1. Why are you taking Leadership for Change?
I think I have a decent idea of what direction I want my life to go in. That being said, I've never been the kind of person to set goals or even been the kind of person to spend much effort thinking ahead. With a little over a year until I graduate college, I'm horrified about entering the uncertainty of "the real world", so I've decided that I need to work hard on giving myself the tools I need to be happy and productive with my later life.
Also, took a class last semester with Prof. Rockquemore and it was a great experience. She's a great person to be teaching a class like this one. (Forgive the "brown-nosing", I'm just being honest.)
2. What do you hope to get out of the course?
There are certain personality traits of mine that I've come to recognize as detrimental both to my productivity and to my life as a whole. I want to identify all similar personality traits and begin the hard work of putting them out.
Additionally, I would like to work towards making myself a more effective communicator.
3. Tell us about who you were as a child by answering the following questions posed by Barbara Sher (chapter 1): What especially attracted and fascinated you as a child? What sense (sight, hearing, touch) did you live most through, or did you enjoy them all equally? What did you love to do, or to daydream about, no matter how “silly” or unimportant it may seem to you now? What were the secret dreams, fantasies, and games that you never told anybody about? Does it feel like there’s still a part of you that loves those things? What talents or abilities might those early interests and dreams point to?
(As a preliminary note, I'd like to point out that the word "child" is ambiguous. For the purposes of this assignment I'm gonna use until about ten years old. I'd also like to point out that my memory on this is pretty vague, and there are probably people who know me now that knew me better then than I know my then-self now :-D)
What especially attracted and fascinated you as a child?
One of the things that I remember most in my childhood is that I spent a lot of time making stuff. I was a big fan of legos, model rockets for a little while, puzzles, stuff like that. I also liked making up games either with myself or with other people. I was also really active and spent a lot of time playing sports, being particularly drawn to baseball, extreme skating (ramps etc.), and roller hockey. I had a big thing about fantasy worlds with dragons and wizards and knights and all kinds of other geeky stuff. Also had a particular interest in space (p.s. Space Camp is one of the best things that ever happened to me, even now.)
What sense (sight, hearing, touch) did you live most through, or did you enjoy them all equally?
The sense question is a strange one. I'm really not sure, honestly. I'm inclined to say sight, but I think that's only because sight is the most frequently used sense. Although, I do have strong memory of there being a lot of primary colors in my childhood. Instead I think I'll say touch, except I'd like to expand touch to include feeling; from physical touching to include emotional feeling.
What did you love to do, or to daydream about, no matter how “silly” or unimportant it may seem to you now?
I kind of answered the question of what I liked to do previously (oops!), so I'll focus on daydreaming. The answer is that I truly have no idea. I really couldn't tell you. I have some recollection of wanting to go to cool new places, but I'm really not sure if that's accurate or not. I also wanted a time machine. Oh, and I remember taking plants and berries and flowers and stuff out of the yard and mashing them together to try to make "medicine" pretending to be, like, a shaman or something. As I'm writing, I've also remembered that I spent a LOT of time exploring, etc. Cool story: I had this dream once that I found "paradise", like a Shangri-La or something and it was really fun. When I woke up, I set off to try to find it in the local forest preserve. Guess what? I didn't find it.
What were the secret dreams, fantasies, and games that you never told anybody about?
Same answer as above, really. As far as games go, I had a million. A lot of my games were pretty competitive, but I usually only played against myself. I also remember that I put quite a bit of time and effort into not stepping on the cracks in streets or sidewalks. I didn't believe in that "break your mother's back" thing though.
Does it feel like there’s still a part of you that loves those things?
Yes, and it's a bit depressing knowing that a lot of those ideas and behaviors are pretty much phased out of my life. I've been growing up, what can I say?
What talents or abilities might those early interests and dreams point to?
I've realized some interesting things writing this. This is a fascinating assignment, by the way. One of the things I realized is just how much time I spent alone, which is quite a bit. I'm not really sure what that indicates, but I can definitely say that is neither true nor my preference now. I also realized that I was more left-brained than I seem to have thought. I still really like building/making stuff but haven't done much of it at all in recent times, although I did used to want to be an architect. I realized that I should go to the gym more often, because it's fun to play sports and it feels good to be healthy like that.
It's kind of frustrating, I feel like there are so many interests that I could be pursuing/working towards making a living on, but I really don't feel like I have TIME to do that. I waste a lot of time that I don't have to, thats the other thing. I should work towards better use and organization of my time. Another realization is that, despite spending so much time alone, I really think I'm pretty good at interacting with people and that I'm good with bringing people together as well as mediating conflict. Despite knowing this, I'm not the most confident in school or work situations that require utilization of those skills. I should be.
A random side note: If any Internet-surfing millionaires end up reading this and decide that they want to pay me to wander around the world, make stuff, talk to cool people, and write about my experiences, then I'm interested in excepting their endorsement. BUT, I only accept cash payment.
4. E-mail at least one person in your family who loves you, knew you when you were a child, and has internet access. Let them know you are taking this class and invite them to follow your blog.
I'm gonna go ahead and e-mail two people. My grandfather, Granddad Cannon (good name, isn't it), and my father-father, Daddo, Daddy-o, Poppola, Steve, Dude (and a vast assortment of other nicknames, all equally endearing and colorful). These two were chosen for their good advice, kind words, exceptional caring, and for the high degree of respect that I have for them (Not that these traits are exclusive to them, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I expect that their input into my experience in this class will be the most valuable.)
((They're also the best looking.))
SORRY THIS POST WAS SO LONG!!!
