Month 1
October 13, 2021
Innovation Lab is a class that focuses on the creativity and passion that drive learning rather than the typical grades and rankings. I had heard about the class from friends of mine who took it the year prior, and it didn't take much to hook me in. I knew this class would be the perfect fit for me because for so long I've been eager to learn about things that truly matter to me. The material we learn does exactly that; it revolves around exploring communication and building on personal skills as a means of improving the world. In my future, I see myself traveling the world to explore different cultures and new views of society in hopes of expanding people's narrow mindsets into optimistic ones. With the help of this class, I hope to expand my own perspective and build upon my skills to help me achieve my desired goals.
Over the past month, the class has handled more of the dirty work to prepare us for what's to come. From day 1, we opened communication with our peers and ourselves as far as it could possibly go. By participating in improv activities and out-of-the-box exercises, we have become more comfortable with not only each other, but ourselves as well. We expanded our minds to think in unconventional methods that tested our creativity. These activities helped get rid of any awkwardness or hesitation that would have been an obstacle in the material we dealt with.
IMG_1903.movWe discussed The Innovator's DNA and learned about the differences between creative intelligences and other types of intelligences. It was made clear that innovators stand out among other entrepreneurs as a result of their engagement of all parts of the brain. As people who challenge the known and question the unknown, innovators adapt new skills to help them gain confidence in their ability to create. The Adaptable Mind also illustrated the idea that connections among people around are key when it comes to creativity and improvement. By expanding upon our empathy for one another, communication within society would allow innovation to run more freely with fewer barriers.
With the little that we've done in the time so far, I feel as though I've already learned so much more in this class than my other classes. This material is so much more valuable and critical to so many different aspects of the world, and can be directly applied to society and my life in the moment. I have no doubt in my mind that this class will help put me on the path I need to get me where I want to be in the future. However, this class has also demonstrated that it won't be easy. It's not always going to be handed to me and I'm going to have to dedicate myself fully if I want to make it to the end of that path. This class laid it all out in front of me and showed me what I need to do, I just have to hold myself responsible to be the one who pushes myself to do it.
After gaining the knowledge I've learned over the past month, give or take, I'm excited to see how we turn our ideas into reality. I hope to use this class as a portal and connect with others to see their perspectives and obtain new knowledge of different issues around the world. Not only do I want to fix the struggles I deal with in my own community, but I want to help others in their communities as well, especially if they don't have the access to the knowledge or resources needed to solve those issues. I still need to work on narrowing down my goals and honing in on a certain aspect of that communication, but I'm hopeful that this class will help reveal those specific desires within me.