Week 12 - Ice Cream Cone


Nearing the end of the semester, I don't feel like I have serious plans to continue origami on as consistent of a basis as I have done throughout this semester. However, I feel that it could be very useful still in certain circumstances. I have 3 nephews and a niece, so I could definitely see myself doing it with them sometime for an activity. I benefitted from the involvement of this activity in several ways. One of the most impactful, perhaps, was how I realized that I could change my fixed mindset about arts and crafts. Growing up, I never believed that I could improve my skills in crafting. Performing origami was especially difficult for me at first, but my experience taught me that I can improve in areas where I didn't believe I could, and that hopefully I can teach that concept to future patients too.

A topic that we have studied that has genuinely stood out in my mind is the concept of flow as illustrated by Nakamura & Csikszentmichalyi (2002). I've thought about flow frequently since initially learning about it. I want to help my future patients achieve a state of flow during their therapy. Personally, I found that origami became more meaningful when I felt that I could find a state of flow with a certain design. A few designs were rather challenging, and I couldn't naturally find a flow. However, when a design was in the right range of difficulty for me, I was able to make personal meaning and accomplishment in origami when I originally felt that was impossible.

For future MOT students, I would recommend choosing something that is easy to do at any time of day and in most settings. One reason I loved origami as my new occupation was because it was very conducive to taking pictures of and writing about. Some new occupations may seem interesting, but they may be very difficult to perform during a busy semester and when your schedule becomes unpredictable.


Comments

  1. MarissaNovember 30, 2021 at 9:27 AM

    All of your origami looks great! It’s great that you have an activity that you can do with your nieces and nephews. I remember when I was in elementary school making 100 cranes in a day with my class for charity. After probably a dozen, I probably experienced some flow. The activity also had meaning since it was for a charity. I think you chose a perfect occupation for this class because it is something that someone of any age at any time of day could do! With your changed mindset, do you think that you’ll try other arts and crafts? What has been your favorite origami design so far?

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    Replies
    1. Matthew BlakeDecember 1, 2021 at 2:40 PM

      Marissa,
      That's a great question that I hadn't considered if I will try new arts and crafts. I think that they have their time and place, but I still probably don't see myself pursuing them in the future as much. But who knows what time will bring. My favorite origami design was probably the jet plane because I was most proud of how that one turned out and it felt like my personal "magnum opus" of origami. Thanks!

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