What’s up, Hivers? 
As a fourth year student, I always thought that completing our course requirements meant that we should only focus on our internship. But when I found out that things had changed this year, I couldn't help but feel uneasy and my heart sanked a little at the thought of more heavy work ahead. The big change this year was the introduction of an action research project that was a new requirement for us interns. It caught many of us in surprise because the last year's interns did not have this project, they only focused on teaching the students and assisting their mentors.
Back when I was in my third year, we were doing our field (not failed haha) study course and there was never any mention of this kind of task. Our field study that time was more on observing, assisting the teachers, and getting to know and feel the teaching environment as we answered a set of tasks and questions. At first, I couldn't help but wince at the idea of doing another research paper because I just finished me and my group's research paper during the first semester and we barely survived in the process. Now we have another research paper to work on? Oh dear, this is going to be a one heck of a roller coaster ride.
I always wondered how was I supposed to manage both my teaching duties and this research project at the same time. There are lesson plans and instructional materials to make, can I survive this one? Well, I barely survived making my previous research paper and maybe, I hope I can do this one too.
During the first week of our second semester, my friends and I spent the entire day inside the library. We were surrounded by our laptops and cellphones, papers, and books. We were all busy scanning the internet for related studies, flipping through the thick research books that were stacked neatly on the shelves of the library, and we also exchanged ideas with one another. The atmosphere around us was both intense and chaotic. At one point I had to look around and couldn't help but laugh softly because we were really a mess.
Our faces showed exhaustion and determination. Some of us already had tangled hairs from absentmindedly running our fingers or scratching out heads too many times, while the others had furrowed eyebrows from reading so much complex texts in a day. We were all frantic and anxious because as graduating students, this action research was a big deal. It felt like the weight of this requirement was pressing our shoulders so heavily. If we didn't do it well, it could affect our graduation plans, and none of us wanted that.
We all knew that we had to get it done as early as possible before we get to be deployed at our assigned school for internship. Time was ticking and there was no more room for us to delay it. Even though it was mentally and physically draining, we all stayed focused and pushed forward. Some moments were really filled with frustrations because we couldn't find the right study or sources for our research or when our ideas seemed to hit a dead end. But instead of giving up, we all encouraged ourselves to just keep on going.
At end of the day, even if we were all tired and exhausted there was a sense of pride inside myself knowing that me and my friends had made a lot of progress even if it was just a small step for now. It reminded us that with hard work, no matter how overwhelming it may be or it may feel it will always bring us closer to our goals in life. Together, we were determined to see it through the end.
That would be all for today’s blog and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I will see you all on the next one!
