Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Looking Backward to Propel me Foreword in Qualitative Research

This paper will address reflexivity, through writing and discursive reflexivity, as a mirror of my growth from a new scholar into a more a more confidant member of a research community. The insight I gleaned from being present in several research teams, and experiencing them through many leadership models from my position as a research assistant, allowed me to view the amalgamation of the experiences as a whole as a “masterclass” of sorts. Having been fortunate enough to have belonged to several short-term teams, one long-term distance team, and one long-term on-campus team, I will tell the story of my journey into becoming a more realized researcher, a more confident scholar, a more competent and willing mentor, and a more socially actualized advocate for the story told by the data underpinned by my more finely tuned epistemology through the use of self-interpretation and the growth that I allowed to take place both personally and professionally.