Work Log

January 15 - I began brainstorming for a topic for my Senior Project (1 hour)

Jan 19 - I completed my Letter of Intent on January 19th. I started writing it by researching

topics I was interested in. I knew that I wanted to do something related to psychology because it
is my favorite subject and what I want to major in at college. I plan on becoming a clinical
psychologist after I graduate college. I am fascinated and passionate about it. I thought about
many different options for my senior project topic. For example, I considered doing something
related to depression and exercise. I researched depression, anxiety, and various other topics. I
stumbled upon something about meditation and I became very intrigued. I wanted to explore this
topic more, so ultimately, I decided on the effects of mindfulness on people with anxiety
disorders. I was excited once I narrowed down my topic because it was a bit stressful figuring it
out. I began writing my Letter of Intent on January 17th, and revised it on January 19th. I spent
about two hours on it and once I was finished I asked Mrs. Reimer to read it. She got back to me
a few days later and she had approved it. (2 hours)

Jan 25 - Contacted Carrie Paulus, M.F.T. about being my mentor (20 minutes)

Jan 30 - Researched the effects of meditation on anxiety disorders (30 mins)

Feb 9 - I started working on my commitment poster on February 9th. I went to Michael’s Craft
Store and bought some supplies to put together my poster. I spent about an hour on it. I enjoyed
making it because I got to be creative since there weren’t too many guidelines and restrictions. I
bought some accessories that I felt represented mindfulness and meditation to put on the poster. I
also printed out a picture of a brain to represent the psychology aspect of my project. I also
bought some paper and tape to decorate the background of the poster. It was required to include a
QR code, so I created one and printed it out. I also typed my question and printed it out. Overall,
I enjoyed making the poster, and I am proud of the way it turned out. (1 hour)
Feb 14 - I brainstormed ideas for the project portion of the Senior Project and decided I want to
volunteer at the National Alliance Against Mental Illness sometime after my 18th birthday
(March 20) because you must be 18 to volunteer there. I also want to host a fundraiser with a few
other students doing mental health related projects where we can raise money to donate to the
National Alliance Against Mental Illness. I also want to start conversations with people there
about the mental illness stigma and ask them what their thoughts are on using meditation for
anxiety. (1 hour brainstorming)

Feb 19 - I conducted an in-person interview with my mentor, Carrie Paulus who is a local
therapist, about anxiety and her thoughts on the effectiveness of mindfulness in treating it. Paulus
works with children and teenagers and has been a therapist for nearly twenty years. She sees
many teenagers and children with anxiety. After asking her how prevalent she believed anxiety
to be she stated that it is becoming more prevalent than ever. We discussed her thoughts on
natural remedies versus western remedies such as anti-anxiety medication. I learned that anxiety
can be treated in a variety of ways, but that she believes natural remedies are safer and should be
tried first.Western remedies are always helpful, but Paulus shared her view that they shouldn’t
necessarily be the first option. Our interview lasted about 30 minutes, and I asked her five
thought-provoking questions. I learned a lot from the interview and it was very helpful because it
gave me new information to reference in my essay. (30 minutes)

Feb 24 - I worked on my portfolio for the Senior Project (30 minutes)

March 3 - I interviewed Joree Rosenblat, a therapist in Danville, California. Our interview was
on the phone for about 45 minutes. Joree Rosenblat is a therapist who utilizes meditation
practices in her work with her clients. She also does mindfulness workshops and various other
classes. I learned a lot from this interview. She told me about her background and how she
discovered meditation. She gave me a new perspective on how meditation can work in a therapy
session and for anxiety in general. She also taught me that sometimes anti-anxiety medication
can be used to help people open the door to using meditation. Overall, she gave me some good
analogies to help me understand how it is used better. I asked her five questions in total. (45
minutes)

March 17 - I submitted the first draft of my Senior Project Essay. I worked on it for all of March
and half of February. I spent lots of time researching and organizing it before I turned it in. I am
very proud of it. I learned so much while writing it. For example, I learned how anti-anxiety
medications affect the brain and how meditation can affect the brain. It was really interesting to
learn all this new information. I am happy with how I incorporated it all into my essay. It took
some time to make sure the essay flowed correctly, but I feel relieved that the first draft is
complete. I included information and quotes from both my interviews, and a variety of academic
sources from the internet and from books. (I ended up getting an A on this!) (I spent at least 7
hours on this)

April 25 - I wrote thank you letters to Carrie Paulus, my mentor, and Joree Rosenblat. I emailed
them and told them how much I appreciated their help during the senior project and I updated
them that the project has been greatly modified. I thanked them both for their guidance and the
information they taught me that I was able to use for my essay. (30 minutes)

May 11 - I worked on finalizing my portfolio by adding information about the people I

interviewed, my research, I uploaded my essay, my works cited, and more. I also wrote my
Letter of Reflection. I have almost finished all my work for the Senior Project, I just need to
polish my website, and film my video presenting my project. (2 hours)

May 16 - I filmed my Senior Project presentation video. I used my Letter of Reflection for
reference, but otherwise spoke freely. (2 minute video, 30 minutes preparing)