TableofContents

IntroductiontomyPersonalProject..1

DescriptionofProcess....2

Analysis.3

Conclusion5

Bibliography..6

IntroductiontomyPersonalProject

MyPersonalProjectconcentratesonthehumanmindandthepartthatitplaysinwhatit
takestobehuman.IfocusedonPsychologyasIvealwaysbeeninterestedinthistopicbut
haveneverhadanopportunitytolearnmoreaboutit.
TheideaforthistopiccameimmediatelyafterIhadbeenintroducedtotheMYPprogram.A
teacherenquiredastowhatinterestsmeandwhatIhaventyetlearnedenoughabout.In
thatmomentIthoughtaboutPsychology.Myimmediateresponsewastotypethiswordinto
google,oneoftheinitiallinksfocusedonthehumanmindandIwashooked.
AfterafewdaysofclarifyingmygoalsIcametotheconclusionthatIwantedmyPersonal
Projecttobeablogaboutthehumanmind,psychology,andhowthosethingsthatIuse
everyday,forexamplememories,work.
Mygoalwouldbetonotonlycreateablog,buttoalsotellasmanypeopleaspossibleabout
itsothatImayexciteotherpeopleaboutPsychology.Inmyopinion,ourmindsshouldbe
takenseriouslybecause,tobehonest,ourmindispartofourlifeandexistenceandwithoutit
nothingwouldfunctionasitdoes.Yet,wedontreallyknoworlearnanythingaboutit.Itis
strangetomethatwearesupposedtostudyandunderstand,forexample,mathequations
andyetwedontevenknowhowandwhywereabletostorethisinformation?Wheredoesit
gowhenweforgetit?
Iimagineothersmusthavesimilarthoughtsandthesekindofquestions.Havetheyever
foundanswers?Partofmymissionthenistofillthegapinpeoplesknowledge.

Theblogcontainsarticlesthatgiveintroductionstosomeareasofpsychologicalstudy,these
havedeliberatelybeenmadeasbriefaspossiblesothatareaccessibletoyoungpeople.At
thesametimeIwanttoinsertafewvideosandphotosthatinspiredme,sothatitisalso
easierforreaderstounderstandthesecomplextopics.
Iamverygladthatthisprojectgavemeanopportunitytoresearchtopicsinpsychologythat
Ivealwaysbeeninterestedinitbutneverreallyhadthechancetolearnabout.Iwantto
createablogwhichinformsotherpeopleaboutthehumanmindwithallitsspecialtiesand
capabilities.Unfortunately,thisisnotasubjectthatmanyhavehadanopportunitywithin
schooltopursue,whichisprobablywhythehumanmindseemslikesuchabigmysteryto
mostofus.

Theinternetplaysanimportantroleinourlives,whichiswhyIbelievethatitsthebestwayto
reachouttopeopleinordertointroducethemtoanewtopic.Creatingablogisagoodwayto
attractstudents,teachers,parents,anyonewhoisinterested.ItIsveryimportantformeto
reachouttootherpeopleandsharemyresearch,knowledge,inspirations,ideas,etc.
Myarticlescontainbriefintroductionstothehumanmind.Iintendtointroducemyreadersto
psychology,andwhatittakestobehuman.

