notices.

It made me realize that everyone battles with their own issues, especially when it comes to self-esteem. With my personal project, I aim to create a series of photographs showcasing one’s negative self-perception. The project will build a stronger relationship between me and my friends, as it would require them to open up to me. My goal is to research common self-perception issues amongst teenagers. Then present my findings through a series of photographs in a coffee table book, in order to further understand the insecurities of my peers. This goal is highly challenging knowing that I would have to find a way to display the experiences of my peers through photography, which is a skill that I am not at all familiar with. These photographs need to portray the vulnerability of my friends that I have uncovered through this project.

I chose to do this project as it allows me to do something that I am interested in, which is to acknowledge the different experiences of my peers with their journey in self-confidence and insecurities. It will also help other teenagers who are going through the same thing, showing them that everyone has their own insecurities and self-doubts. Making it in the form of a coffee table book will provide a visual representation. This project will also help me in further developing my communication as well as my social skills, knowing that I would need to have raw and vulnerable discussions with my peers.

Global Context

The Global Context that most encapsulates my project would be Identities and Relationships. The project explores one’s identity by recognizing the insecurities that they can find within themselves. These self-image issues help shape who they are and the way they present themselves to other people. This project exposes the relationship between an individual and themselves. However, the self-image issues that teenagers go through also affect the relationship they have with those around them, including families and friends.

Product

It’s Not Just You is a hardcover coffee table book, depicting the struggles that teenagers go through to overcome their insecurities. These struggles are shown through photographs and quotations taken from prior interview transcripts amongst me and my peers. It holds five pertinent chapters, each having great significance towards my peers’ experience with their ongoing self- image issues. The book provides content that is relatable to most teenagers out there, proving that they are not the only ones going through this long journey towards self-acceptance.

The product successfully encapsulated the global context of identities and relationships. It clearly shows one’s relationship with themselves as well as their self-perception. Moreover, the book shows how my peers respond to the judgment of those around them as well as their own. This information was conveyed through a series of photographs showcased through an attractive and well-organized design. The product has a neutral color scheme that is easy on the eyes, yet successfully compliments the content of the book

See my book below!

Reflection

Although each IB learner profile was well-implemented throughout the course of the project, there were a few that proved to be more prominent. The first IB profile that my project required me to fulfill was to be a communicator. The content of my product was based on the vulnerable conversations that I had done with my interviewees. These conversations required me to truly connect with my peers in order to obtain honest and raw discussions. In addition to that, I had to find ways to deliver and communicate my message creatively through the design as well as the content of my product.

There were multiple times during the project, where I had to be reflective. Being reflective means to “understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development” (IBO). I was often faced with unexpected setbacks or problems that would require me to reflect on my own skills and abilities. With understanding my weaknesses and strengths, I knew where I needed improvement and how to make use of my strengths to the benefit of the situation.

The success of my project comes with being an inquirer. I was willing to nurture my constant curiosity by conducting in-depth and thorough research. My enthusiasm drove me to continually find answers to any of my doubts or questions which allowed me to further expand and enhance my knowledge and skills.

IB Learner Reflection

The project increased my understanding of the global context, identities and relationships. I learned how interconnected the relationship between an individual and their community really is. It helped me understand that a teenager's relationship with the community around them is highly relevant, as it contributes greatly to the shaping of an individual and their view of themselves. The making of my product also taught me how relevant the issue of self-esteem had come to be, on top of the realization that everyone has their own unparalleled journey.

I constantly encountered unexpected difficulties that helped tremendously in the development of certain skills that proved to be greatly useful throughout the process of the project. Given that this is a long-term project, I can very easily fail to take advantage of the amount of time that is given to complete it. This signifies the need for constant motivation and inspiration while conducting each step of the project. With that, I was able to learn a lot more about my ways of learning and what gives me the drive as well as the motivation to do work productively. Most importantly, I learned how important yet hard it is to accept failures and set-backs that I will often experience with long-term projects such as this one.

The process of creating the book itself also allowed me to further refine a highly relevant skill. My technical skill of designing was put to the test in more ways than one throughout the project. I had to learn how to use Adobe applications in order to achieve my intended design. I spent a lot of time experimenting with different layouts and designs until I was satisfied with a design that not only complements the content of the product but is also unique and eye-catching. To do that, I had to ask for second opinions to make sure that the purpose of my product was well translated through the design as well.

With this project, I was given the opportunity to develop a product based on an issue that I was passionate about. I faced challenges along the way that I learned to overcome throughout the course of six months. I am grateful that it allowed me to further enhance necessary skills and abilities that will doubtlessly be useful in future endeavors.