Week 6 Candle Mishaps

Last week I felt pretty comfortable making two candles at a time, so I tried making three candles at a time and it was a little chaotic. I knocked over one of the bottles of fragrance oil and struggled with my wicks. I think next time I will need to devise a new method of holding wicks in place. The apple candle I made two weeks ago actually smells a little stronger than it did last week, so that is exciting!

When I chose this occupation I was definitely influenced by self-knowledge and self-awareness. I grew up doing a lot of crafts with my mom, so I've always considered myself to be creative and capable in the context of crafts. So it was very easy for me to consider a crafty-type activity for my new occupation. While I had very little knowledge of candle making, I had the self-esteem to recognize that I can learn new things and problem solve to figure it out.

To my understanding, the transactional nature of occupations refers to how the person and the context are "part of each other" or "inseparable" (Carlson, Park, Kuo & Clark, 2012). Aspects of my "self" include this creativity and craftiness, but that is completely intertwined with the context that I grew up in. Me choosing a new occupation and participating in it regularly is also connected to the context of being a student and the requirements of this assignment. The more I learn about candle making, the more I consider myself a candle maker, but I can't forget the fact that I'm doing this in the context of school.

This new occupation acts as a recruiter by activating my attention and cognition to follow the steps and keep track of the process. It also activates my body's movements to stir, pour, measure, and to not knock over bottles of fragrance or wick holders. Candle making as a servant does not consist of much for me consciously, but I think in general I create things to fill some need of accomplishment and creativity. Candle making as a mirror reflects more of a private identity for me. It reflects the creative and calm aspects of myself, and my identity as a learner. If I were to start doing candle making with other people or even in front of other people, this would change and would reflect me as more of a teacher.