Looking back on this semester, I feel more confident in my writing abilities. I also forgot how much I used to enjoy journaling, and have picked that back up a bit. I did realize that although I feel I have grown as a student, I still have a long road ahead of me. I still feel I need to find that "happy-medium" between balancing work and school. I still find myself struggling to find the hours to devote to both. I know that sometime I am going to find that balance, I just know it is going to be a process.
I think this semester has really opened my eyes to the fact that certain parts of my life need to be tweaked in order to be successful.
I also feel really lucky to feel that I have found the path that I am supposed to be on. I feel that a lot of the things in my life that are making it difficult for me to succeed have come to light and I am in the process of addressing them. I feel like all in all, I am headed in the direction of being in a better place than where I was when I started this term.
I feel that life is about the experiences and what we take from them. I think that all the experiences that we have lead us to where we are going, and I am excited to see where that is.
I am thankful that this class pushed me to write about things that I never intended to write about, because it made me think about things I probably never would have thought about. I also learned that I can do things, even if I don't see how they might be relevant in my life in the present, because they might end up being incredibly relevant in the future.
WC -476
Friday, April 27, 2012
Jobs (23)
Waitress at Bed And Breakfast
-interacting with a variety of people
-multi-tasking
Cashier/Dishwasher
-multi-tasking
-working well with others
-working in a "behind the scenes" setting
- establishing an eye for detail
Cashier/Clothing Inspector
-working at an accelerated pace
-time-management
-keeping a positive attitude
-customer service
Music Missionary
-working as a team
-adapting to new environments
-recognizing a need
-listening to people's problems
-improving communication
-creativity
-humor
-patience
Manager
-problem solving
-not sweating the small stuff
-marketing strategies
-improving morale
-creating a positive work environment
-organization
-efficency
-interacting with a variety of people
-multi-tasking
Cashier/Dishwasher
-multi-tasking
-working well with others
-working in a "behind the scenes" setting
- establishing an eye for detail
Cashier/Clothing Inspector
-working at an accelerated pace
-time-management
-keeping a positive attitude
-customer service
Music Missionary
-working as a team
-adapting to new environments
-recognizing a need
-listening to people's problems
-improving communication
-creativity
-humor
-patience
Manager
-problem solving
-not sweating the small stuff
-marketing strategies
-improving morale
-creating a positive work environment
-organization
-efficency
I Wish It Were A Joke (21)
I am never someone who catches on right away when April Fools Day rolls around. If anyone is going to be fooled, it's going to be me. So this year, I was determined to be prepared. I prepared myself not to believe what people told me, and anything out of the ordinary would be scrutinized to the max.
So when I got a phone call from my Aunt saying that my Grandmother had collapsed in church, I refused to believe her. Yet, my aunt persisted. My Aunt had been visiting my Grandmother, and was scheduled to return home, and she needed someone to come and take care of my Grandmother. Nope. I still refused to be fooled. Finally I agreed to go up and see for myself what had happened, and sure enough, my Grandmother was laying on the couch, obviously not well. I felt terrible. I once again had been the fool, but this time, I had done so to myself.
I spent the rest of the day monitoring my Grandmother's blood sugar levels, making sure that she ate on a regular basis, and that she didn't try and overexhert herself. Finally I got in touch with my parents and they were able to make travel arrangements to return home from their vacation.
I have never been a fan of April Fools Day, and this year was no expection. I might not have had anyone play any pranks on me, but I had myself so worked up that I essentially played a cruel prank on myself. I spent so much time not wanting to be fooled that I fooled myself.
WC - 323
So when I got a phone call from my Aunt saying that my Grandmother had collapsed in church, I refused to believe her. Yet, my aunt persisted. My Aunt had been visiting my Grandmother, and was scheduled to return home, and she needed someone to come and take care of my Grandmother. Nope. I still refused to be fooled. Finally I agreed to go up and see for myself what had happened, and sure enough, my Grandmother was laying on the couch, obviously not well. I felt terrible. I once again had been the fool, but this time, I had done so to myself.
