What I see in my self-study is in full honesty just characteristics about myself like how I always tend to study at night and I always have to work alone in my own house versus places like the library for example. As for other objects in the image I know I always gotta have that coffee by side to be my companion for the night as I study for an exam to cram the next day.
Getting deeper into the image all sorts of objects are scattered across the desk as that represents how my study area always tends to be messy and that may represent my scatterbrain tendencies. I have my comics to the left ready to distract me away from work or for entertainment when I take the occasional break. My area may be messy but I surround myself with plants that bring a sense of calm into my chaotic world, it fills the balance. With my actual notebook, I do take studying seriously but I like to doodle on the occasion when I feel myself losing motivation it helps my mind stay on track to keep going and keep it active.
In terms of what this project could bring to the art classroom, I believe that it may be a fun way for high school students to really explore photoshop with the editing tools to work out getting their image just right and have it as they picture it in their minds. I find that projects that tend to have a focus around the students themselves take more time in getting it right because it's a direction representation so of course they would take it more seriously and make work they can showcase.