Descriptionofprocess

AssoonasIdefinedmygoal,IknewIwantedtocreateablog.ThiswasnotonlybecauseI
havealwayswantedtocreateonebutbecausethisnowgavemeopportunity.Inmy
opinion,ablogoffersthebestwaytointroduceyoungpeopletoatopicthattheymightnotbe
thatfamiliarwith.
Ifeelliketeenagerswouldhavemoreinterestinpsychologyiftheycouldmakeconnections
withitandthereforemakeitabiggerpartoftheireverydaylife.Sincethisisthe21stcentury
andwespendalotoftimeontheinternet,Ifigureditwouldbeagoodideatomake
psychologyabiggerpartofourlifebycombiningitwiththedailyuseoftheinternet.Atthe
sametimeIknewthatitwouldbeagoodopportunitytolearnandresearchmoreaboutthe
humanmind,satisfyingmyownneedtolearnmoreaboutpsychologyandhopefullybeginto
feellikeIhadenoughknowledgetoexciteotherpeopleaboutit.
AssoonasIstartedresearching,Ifoundthefollowingwebsitethathelpedmetounderstand
thetopicbeforestartingtowriteaboutit.Sourceslikewww.simplypsychology.orgseemed
trustworthybecausetheyquotereferences,contactdetailsandare,forexample,writtenby
teachersfromtheUniversityofManchesterwithadegreeinPsychologyandaMasters
DegreeinResearch.SinceMemoryisessentialtoallourlives()itunderlinesthe
necessityoflearningaboutthistopic.
Atfirst,Ifocusedonwritingmyarticlesaboutareas/topicsIwasinterestedin.Isoonnoticed
thatIhadchosentoomanysoIhadtocutafewoutinordertogointodepth.Iwantedtodo
thissinceIknewitwastheonlywaytoincorporateasmuchinformationaspossible.
IstartedfocussingonfiveareasWhatthehumanmindexactlyis,personality,memories,
dreamsandstressandanxietyanddepression,thoughIresearchedninewhichIchosewith
mysupervisorMrsMargo.IchosetopicsthatIwasfullycommittedtoresearchingandthe
onesIknewtherewouldbeaconsiderableamountofinformationabout.
SoonIstartedrealisingthatitwouldbeagoodideatogivetips,e.g.onhowtoovercome
depression,forexample,insteadofonlywritingabouttheissueitself.Istartedmyblogasa
simplewebsitethatcontainsarticlesaboutpsychologyandnoticedthatitevolvedintomoreof
anadvicegivingwebsite.Ilikedtheideaofit:Peoplewholookforadviceorinformationabout
certainaspectsofthehumanmind,cannowgoonmyblog,readandhopefullyreceivewell
researchedmaterialandusefuladvicewhichtheymayormaynotchoosetotake.

Thecharacteristicsofmyprojectarethefollowing:

Researchandlearnmoreaboutthehumanmind.
Focusonafewnewtopics,gointodepth.
Sharemyknowledgewithpeers,family,teachers,informofablog.

Analysis

MyinitialinspirationforthisworkcamefromvideoscalledTedTalks.Thesearevideoson
theinternetthatarelimitedtothemaximumlengthof18minutesbutcanbeonanytopic.
Generallyengaged,charismaticspeakerscreatetalksoftentoexposenewideas.
Insummer2014,IwatchedaTEDtalkforthefirsttimeandwasimmediatelyinspiredbyit.It
wasabouteducationandpointedtosomepossibleflawsinthetraditionalschoolsystems.
EverysingleTEDtalkIwatchinspiresmetothinkaboutthetopicthespeakerbringswhich
excitesmylearning.

WhenIgotfurtherintotheTEDtalksaboutpsychology,IdiscoveredhowinterestedIactually
wasinthebrainandsoitformedmytopic.
AfterafewweeksofresearchIalsorealisedthatIwantedtoinsertsomeoftheTEDtalksor
othervideosorpicturesthatinspiredandhelpedme.ImadethisdecisionwhenIdecidednot
onlytowriteaboutwhatthehumanmindis,buttoalsohelpotherpeoplebydescribingthe
bestwaystorememberandanalysedreams,memories,etc.Isuddenlywantedtocreate
moreofanopen,inspirationalblogratherthanjustawebsitepackedwithinformation.I
thoughtitwouldbegoodtonotonlysharetheinformation,butalsothemediathathelpedme
comeupwiththeideasandinspirationsIhad.
HowschoolkillscreativityisthetitleofthefirstTEDtalkIwatched.GivenbyKenRobinson,
anEnglishauthor,speakerandinternationaladvisoroneducationintheartstogovernment.
Hefeltthatinschool,weretaughttodoeverythingcorrectly,weretaughttobeafraidof
doingsomethingwrong.HebelievesthatIfyourenotpreparedtobewrong,youllnever
comeupwithsomethingoriginal.()
Forme,myinterestinpsychologyreallystartedoffwiththisvideo.Histopicisntdirectly
linkedtomyPersonalProjectbutitshowIstartedrealisinghowimportantitistogointo
depthwithtopicslikethis,tothinkandresearchabouteverydaycommonalitiesthatweall
takeforgranted.Istartedrealisinghowimportantitistoquestioneverythingthathasbecome
ahabit.UntilIhavebeenintroducedtotheMYPprogram,Ihaventhadthechanceto
researchaboutthehumanmind,butIimmediatelyknewthatitwaswhatIwantedtodofor
myPP.
Thefirstthingformetodointermsofresearchwastofindouthowourmindismadeupand
howIcouldpossiblyputitintoarticlesthatareshort,yetprovideenoughknowledgeand
understandingtoexciteotherpeopleinmytopic.SoIstartedpickingoutcertaintopics(e.g.:
Memories,Dreams,Stress)thatIwasparticularlyinterestedin,thisdidnotprovedifficult
becausethereissomuchtowriteabout.Theproblemwas,thatIwantedtokeepthese
articlesasshortyetinformativeaspossible,whichwasn'teasyformeatall.Ialsodiscussed
thisseveraltimeswithmysupervisor,MrsMargo.Ialwaysfeltliketherewassomuchmoreto
thehumanmindthatIcouldpossiblyresearchthatIdneverbeabletoputalltheinformation
thereisintothisproject.

