Individual Reflection
This is my first semester in UTS, also the first time I’m so far away from home. About half a year ago, after some discussions with my beloved family, I decided that I was gonna leave home. Three months later, I find myself on an 8-hour flight to Australia, all the way from Malaysia, alone. I have never stepped out of my country all my life, so this was a pretty big deal to me. For someone who comes from a small town, saying that Sydney is great is quite an understatement. Being in a new place, with a different culture and not knowing anyone here is just about enough to intimidate anyone. However, I was nothing more than just anxious. Of course, my siblings being here helped me out a lot, but the rest was still up to me. Fortunately, Sydney had been, and still is, nothing but welcoming.
The change in lifestyle was definitely drastic, but I was able to adapt well, in the exception of the erratic weather during seasonal changes. Imagine having grown up in an equatorial country and moving into mid-autumn… Not being around my parents also meant that I have to take care of myself, in many aspects. There were times when I kind of “neglected” myself, because of work. It is something that I have to work on from here on out. Having to leave all my family and friends behind was definitely difficult. However, I keep telling myself that this will be a good opportunity for myself in life. Everyone has to step out of their comfort zone, someday, somehow. In hindsight, I’m glad I made that decision to leave home. I know it’s only gonna get harder, but I will always keep my head high. After all, there’s no one to pave my road for me except for myself. I have already learnt a great deal, and will continue to do so, I’m sure.
Being in a new university is quite the experience for me. I find that most locals are rather unimpressed by what the local universities had to offer. While I find that understandable, it’s a whole different world for me. With all due respect, my previous university wasn’t as well-rounded, in terms of facilities and services offered. The blame cannot fall on them. Instead, it’s because of the lack of space, funding, as well as culture. After all, I do come from a developing country, and things will always need time to take its form. That aside, I had no problem with the transition whatsoever, mainly because I do come from an branch Australian university. This made my degree transfer a lot easier and smoother than what could’ve been. The syllabus offered were similar too, so I had no problem coping whatsoever. That said, I do find the culture of study and work here a lot more suited to my style. Naturally, I find myself doing rather well, despite the change in environment and culture. However, I also realize that the competition is lot steeper than what I have experienced before. I’ll definitely strife to be better, not just to prove myself, but also as a form of self-assurance.
In a short period of time, I have found a lot more appreciation in life, and will make sure to keep having a positive outlook on life. I am also very well aware of my strengths and weaknesses, now that I have only myself to rely on. There’s no looking back now, except to keep moving forward and work towards a better self and life.
Teamwork Reflection
The team was formed based on the design area of interest. Initially, it was very clear that I don’t know the team members as well as they know each other. However, everyone was very respectful and had their equal share of ideas and plans. After a while, when everyone got along well with each other, we became a lot more straightforward with our feedback towards each other. After several rounds of discussions, it was clear that there are members who were very sure of themselves, more than the others. As we didn’t explicitly name a leader, there was always one of us who would step up and made sure what needed to be done. The way the team operated was that we would always form ideas and plans before initiating any assessments. By doing that, we drew a distinct picture of what had to be done, in order of priority and time. The division of work was always loose among the team. This meant that anyone was free to work on any section that they felt confident in, and the others can assist as they saw fit. As every member often had other tasks (outside of Engineering Communication) at hand, one of us would volunteer to cover for the other. This style of work had allowed us to work on our report very well, without any direct conflicts, and on the contrary, promoted teamwork.
Our team situation does not entirely adhere to Tuckman’s model, although there were some very loose similarities. There was a clear forming stage and norming stage, which kind of happened at the same time for us. The one stage that was missing, or not entirely distinct was storming. As mentioned, there was a clear sense of authority in some of us. However, everyone maintained a very high level respect for each other, which was enough to hold back any conflicts. Instead, disagreements were constructively laid out and carefully analyzed. This in fact, has led to better decision making by the team. After all the ground work were properly laid out, the team did very well to perform all the necessary tasks agreed upon.
Overall, I feel that the team’s atmosphere was often at the right spot, where everyone was comfortable, but still maintained a high level of attentiveness towards their responsibilities. The best part about our team was that we were attentive to each others’ work. This allowed us to bounce ideas off each other, and come up with the best work possible, based on the effort of multiples parties. This also significantly reduced the amount of time need to proofread and crosscheck when finalizing any assessments, on top of reducing mistakes.
While there wasn’t any significant problems with the team, I felt like we should’ve done better in communication. Generally, we didn’t face any problems with conveying information and feedback. However, there would be times where one of us would forget to inform the team that we were focusing on some other workloads, effectively “ignoring” the team for a short while. While mildly irritating, it could’ve proven to be detrimental if the situation persists. Any form of assurance beforehand, will allow your teammates to cover for you, should it be required, as well as maintain others’ level of trust in you. On a relevant note, I should work on mine as well. At times, I find myself not wording my information properly, which may easily cause confusion in the team. There are also cases where I would say anything off the top of my head, disrupting the flow of information. Going forward, I’ll make sure to compose my thoughts and ideas well before conveying them, in order to maintain an effective discussion.
Everything I have mentioned, good or bad, applies in our day to day interactions. It is always important to remain respectful of others, only then will they reciprocate. Communication is a two-way traffic. If you can maintain a smooth flow of communication with the others, then you will most definitely get a good exchange of information.
Reflective Journal by Whung Jie Chen 
