Molly Holinger
Graduate Student at ICSC
A few years ago, just after
graduating from college, I had a conversation with a friend on the topic of
life. Despite being college graduates, we felt as if we knew nothing. While college had taught one of
us (Molly) to speak and write fluently in French and the other (Jen) how to
conduct international business deals, it hadn’t taught us (at least not
deliberately) about life. In our conversation we discussed what aspect of our
college education had taught us the most and neither of us named our classes.
What we did name was our
self-directed learning: reading Positive Psychology, creativity, and
life-coaching books. We wished there had been a class on these topics when we
were in college and really needed it. It would have been among the most
valuable courses we could have taken. From there, we got the idea to write a
book called The Forgotten Class to
capture the wisdom and tools that had gotten us through our early twenty-something
years. As an independent study under Dr. Cynthia Burnett, I, along with my
friend Jen, began this project one year ago. A semester turned out not to be
long enough, so I extended it into a Master’s Project. The writing process was
experiential learning at its best: I experienced the entirety of the creative
process from clarification to ideation to developing and prototyping, and,
finally, implementation. The writing process, perhaps more so than other
creative work, demands heavy feedback. At least in my experience, having
multiple readers give me feedback on several drafts of the book made it the
high-quality book it is today.
The Forgotten Class
The Forgotten Class gives readers
a creative process to create a life they love during their twenties adapted
from the creative processes Design Thinking and Creative Problem solving. The
creative processes that inspired this book (Design Thinking and Creative
Problem Solving) function just as powerfully in creating one’s life as in
designing a product or service. As Tim Brown, CEO and President of design firm
IDEO and author of Change by Design says,
“There is a big difference… between
planning a life, drifting through life, and designing a life.” (Tim Brown, p.
241)
Along the way, we highlight
research, books, and websites that we wish were taught in education- but that
we had to find ourselves, which is the reason this book is entitled The Forgotten Class. These are the
lessons that have brought us to where we both are today and that we still draw
upon to keep afloat. The topics range from motivation to learning style, but
the overarching theme is personal growth and well-being. Hardly a comprehensive
list, these blurbs share the latest research on well-being. Finally, we include
some personal stories from our lives illustrating how the process works in real
life.
We hope this book finds its way
into the hands of those who need it. The book is just making its way into
publication. Look for updates on this blog for future publication dates!