Isoonunderstoodthattherearestillsomanypartsofthehumanmindthatareundiscovered.
Dreams,forexample,aretodaystillmysteriesformanypsychiatrists.Ithereforemadea
personaldecisionnottostopresearchingpsychologyandthehumanmind,evenafterIve
handedinmyPersonalProject.TherearestillsomanyopenquestionsthatIhaventfoundan
answertoandwithhindsightinmyopinion,threemonthsisnotenoughtounderstandthis
broadtopic.
BeforeIstartedresearching,IknewthatIwouldnotbeabletoexhaustthistopicbythetime
thatIhandedmyprojectin.ButIdidntexpectmyselftobethisunsatisfied,notaboutwhat
Ivedonebutmoreaboutthegapsinmyknowledgeandtheexcitementthatthereisstillso
muchinformationoutthere.Myresearchtaughtmetofocusonusingsimpledefinitionsto
describemytopicsandthentobuildonwhatIdontyetknow.
NowthatIvecompletedmyresearchInoticehowimportantitwastocutmytopicsdown
becausethereisnowaythatIwouldhavebeenabletofinishallofthem.Inthefirstfew
attemptsofresearchingandwritingIconstantlyhadtorevisemygoalbutassoonasIhad
definedagoalthatIwassatisfiedwithandthatseemedrealistic,itwasmucheasiertowork
becauseitdidntseemasbroadandundefinedanymore.

Conclusion

MyPersonalProjecthasincreasedmylearninginsomanyways.Firstofall,fromafactual
stancejustbyresearchinghowthehumanmindworks.IstilldonotreallyfeellikeIknow
enough,butIamnotgoingtostopresearching,thatsforsure.Otherthanthat,Ilearnedhow
tomanagemytimeandworkonaprojectcontinuously,formorethanthreemonths,which
Iveneverdonebefore.IamproudofmyproductandhavetosaythatIreallyenjoyed
workingonthis,itwasalotoffun.MostlybecauseIminterestedinmyresearchquestion,but
alsobecauseIwastheonethatwastakingtheresponsibilityforeverything:choosingthe
topic,decidinghowtoresearchonitandbeingabletomakelittlechangeswheneverIfeltlike
Ihadto.Theresponsibilityisobviouslymuchtocarry,butsinceIhadhelpfrommy
supervisor,MrsMargo,IneverfeltlikeIwasaloneandalwayshadsomeonetogotowhenI
neededhelpandinspiration.ShewasalsoveryhelpfulbecausesheistheschoolCounsellor,
whichmeanssheknowsalotaboutpsychology.
BeforeIstartedworkingonmyPersonalProject,IwassuretostudylawafterIgraduate.But
now,aftergatheringalotofinformationaboutpsychology,Imightconsiderstudyingitat
University.NotbecauseIseetalentorpotentialinmyself,justbecauseIstillhavesomany
unansweredquestionsthatIwanttobeabletoanswer,oratleastthinkaboutproperlyinthe
future.Iamnotquitesureaboutthisyetbuttheprojectdefinitelyopenedanewdoorformein
termsofstudying.
Allinall,myPPhashelpedmewithregardstoresearching,defininggoals,understanding
howourmindworks,managingmytimeandwriting.Mydreamistoinspireandexciteothers
fornotonlythistopic,butalsotheconceptofthePersonalProject.Ithinkitsagreat
opportunitytolearnmoreaboutwhatyoureinterestedin,whatyourepassionateaboutand
howtoputthisintowords.

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Howstressaffectsyourhealth,retrievedonApril9,2015,from
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McLeod,S.(2007).StagesofMemoryEncodingStorageand
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