This weekend I found myself curiously wandering through the contents of my school Google Drive.

Folders upon folders and documents among documents stashed away in a cluttered digital portfolio; I was stunned to see how much work had accumulated under my digital cloud.

Digging through the content, I ended up reviewing my old geometry worksheets, watching Spanish video projects, and rereading my college essays from earlier this school year—everything from the fresh perspective of the 2019 version of me.

Reasonably enough, I cringed and grimaced but also smiled and laughed at the nostalgic elements of my school assignments.

Looking over my account’s drive, I questioned why I made certain stylistic choices or what my thought process was at the time I was completing an assignment, but at other points I applauded my creativity and hard work on certain projects.

It’s amazing to observe your life through the lens of your work output. My drive serves as a living body of work, constantly being updated, reflecting the pace of my life and my development as an individual.

I’d consider everything in my drive as an equivalent to a photo album, snapshots of who I was at various points in my life.

My dad has always been one to remind me time and time again to always save and store my digital work. Practically I always knew why he insisted that. But after reviewing so much content I had created in the past few years of my K-12 education centralized in the location of my school drive, it’s glaringly apparent why archiving is key.

I hope to continue this best practice and keep up with saving and preserving my work because I think for me that’s the best way to keep up with Kanika and reflect on my past to prepare for my future.