Welcome! Click any of the 5 buttons above to begin.
Entrées - Entries
Profil - Profile
Amis - Friends
Parlez - Tagboard/Discussion Space
Mémoires - Memories/Archives
Stick around if you have some time and listen to some awesome songs!
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
This past weekend I went off on a retreat with my fellow Orientation Leaders (OLs) for summer 2009 and participated in many team building activities. A group of seemingly all strangers stuck together with minimal contact to the outside world at the Marin Headlands didn't sound like too much fun to me. Yet this weekend with this group of strangers turned out to be one of the most memorable occurrences of 2009. Many of the activities we took part in pushed us out of our comfort zone in order to expose the real us for all to see, something not many of us were comfortable with at first. But at the end of the retreat, we were all pretty much fine with opening up with each other, even if we didn't share the full story. I walked out of the retreat knowing that I now have a new family and support group that I can add to my system of support in case I feel that I ever need to talk to anyone.
I'm sure you're wondering what the point of this post is, and you're probably saying, "Hey, if all you're doing is bragging about your new buddies, then I don't want to read this anymore." Well, there is in fact a moral to this story. Being open to new experiences and welcoming of others is something that we as humans are not naturally good at, as society tends to push us in the direction of stereotyping and prejudging. But we should learn to be accepting of people in what we do and what we say because you would be surprised at which people you have amazing chemistry with, even though you may have already written them off as someone you would never click with. Learn to communicate with others not only through words, but through actions, and never be afraid to ask a friend for help because communication is the life blood of teamwork, and without it everything would just crumble. And with that, I would like to close this post with one last thought; No matter who you are, what your story is, or what your heritage is like, learn to be accepting of others and welcome them with an open hand, because an open hand is easier to work with than a closed fist.
Much love and many snaps to the OLs, my friends and peers. Let's make it a good year!
Labels: accepting, communication, help, OL, orientation leader, prejudging, retreat, stereotypes, support, teamwork
I am currently a graduate student studying education and will update my thoughts and experiences here periodically. Though the content of my blog may not always be the most intellectually stimulating, I believe that there is always a lesson to be learned from my posts, even if it's just a nonsensical story. I find poetry in ordinary life experiences and capture what memories I can through my camera's lens. At the end of the day I'm just another regular guy who needs to write his thoughts somewhere, and I hope you get some enjoyment out of my musings.
All of the best,
BK
Flo Y.
Andrew J.
Justin Y.
David H.
Lawrence S.
Richie P.
Connie C.
Davic C.
Karla Q.
Uyen L.
Shannon Y.
Bou P.
Steph L.
Nah L.
Katie T.
Jenny N.
Liz N.
Trinh H.
Sara K.
Ashlie M.
January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 January 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 November 2010 February 2011 May 2011 October 2011 January 2012 March 2012 September 2013 September 2014