As children, when we began school our teachers and instructors made it very clear what was expected of us. Sometimes these expectations were on a wall or repeated to us on a weekly basis. When we weren’t meeting these standards, there was that infamous conversation where we were told, “once you get to the next grade level, your teachers won’t tolerate this”. We were accompanied throughout our childhood with specific instructions on how to act, how to complete our assignments, and what to do if anything ever goes wrong. 

I saw this as a necessary component of my childhood because it taught me how to be a part of society. When these instructions weren’t present, I tended to panic. My first encounter with ambiguity began in high school when I participated in the IB program. They prided themselves on giving assignments that did not have one clear answer. As a college student, these are now the only types of assignments I receive. I have found that as I’ve grown up, The delivery of the expectations others have for me has grown to be more ambiguous as well. 

I was asked to create a best practices report for the Siemer Institue in any way that I wish as long as I remain consistent in my methodology. The absence of rules should have made it easier for me to begin my research, but instead, I found it much more difficult as I couldn’t figure out where to start. After I had resolved that, my new challenge was to find a process that worked for me. Upon talking with my supervisor about her vision for the report, I realized that I was gathering much more research than I’d need. The method I was using to gather data was the same one I had used in my past literature reviews for academic papers. In order to stay on track for this assignment, I have to change my trajectory once again. While this could have been avoided had I asked for more specific instructions, this is a great opportunity for me to adapt to a setting where employees are given more freedom to complete their work.