When I look back on my passion project, I think I spent my time productively and enjoyably. Even though Nic bailed on the presentation, I felt like he contributed a lot to the final product. I'm sure the beach was fun. My 20% Time, on the other hand, was a complete success.

20% Time

            Whenever I began my passion project back in November, I was unsure of how I would devote my time. I tossed around the ideas of learning how to play guitar or how to speak Spanish. I eventually decided on creating an exercise regimen that would help me achieve one of my life’s athletic goals: dunking a basketball. However, while trying out for spring track, I suffered a hip injury that would keep me out of all athletics for the rest of the year. Wondering what I’d do for 20% of my time, I asked one of my peers, Nic Owen, if I could help him with his passion project: creating a sport and playing it with our classmates.

            After about a month of working together, we had created LanZu (Mandarin Chinese for “foot-basket”), a combination of football and basketball. We developed rules, basic principles, and played the game with our classmates. Although I didn’t come up with the idea for the project, I felt proud of the few things I did contribute, like the addition and clarification of several aspects and rules of the sport.

I learned to cooperate and compromise on some of the rule changes, as well as how to organize people and dates when we were faced with scheduling conflicts. I also learned how to develop original ideas, as well as those of my peers. Although I was learning on a small scale, I felt like I gained valuable experience that could be used for any future projects or problems that come my way.

I felt like I accomplished a lot during the collaboration, but I’m disappointed that I didn’t complete my original goals. I would have enjoyed being able to better myself and measure my own progress, but helping a peer achieve his own goals was just as rewarding. I feel like I spent 20% of my year productively and enjoyably, even though the end result wasn’t the one for which I had planned.

Our class played LanZu in the school gym last Friday. It was a complete success! Our classmates participated in the game and took pictures, while Nic and I acted as referees. Now, all we have to do is present the information we gathered from playing the game in our presentation on May 8th. We will present said information on a power point, as well as a tri-fold poster board. We plan to go over the process of creating and developing the game, playing the game, and the obstacles we faced along the way. I will also explain my unique circumstances, how my involvement in and affect on the project came about, and my assessment on how I spent 20% of my time.