I spent the rest of the day monitoring my Grandmother's blood sugar levels, making sure that she ate on a regular basis, and that she didn't try and overexhert herself. Finally I got in touch with my parents and they were able to make travel arrangements to return home from their vacation.
I have never been a fan of April Fools Day, and this year was no expection. I might not have had anyone play any pranks on me, but I had myself so worked up that I essentially played a cruel prank on myself. I spent so much time not wanting to be fooled that I fooled myself.
WC - 323
Letting My Voice Be Heard (20)
I have never been one to really embrace the idea of "public speaking". I am not sure if it because I am as introverted as they come, or simply because I haven't found something I am passionate about to speak freely about. During high school, I would do anything I could to get out of speaking in front of my class. I would honestly have rather done a major research paper, than get up and have to talk in front of people, even if just for a couple minutes. With all that in mind, my decision to go on the road for a year was shocking, to say the least. I would be talking, very publicly, for an entire year, and I volunteered to do it! That was so unlike me. But after getting my feet wet in the public speaking world, I realized it wasn't as bad as I had made it out to be. I still didn't love it, but everytime, I survived, and I was just that much more confident in my abilites. I also realized that it was much easier for me to speak in front of a crowd of people that I didn't know. The second you threw someone into the crowd that I was familiar with, I would go back to my shy self.
I realize I may never be very confident in my abilities to be a public speaker, but I do realize that I am getting better. I also realize that I will never be a professional public speaker, so I am okay with the fact that I might not have mastered this particular art quite yet.
I always think it is important to have a goal, so I will continue to work on my public speaking skills, and it is my hope that maybe someday I will be stronger in the field.
WC - 311
I realize I may never be very confident in my abilities to be a public speaker, but I do realize that I am getting better. I also realize that I will never be a professional public speaker, so I am okay with the fact that I might not have mastered this particular art quite yet.
I always think it is important to have a goal, so I will continue to work on my public speaking skills, and it is my hope that maybe someday I will be stronger in the field.
WC - 311
Friday, March 30, 2012
Someone to be admired (19)
When I was younger, I was a hard-core basketball player. I lived basketball, I breathed basketball. It was my life. Every day after school, I went to practice, and almost every weekend there was a tournament to play in. During the summer, I went to basketball camps. It wasn't just a hobby, it was a passion. I was a part of a traveling team in the state. An elite team that you didn't try out for, but rather that you were recruited for. It was an honor to be a part of the team. Not because of the accomplishment that it was, but rather because it was the significant thing that shaped who I grew up to be. That had a large part to do with my coach. I started playing for the team when I was in fifth grade. There were only a few of us fifth graders. The league went all the way up to eighth grade. So from the fifth grade, all the way to the eighth grade, I was fortunate enough to have the same coach. I know that many people can write essays upon essays about why they admire their coaches, but in my case, the situation is different. The thing about my coach was that he was almost entirely paralyzed. He had a little bit of movement in his arms, but most certainly wheel-chair bound. Now, coaching basketball is an incredibly difficult feat for someone who does not have the luxury of conventional mobility. However, there wasn't another coach in the world that I would have rather had.
Many of the coaches that we went up against taught their players that the key to happiness was winning and that you must win at ANY cost necessary. My coach took the road less traveled. He taught us that basketball wasn't the only way to happiness, in fact, he taught us that to truly appreciate the game, we had to have our priorities straight. He told us every day that he didn't care if we won the first place trophy. He cared that we won the sportsmanship trophy. He had high expectations of how we worked as a team. Rather than scoring the point, we had to make sure that everyone from our team on the floor was passed the ball first. We weren't allowed to play dirty. It wasn't tolorated. But it was mandetory that win or lose, we talked with the other team at the end of the game, and found something to compliment them on. On my basketball team, we had a mandetory hour-long study hall before practice. We were expected to be on time and we weren't able to let our grades drop if we were hoping to start in the next game.
Now, you might be wondering if we were a team worth mentioning. We won tournaments, we even placed at state. I cherish those memories, but even more so, I cherish the life lessons that I learned from my coach. I cherish the fact that at the end of every practice, our entire team sat in a semi circle around our coach's wheel chair and talked about our highs and lows of the day. I admire my coach for taking the road less traveled, and I hope that when it is my turn to pass along wisdom, I remember the core truths that he lived by. That everyone can cross the finish line. Some people are first, and they might seem important, but it is the ones who help their fellow runner across the line that are remembered.
