A quote to start off this post:
"Each of us has much more hidden inside us than we have had a chance to explore. Unless we create an environment that enables us to discover the limits of our potential, we will never know what we have inside of us."
-Muhammad Yunus
I'd like to think that this quote sums up the goal of this class and our responsibilities as Greeks. But on with the show:
The mission: Interview Greeks from different councils and get the scoop on what values and rituals mean to them and return to Mission Control by 5:30pm.
Our Strategy: Walk down 15th avenue and start knocking on doors while calling our contacts from other councils.
The Debrief: Team MCGC, down 2 vital members, managed to interview 3 PHA members, 3 IFC members, 1 NPHC member, and 3 MCGC members. During our mission, we came across the same general answers such as service and brotherhood/sisterhood. One response was even partying. Which makes me wonder, do we as a community truly understand our values? Ritual was also a tough question. The first response was "Ritual? Uhhhh..." The consensus was that it was a way for current members to connect with past generations and strengthens the bonds between members. What I did not have a chance to ask was, "What does it do for you, personally?" Nor did they offer their own opinions.
The Conclusion: I'm not too sure that our community walks the talk. Are we living the ritual? No one I asked told me their mission statement/creed unprovoked. Now, I know I'm not perfect, so I can't be the one to point the finger. I'm just as guilty as the next person. But I'm willing to work on it. It's one of the reasons why I took an e-board position on my council. I have no choice but to start walking to talk if I'm to gain the trust of my council members and peers.
So what happened? I think a re-evaluation of our values and the meaning of the Ritual happened. It broke my heart to hear someone say that his chapter's values were "sex, drugs, and fraterol." That is a huge giant step back and if our own members aren't willing to challenge and change the Greek stereotypes, I don't know how much we can do. It was disheartening to hear that. A group of us sat there, thinking, "This guy for real?" Here we are, a dynamic group of students, but I feel as if we're preaching to deaf ears.
But on a lighter note, I did feel that we bonded as a council. Walking out of Stillman, we were thinking "uhhhh we don't know any of the houses." We thought we would just walk around and call friends we had. But we had a mission, and the three of us marched toward 15th. We decided to knock on doors and go up to people. Surprisingly, we did pretty well for just 3 people. It was a total team effort and I was happy to walk back with the results we had. Granted, it might not be as much as the other councils, but I am more happy with the fact that I feel closer to them as a council than I had before. It makes me that much more excited to start our positions and lead our council.
And, last but not least: This mission was a microcosm of the next 52 weeks and on, of going out into our community and trying to bring awareness to what Greeks stand for and our potential as future leaders. Friday was focusing on values, but we have so many other aspects to focus on. Our work is just beginning!! This activity was just a taste of what we can expect, especially what obstacles we're going to face. If Greeks think that their chapter values partying, we have a long road ahead of us. But I know we're all up to the challenge!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
My values? Where do I begin?!
First and foremost, my faith in God is one of the most important things to me and is what guides me. A lot of my values have their foundation there. I try to live my life the way I was raised, by respecting others and being helpful to others. Second, I would say that I value family and friends. My mom has taught me that you will always have family no matter what. When you need someone for anything, family will be there. I am really close to my family and I am so blessed to be able to see them as often as I do considering that the majority live in Puerto Rico. I consider my friends my extended family. I often take for granted the individuals who know me so well and help me out with anything.
I also value laughter, personal growth, and balance. Days seem worse if you don't cut yourself some slack and laugh. You may not want to laugh at a particular instant, but as the time goes by and you move on, life will be easier if you can laugh at yourself. I am a firm believer in always being aware of who you were, who you are, and who you want to be. OSU has changed me in so many ways, and I appreciate it so much because of how I was in high school. I've slowly been watching myself grow up into a young, responsible adult, and I can see how it's building the foundation for the person I will be in the future. I truly have grown personally. I also value balance because life gets out of control sometimes and it is important to take the effort to find your happy place. I love being involved around campus but it gets difficult juggling school, friends, parents, and other responsibilities. I learned last year how vital it is for me to make time for myself, to find that balance that keeps me from going crazy.
I am my values. If you were to take away everything I cherish and believe, you would have the physical Laura, the skin and bones of her. I react the way I do and feel the way I do because of my values. My character and my values go hand in hand. I don't think I can have one without the other. When I get asked, "So tell me about yourself," I talk about my values. I guide my actions with my values... or at least I try to. Reading about congruency of values and how hard it can be makes me feel better.
