I realize that simply because Genius Hour is almost "over" does not mean I can never make bread again. I hope that I will continue to bake, as I really genuinely enjoy it, and have loved developing my skills over the past two months. I am proud of how far I've come, and I hope this intrinsic motivation will be enough to motivate me to continue.
Not every loaf has turned out perfectly, and I've had to completely start over with the recipe I referred to last week, as unfortunately my starter dough did not have enough yeast in the air naturally to survive (I've also learned that bread baking can get quite science-y), but the experience of trying different methods, ingredients, and recipes has been extremely fun, informative, and of course, delicious!
Completing this project in a semi-structured classroom context has made me reflect more on my actions, and my feelings about my results more than I might have had I started this on my own. I was motivated to try harder, keep a regular schedule, and I feel that this was a major reason that I was able to progress as well as I did. Because of the research aspect of a Genius Hour project, I found myself trying to find as much information as possible on the topic, as opposed to doing a quick google and then calling it quits there. I looked at modern and traditional recipes, compared techniques, and tried to figure out what makes a really good loaf of bread.
As I'm planning my TED talk, I'm finding it difficult to narrow it down to just one topic. Do I talk about the bread making process and what I've learned about that? Do I talk about what I've learned about myself through bread making? Can I address one without the other? I've watched other TED talks to try to figure out the direction I want to go in, but I'm still torn. I'm not sure that my topic is inspiring exactly, nor is there a lesson I want my audience to take away, at least not insofar as I've considered yet, but I think this needs to simply be a story. One of possibility and creativity, one of trying something new because you might surprise yourself.
