ISM is known as Independent Study Mentorship. And I really can't begin to emphasize how much that "Independent" part has already come true. I can't lie and say this is what all my classes are like, this in fact is just the polar opposite. And I love that. I'm already learning to move at a quicker pace of work without any help from group work. It so happens that my class is very small consisting of less than 10 people. At first, honestly, I thought that was awful and that I would struggle instantly, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We move so fast! No distractions, just me and the assignment at hand. I won't lie and say it hasn't been a challenge, but this challenge has been a great learning process in my abilities to strive independently.

So far I've already been tested. We started off the year moving slowly and suddenly, we were already preparing for our Introduction Speech. What a test! As if my public speaking wasn't shaky already, I hadn't done it since 8th grade! The struggles were very apparent as I was writing the speech out, but through the writing, I started to regain the lost ideas that inspired me to get here. And even though I was extremely nervous, I went and gave the speech to my best ability yet. This assignment couldn't have been at a better time, shaking off my rust and nerves, and now I feel like I never stopped public speaking. But then a new challenge came forward, designing a digital portfolio/website. I've never made a website before and it sounded fun. Well, that was a false assumption. This site was so difficult and so intimidating to make. Designing has never been my skill. However, through making my LinkedIn page, which brought me to a new professional capability, I combined that with the task at hand and made a creative, and field-related portfolio that represents me and my future work well. This class is already teaching me so much and we aren't even close to done. We have a research assessment coming soon, and with what I have figured out about myself from this class so far, I have no worries that I will succeed in that as well. And to top this all off, I really have improved my time management. I am practically getting all my assignments done in class. If I continue at this rate, I can do so much research in the class period provided to us. And by the next blog, I can't wait to share something I've learned about the dental field.