When doing last week's activity, I found that a lot of my values were shared by my council. We all decided that balance, friendships, enjoyment, growth, and integrity were important to our council and those went along with my values as well. It was nice discovering that I shared the same values as my council. I think it's a good sign of what's to come. If our council can agree on what's important to all of us, then it will make it easier for us to work together and bring about change.
I think that my values are shared within my community here at OSU and outside of the university. As a Greek community, we value friendship and family, in the form of our sisterhoods and brotherhoods. How we treat our blood family should be no different than how we treat our Greek family. And I think family values can be applied to the outside community as well. By treating our community as family, we work hard to make sure we do the best we can for our neighbors. I think generally people value the same things, just not to the same extent as others.
Marting Luther King. Jr. once said, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment."
To go along with Dr. King, I think that our values intertwined create our sense of community because we believe in the same things and cherish the same things. We are all one community because we share mutual feelings and work together. So my values work together with the values of others to build on our community.
First and foremost, my faith in God is one of the most important things to me and is what guides me. A lot of my values have their foundation there. I try to live my life the way I was raised, by respecting others and being helpful to others. Second, I would say that I value family and friends. My mom has taught me that you will always have family no matter what. When you need someone for anything, family will be there. I am really close to my family and I am so blessed to be able to see them as often as I do considering that the majority live in Puerto Rico. I consider my friends my extended family. I often take for granted the individuals who know me so well and help me out with anything.
I also value laughter, personal growth, and balance. Days seem worse if you don't cut yourself some slack and laugh. You may not want to laugh at a particular instant, but as the time goes by and you move on, life will be easier if you can laugh at yourself. I am a firm believer in always being aware of who you were, who you are, and who you want to be. OSU has changed me in so many ways, and I appreciate it so much because of how I was in high school. I've slowly been watching myself grow up into a young, responsible adult, and I can see how it's building the foundation for the person I will be in the future. I truly have grown personally. I also value balance because life gets out of control sometimes and it is important to take the effort to find your happy place. I love being involved around campus but it gets difficult juggling school, friends, parents, and other responsibilities. I learned last year how vital it is for me to make time for myself, to find that balance that keeps me from going crazy.
I am my values. If you were to take away everything I cherish and believe, you would have the physical Laura, the skin and bones of her. I react the way I do and feel the way I do because of my values. My character and my values go hand in hand. I don't think I can have one without the other. When I get asked, "So tell me about yourself," I talk about my values. I guide my actions with my values... or at least I try to. Reading about congruency of values and how hard it can be makes me feel better.
When doing last week's activity, I found that a lot of my values were shared by my council. We all decided that balance, friendships, enjoyment, growth, and integrity were important to our council and those went along with my values as well. It was nice discovering that I shared the same values as my council. I think it's a good sign of what's to come. If our council can agree on what's important to all of us, then it will make it easier for us to work together and bring about change.
I think that my values are shared within my community here at OSU and outside of the university. As a Greek community, we value friendship and family, in the form of our sisterhoods and brotherhoods. How we treat our blood family should be no different than how we treat our Greek family. And I think family values can be applied to the outside community as well. By treating our community as family, we work hard to make sure we do the best we can for our neighbors. I think generally people value the same things, just not to the same extent as others.
Marting Luther King. Jr. once said, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment."
To go along with Dr. King, I think that our values intertwined create our sense of community because we believe in the same things and cherish the same things. We are all one community because we share mutual feelings and work together. So my values work together with the values of others to build on our community.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
How far do you wanna go?
I've been sitting here at SEL, hoping for inspiration to suddenly take over and help me write a thoughtful entry. Maybe I'm trying too hard or it's writer's block at its best. Usually when this happens, I listen to music. In this case, a song by Gloriana played on my ipod and I think it has a good message.
It's challenging us. How far do we want to go as a chapter, as a council, as a class, as a community?? The song is about changing the status-quo. I especially like these lines:
"Bigger dreams came from smaller things baby
Yeah maybe we are a little crazy
But I see that look in your eye
And I can tell your ready to roll
I just need to know
How far do you wanna go?
How far do you wanna go?"