WC- 598
Many of the coaches that we went up against taught their players that the key to happiness was winning and that you must win at ANY cost necessary. My coach took the road less traveled. He taught us that basketball wasn't the only way to happiness, in fact, he taught us that to truly appreciate the game, we had to have our priorities straight. He told us every day that he didn't care if we won the first place trophy. He cared that we won the sportsmanship trophy. He had high expectations of how we worked as a team. Rather than scoring the point, we had to make sure that everyone from our team on the floor was passed the ball first. We weren't allowed to play dirty. It wasn't tolorated. But it was mandetory that win or lose, we talked with the other team at the end of the game, and found something to compliment them on. On my basketball team, we had a mandetory hour-long study hall before practice. We were expected to be on time and we weren't able to let our grades drop if we were hoping to start in the next game.
Now, you might be wondering if we were a team worth mentioning. We won tournaments, we even placed at state. I cherish those memories, but even more so, I cherish the life lessons that I learned from my coach. I cherish the fact that at the end of every practice, our entire team sat in a semi circle around our coach's wheel chair and talked about our highs and lows of the day. I admire my coach for taking the road less traveled, and I hope that when it is my turn to pass along wisdom, I remember the core truths that he lived by. That everyone can cross the finish line. Some people are first, and they might seem important, but it is the ones who help their fellow runner across the line that are remembered.
WC- 598
My Breath of Fresh Air (18)
One of my hobbies is hiking. I love escaping into the wilderness and embarking on an adventure. I love escaping the mass-hysteria of constant movement in the city and finding myself enjoying the moment of a close group of fellow hikers. All of us, experiencing a new perspective in a monotonous world.
The anticipation of accomplishment from completing a hike or the moment of relaxation when resting at the top of a mountain top. There is no greater way to spend a day. What's more, I am a poor college student, and I can spend a day completely happy, without spending a dime. I can walk out of my house and find myself on a hike in a matter of minutes.
The beauty of a hike is that no two hikes will ever be the same. I have hiked the same trails multiple times, and each time there is something new to see. Nature doesn't stay the same. Seasons change and aspects of nature come and go. You learn to appreciate them in that moment, but not expect them in the future.
WC - 317
Sterotypes (16)
The way that I look at sterotypes has changed drastically over the past five years. I have come to realize, almost instantaneous, when I sterotype people, whereas, years ago, I didn't always notice. It all started when I was on the road. We traveled on average to six new cities every week. With those new cities, came a wide variety of new people. At first, I didn't always see the "wide-variety". I saw the jock, the brain, the princess...heck I saw the whole Breakfast Club. I saw people how I thought I was supposed to see them. It wasn't until I spent time with people that I considered to be so "alike" because of how they looked or how they carried themselves that I realized just how different they actually were. That is the only reason that I could assume that sterotypes exist. The reason being that certain individuals register as the same because of similar surface characteristics. The SURFACE. What we see. Not what we experience from being around the individuals. To prove a point, I would like to share an encounter I had with two girls, twins actually. From the outside, they didn't look like they cared about besides what people wore or who they were friends with. In Hollywood, these girls would have been written into the story as the sterotypical "dumb blonds". You know, the ones who twirl their hair and who don't speak with words, but simply with letters, like OMG or BRB. In fact, that is what I expected from these girls. The set of them. Suprisingly enough, this couldn't be further from the truth. These two girls couldn't be more different. And even more suprisingly, they couldn't be more different from one another. One was deeply philosophical and one was obsessed with sports. The girls I ended up meeting were polar opposite to what I had expected. It was in that moment, that I realized I needed to meet people before I presumed to know them. I needed to have a conversation with them and allow them to be who they were and not who I expected them to be. After all, that is what I would hope people who do for me. This has significantly changed the people and the blessings that have walked into my life, and that is why I am so thankful for being so painfully aware of sterotypes.
WC - 401
WC - 401
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