It’s a great song, in my opinio-I’m just kidding. “How Do You Measure a Year” is a documentary we watched in class which depicts an individual’s growth from 2 years old all the way to 18 years old.
I wanted to reflect on two things that I found memorable/relevant from this documentary:
The first thing I found memorable was the way one could observe her understanding of long term develop. Of course, it is worth mentioning that this growth obviously did not happen at the exact parameter of a year, it is just the statistic we were given to work with. I remember her interview from when she was 4 years old: she had been asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and she replied that she wanted to quote “Wear makeup.” Funny, right? I think that this response shows that she is more focused on what she wants to do now, but she cannot do because she has to be older, so she wants her now in her later. We then skip to when she was 12 years old, and was asked the same question. She replied with a more thought out answer of wanting to be an animal rights activist, as well as a singer. So, right away these are more considering answers, however there still is the issue of wanting her now, later. She wants to save animals now, so that therefore reflects into her later; as well as she wants to be a singer now, so she wants that for her later. It is worth note that of course you want to do the job that you want to at the moment in time that you are reflecting; however I believe that that changes as one garners a more future-focused perspective. Finally, her last interview on her 18th birthday. For this interview, she seemed to realize that her future is a lot more unknown, and that she cannot plan for it at this moment.
I find it a standard result that the main character’s understanding of long term developed overtime. I believe that this cognizant growth is a healthy development which was perfectly represented in the documentary
The second thing I wish to reflect on is the way that the documentary depicts what is the de facto mutual understanding of growth and development. In this, I mean to say that we all have a sense of how a specific age acts, and I believe this documentary did a good job of representing that. The “terrible threes” and the “anxty teens” could be seen here. I wonder why that is the de facto, these days? Of course, I know it is due to hormones and home-lifes, but I am looking forward to seeing if/when we discuss this concept further in the adolescent development class I am taking.
January 27th, 2024
Simon Whiteley