I think we all agree that we want to be change agents for our community. But are we ready to push our limits and be innovative? I know that in the past, my chapter has really turned things around for the better, realizing that things needed to be different. And although they met a lot of criticism, they knew they were doing the right then and kept moving forward. We as a chapter know how far we want to go and try everyday to keep that goal in mind.
It's challenging us. How far do we want to go as a chapter, as a council, as a class, as a community?? The song is about changing the status-quo. I especially like these lines:
"Bigger dreams came from smaller things baby
Yeah maybe we are a little crazy
But I see that look in your eye
And I can tell your ready to roll
I just need to know
How far do you wanna go?
How far do you wanna go?"
I think we all agree that we want to be change agents for our community. But are we ready to push our limits and be innovative? I know that in the past, my chapter has really turned things around for the better, realizing that things needed to be different. And although they met a lot of criticism, they knew they were doing the right then and kept moving forward. We as a chapter know how far we want to go and try everyday to keep that goal in mind.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Help Haiti
I'm terrible with names, so I don't remember who brought up the idea in class yesterday. I've been searching the internet for some information and I've come across some websites that might point us in the right direction.
CNN's Impact your world: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/
It lists a bunch of charities and groups them according to area of focus.
Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004
Rates charities and provides tips
I read that the best way to help is to give financial aid because those down there helping have a better understanding of what supplies they need and it saves on shipping costs.
I've never done something like this, so I'm not really sure the proper procedure. Maybe we can collect change from students on the oval, sell hot chocolate, set up buckets in different buildings on campus? If anyone is familiar with stuff like this, I'm willing to help out.
CNN's Impact your world: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/impact/
It lists a bunch of charities and groups them according to area of focus.
Charity Navigator: http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1004
Rates charities and provides tips
I read that the best way to help is to give financial aid because those down there helping have a better understanding of what supplies they need and it saves on shipping costs.
I've never done something like this, so I'm not really sure the proper procedure. Maybe we can collect change from students on the oval, sell hot chocolate, set up buckets in different buildings on campus? If anyone is familiar with stuff like this, I'm willing to help out.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Sandwich-making in class?!
Why did we choose to start a class about fraternal change with a service project, and what did you learn about yourself and your peers as a result of our shared experience today?
Clearly, I've waited some time to answer this question. When Tyler first gave us the prompt, no clear answer came to mind. There was no obvious answer, and maybe that's one of the reasons he asked the question. What good is it to ask a question to which we all know the answer? If that was the case, there would be no reason for this class.
I think Tyler and Maggie picked a service project to start the class because it is one of the fundamental reasons we choose to be leaders and take part in extracurricular activities. Greek life as a whole is meant to serve. Serve what/whom? The student body and the outside community. It is so important to the Greek community that it's included in our Standards of Excellence. Service can be applied to so many things, and people have lots of opportunities to serve in different ways. I also think Tyler and Maggie wanted to show us how simple service can me. In Pay it Forward, he had an idea and implemented it.
I learned from class that we all want the same things for the Greek community. We want to see it grow and improve from where it is now. More importantly, we've all decided to take on the responsibility of initiating change. I think we all had fun making sandwiches and getting to know our partner(s). I was ready for the usual lecture, but the change really made the class that more enjoyable. I think we're ready to have some fun with our class.
Clearly, I've waited some time to answer this question. When Tyler first gave us the prompt, no clear answer came to mind. There was no obvious answer, and maybe that's one of the reasons he asked the question. What good is it to ask a question to which we all know the answer? If that was the case, there would be no reason for this class.
I think Tyler and Maggie picked a service project to start the class because it is one of the fundamental reasons we choose to be leaders and take part in extracurricular activities. Greek life as a whole is meant to serve. Serve what/whom? The student body and the outside community. It is so important to the Greek community that it's included in our Standards of Excellence. Service can be applied to so many things, and people have lots of opportunities to serve in different ways. I also think Tyler and Maggie wanted to show us how simple service can me. In Pay it Forward, he had an idea and implemented it.
I learned from class that we all want the same things for the Greek community. We want to see it grow and improve from where it is now. More importantly, we've all decided to take on the responsibility of initiating change. I think we all had fun making sandwiches and getting to know our partner(s). I was ready for the usual lecture, but the change really made the class that more enjoyable. I think we're ready to have some fun with our class.
Monday, January 11, 2010
"I can write a blog. I have thoughts!"
