#public declaration

My group’s manifesto is about declaring personal goals to become an authentic and optimistic person.

The first rule is facing fear. By choosing to face it instead of running away from problems, the person is no longer a coward and can overcome anything.

The second rule is being ready to accept criticism. Instead of feeling hurt, the person understands the point of view from the speaker and thank them for their words.

The third rule is staying optimistic. Instead of being pessimistic, the person accepts the situation he or she is in and focuses on the positive side of it.

The fourth rule is facing failure. Instead of refusing to admit failure, he or she accepts it and focuses on improving further.

The fifth rule is having a growth mindset. Instead of giving up, he or she stays resilient.

The sixth rule is learning that being vulnerable is not shameful. Instead, it allows me to become authentic.

The seventh and eighth rules are similar. Staying present without spiralling into negative thoughts allows me to have mental clarity.

The ninth rule is learning not to care about the opinions of others. Being confident in my own skin means I have accepted all parts of myself by letting go of self-hatred.

The last rule is learning to say no according to the situation. This helps me to set boundaries and allows me to value myself more.

I personally have an alternative manifesto. Instead of declaring personal goals, I would change it to declaring 8 principles for a well-lived life. These principles consist of 8 core values of life, because I wanted to show that knowing your life values allows for greater gratitude in life. For example, one of my core values is freedom. Knowing this allows me to better appreciate the fact that in Lasalle, I am allowed to choose whatever clothing I want to wear.

I find week 6’s critical self-reflectivity particularly significant for me. This is because having self-awareness allows me to work more efficiently in my studio and craft modules. For example, one issue I faced in studio is thinking that my work (illustrated buildings) is better than what my lecturer suggested (posterized buildings). However, I realised that this arrogant thinking hinders the progress of my project.  What I should have done is resist the urge to correct him and recognise my own area of improvement for my project. If I do not learn to accept criticism now, it will affect my future studies and work life. An example might be getting into an argument with my client because I think that since I am a designer, I have the right to design whatever I want. Hence, self-awareness plays an important role in shaping who I am.

(458 words)

Notable references:

Indeed Editorial Team. “How To Deal With Critics and Accept Criticism.”, Indeed, 2 Sep. 2023,

www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-deal-with-critics. Accessed 15 Nov. 2023.

Melkonian, Lois. “Why vulnerability will change your life: The power of being yourself.”, BetterUp, 7 Dec. 2021,

When I first started this site, I had a lot of good intentions and high goals for myself: I wanted to read more, respond/reflect more and to share this messy, imperfect process with the public. I had a posting schedule, a reading list, a handful of essays started. I vowed to only post original content for a whole host of well-intentioned and high minded reasons.

Then I had a kid. Did you know that labor is hard? Like, really hard. Like, running 10 marathons hard, only after the marathon, instead of curling up in a tub of ice with a beer and 5 pizzas and the warm glow of knowing ‘it’s over, you did it! Now it’s time to rest’, you come home with a whole. New. Person. A whole new person who’s super fragile and who depends on you for literally everything, literally every moment of the day. And who is heavy. Oh, and just to really ice this cake, if you’re the one who gave birth, there’s a whole cocktail of hormones and weird, leaky body things happening (doubly true if you are also breast feeding) to go along with the identity adjustment that you also have to reckon with.

But here’s the flip side: it’s absolutely magical. Seeing the world through A’s eyes, I’m reminded just how much wonder is waiting for us if we slow down and look (and listen carefully). And listen/look she does- I have never been more aware of what I say, how I say it, and imagining certain verbal habits coming out of her mouth has made me much more careful in how I talk, not just about other people, but also myself. She has also, unknowingly, reignited my passion to engage in issues of justice and equity- if I thought getting right with the world  was important before, it is doubly so now.

So I return, with fresh eyes, along with renewed appreciation for the messy, the complicated, the unfinished, and the belief that action imperfectly executed is better than perfect inaction. With that in mind, here’s what you can expect to see here:

I’m still going to preference original content, but give myself permission to share (and credit) those things which resonate or trouble my thinking, even if I haven’t figured out how to articulate it yet.

I am going to  think before ‘speaking,’ and do so out of a place of compassion, however, I’m also going to do my best not to get stuck in the mental Charybdis that keeps me from saying anything. This means I am going to mess up and say something wrong (which, let’s be honest, would definitely happen even if I overthought everything). Call me on it! Help me know better so I can do better! 

While still primarily grappling with issues of race and privilege, I am also giving myself permission to explore other “tough stuff”/”social justice issues”  that may be related, directly or tangentially, because really, it’s all related (As Majora Carter points out in her TedTalk)

In the spirit of being gentle with myself (Friends- did you know that raising a baby is hard? Like, really hard?), I’m not going to stick to a specific posting schedule, however I am going to try to share something, be it an essay, a reflection or even a question on a more regular (monthly?) basis. Again, here I ask for your help- if you see it’s been a while, please prod me and remind me of this public declaration of intent.