Every time I think about what to write, the movie Julie & Julia comes to mind. For those of you who aren't familiar, I'll do a quick recap:
Julie Powell, the protagonist, decides she's going to start a blog after one of her friend's blog gets picked up for a movie (or book. I saw this on my flight to PR and I fell asleep). Her blog chronicles her journey cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook over the course of a year. By the way, it's based on a true story, Julie's book about her experience with the blog.
My point is that the one line that sticks out is when Julie says, "I can write a blog. I have thoughts!" implying that what she has to say is as important as anyone else's thoughts, and that they're good enough to people to hear. It's the same way I feel about this blog. We all have thoughts about leadership and making a difference in this world, so why not say it loud for all to read? I was thinking we can all share this blog at our chapter meetings, or if someone says something in particular you think your chapter should hear. This class isn't just for us, it's for us to take to our councils and chapters to start bringing change about. Post your blog on facebook or twitter. Who knows? Maybe we'll start an entire blogging phenomenon. On Friday, Tyler and Maggie kept emphasizing how this class will transcend our ten-week period. I think this is a good way to ensure that.
Julie Powell, the protagonist, decides she's going to start a blog after one of her friend's blog gets picked up for a movie (or book. I saw this on my flight to PR and I fell asleep). Her blog chronicles her journey cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook over the course of a year. By the way, it's based on a true story, Julie's book about her experience with the blog.
My point is that the one line that sticks out is when Julie says, "I can write a blog. I have thoughts!" implying that what she has to say is as important as anyone else's thoughts, and that they're good enough to people to hear. It's the same way I feel about this blog. We all have thoughts about leadership and making a difference in this world, so why not say it loud for all to read? I was thinking we can all share this blog at our chapter meetings, or if someone says something in particular you think your chapter should hear. This class isn't just for us, it's for us to take to our councils and chapters to start bringing change about. Post your blog on facebook or twitter. Who knows? Maybe we'll start an entire blogging phenomenon. On Friday, Tyler and Maggie kept emphasizing how this class will transcend our ten-week period. I think this is a good way to ensure that.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
And so we begin!
I never thought about starting a blog before. To be honest, my day-to-day activities are not that interesting. But I'm trying to keep an open mind. I mean, how hard can keeping a blog be? Lots of people are bloggers, so why not just go for it?
As for the questions Tyler asked, I am a third-year chemical engineering student minoring in Spanish. When I'm not doing homework in Koffalt, I do enjoy running and spending the weekends unwinding with my friends. I'm pretty outgoing and I like to talk to everyone, so I hope you are willing to make some new friends.
The reason I joined my fraternity was because I was attracted to their sense of family here on campus. The Latino culture is very family-oriented, so it's nice to be able to share that same feeling with other students. At home I'm very much connected to my culture but during freshman year, I felt I was missing that connection. I found it in my fraternity.
Honestly, reading the entire Blogabus was overwhelming yet inspiring. Wanting change is one thing, but actively pursuing change is daunting. Reading it was a nice break from the usual syllabus format, though. All the youtube videos added a unique touch also. This class will definitely be different from the kinds of classes I'm used to taking. I'm hoping that since Tyler and Maggie seem really excited to teach this class, some of that enthusiasm will rub off on me.
Now that wasn't so bad. I think I could get used to this. Here's to blogging!
As for the questions Tyler asked, I am a third-year chemical engineering student minoring in Spanish. When I'm not doing homework in Koffalt, I do enjoy running and spending the weekends unwinding with my friends. I'm pretty outgoing and I like to talk to everyone, so I hope you are willing to make some new friends.
The reason I joined my fraternity was because I was attracted to their sense of family here on campus. The Latino culture is very family-oriented, so it's nice to be able to share that same feeling with other students. At home I'm very much connected to my culture but during freshman year, I felt I was missing that connection. I found it in my fraternity.
Honestly, reading the entire Blogabus was overwhelming yet inspiring. Wanting change is one thing, but actively pursuing change is daunting. Reading it was a nice break from the usual syllabus format, though. All the youtube videos added a unique touch also. This class will definitely be different from the kinds of classes I'm used to taking. I'm hoping that since Tyler and Maggie seem really excited to teach this class, some of that enthusiasm will rub off on me.
Now that wasn't so bad. I think I could get used to this. Here's to blogging!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)