"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors." Plato

GO Diversity Event:

As you can see, I enjoy using quotations for titles. Plus, I think it gives me a little more credibility. Although I do not entirely agree with this quote, I still believe that it is relevant to the GO diversity event I chose to attend. I attended the Post-Election Analysis lecture by Candy Crowley on Tuesday, November 13th. Personally, I am not very interested in the world of politics so I'm not sure why I chose this event, but it was still interesting and a learning experience.

Candy Crowley is CNN's award-winning political correspondent. She was asked to speak for the Fall 2012 Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics which  at the lecture I discovered is part of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women & Politics 20th Anniversary Celebration. I gathered that this was an incredible honor, not only for her, but for us for being alluded the privilege of hearing her speak about the 2012 Elections.

Crowley not only covered this past election, but also the presidential campaigns of Pat Buchanan, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, John Kerry, and Barack Obama. 

During the lecture she spoke from a Republican point of view. She spoke of the behind the scenes information about Mitt Romney and how he thought the election would turn out. She made it appear that because of inaccurate polls that did not account for all variables he thought he would win the election. Crowley seemed knowledge and it was interesting to have the opportunity to hear her opinion so recently after the election. It allowed me to reflect on what I believed and felt about the election. 

“Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” John Quincy Adams

How I have grown and what I have learned during my first semester at Iowa State and the Hixson program:

This semester has undoubtedly been a growth period for me. I have endured trials this first semester that  in any period previous to this would have knocked me on my face. I have developed time management skills as well as methods for coping with stress that have enabled me to overcome the various trials I explained in a previous post. I think my biggest lesson so far this year is that I cannot do everything on my own, sometimes I need to accept the helping hand that is outstretched to me by friends and family.

I am generally a very stubbornly independent person, but this semester has torn down some of those walls and forced me to realize that not everything is about myself and my ability to do things on my own. I have learned a lot from allowing others to help me. It also is a trusting factor, when I reach out for support those friends and family feel trusted by me which helps develop stronger relationships. 

Like the quote in the title of this post states, patience and perseverance are two lessons I have learned this past semester. I have discovered that patience is necessary always, but in college is even more important. Living with someone you hadn't met before, working in groups with people drastically different from yourself, enduring the types of random struggles I have had this year all require immense patience. Luckily, my roommate is easy to get along with and I haven't had too many group projects yet. :)

I don't think I have grown or changed too much, but I am sure that more growth is to come as I have put into more unfamiliar situations and pushed further and further outside of my comfort zone.

Opportunity (noun): a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success.

What does the Hixson award mean to me?

In short, the Christina Hixson Award means opportunity. Opportunity is defined as a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success. Another definition is a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal. The Hixson award means opportunity to me because it provided me with the financial assistance necessary in order to seek further education; without the Hixson award I may not have had the opportunity to attend college.

The Hixson award also means community. The community of appreciative students and helpful staff all working together in order to make the most of our experience at Iowa State is incomparable to any other organization. The help available from the Hixson staff and peer mentors builds the sense of community. Everyone in the Hixson program is dedicated to providing help and services and inclusion for all the recipients, but especially the first year students like myself.

The Hixson award signifies leadership. The leadership opportunities available through the Hixson program and the references that the program can provide, give us Hixson scholars the jump start necessary to build character and our resume. Leadership is one of the few qualities that are looked at by all professionals and graduate schools; leadership can transcend occupations and majors and is a necessary area in which to gain experience. 

Hixson award means investment. To invest: to use, give, or devote (time, talent, etc.), as for a purpose or to achieve something. By investing in our future, Christina Hixson is investing by give her time and money to provide us with purpose and the ability to achieve something. The Hixson award is an investment that will have far greater impacts than just a college diploma for a few students; it's an investment that will last many lifetimes after her own. By providing us with the opportunity for a college degree she is helping to provide careers and motivation to make a difference in this world. 

Hixson is opportunity, community, leadership, and investment.

“The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy, we can all sense a mysterious connection to each other.” -Meryl Streep

This week in Hixson Seminar we discussed Cultural Diversity. In lecture a guest speaker, Sylvester Gaskin, spoke about his experiences with cultural diversity and the various conceived definitions of diversity. The following Thursday in recitation we discussed our identities and how we have been influenced by cultural diversity. After evaluating my connections with diversity and dimensions of my identity I came to realize that I mostly have positive connotation with my identities and have not experienced times when it was particularly painful to be associated with such titles.

When filling out a worksheet about the dimensions of my identity I chose American, friend, middle class, Dutch heritage, female, sister, and Christian. I chose these because most describe uncontrollable descriptors of my identity, and the others such as Christian and friend are things by which I chose to identify myself. I believe that other people would agree with these identifiers because most are uncontrollable. I hope that I effectively live in such a way that points to Christ.

I don't remember many of the dimensions that others chose to describe themselves, but most of the girls chose female, and if I recall correctly most of us also chose to identify with being American. I remember specifically that my peer mentor also said sister because she is proud to be the sister of men who have fought in the military for our country. One difference I noticed was when someone said that it is painful at times to be a student because of the financial burden. I disagree, I feel I am blessed to have been afforded the opportunity for education especially with the financial assistance of the Hixson Award.

This week when I see people who are different from myself I will try to be intentional not to first respond with judgement but with understanding and an open mind. When friends or acquaintances are struggling with something I won't think that they are overreacting or just complaining because you never know how many trials and burdens on their heart they're facing at that time.

“Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not - and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation - in its’ arguably most [transforming] and [revealing] capacity it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.” 
― J.K. Rowling

Social Media Week

In the week following Social Media Week, I had so many unfortunate events that I titled it the "Series of Unfortunate Events." Social Media Week feels like it was weeks ago, not just one. Before I blog about what I learned from that week, I am going to share what all occurred this week that has definitely changed my outlook on Social Media Week.

On Monday night on of our friends experienced spontaneous full body paralysis and went to the hospital. On Tuesday some friends and I missed a few classes to stay with her. She is still unable to walk without assistance.

On Wednesday night 4 other girls and I were headed to Cedar Falls for the Salt Company kick-off for UNI. On the way, only about 20 minutes from Cedar Falls I hit a deer with my car going about 70 mph. My car is totaled, but all the passengers are fine! 

Don't forget that I still have a broken arm from the second week of school. 

On Saturday my brother started getting a backache which progress on Sunday morning into severe pain in his neck, chest, and collar bone area. He spiked a fever on Monday of 103 and was in even more pain. I took him into the McFarland Clinic Tuesday to see what it was and we were sent to the hospital for a CT scan and now he has been admitting for test, antibiotics, and pain medicine. He have no idea what it is for now or how long he'll be in the hospital. Last night he spiked a fever of 104.3. So please just keep DJ and our family in your prayers. He'll be poked and prodded quite a bit for the next day or so. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors treating him, and peace for his mind as he is stressing about classes and other commitments.

As you can see, I have had a week of trials that have forced me to surrender to the strength and stability of God. As I sit down to write this blog from my brother's hospital room, I can't find the interest for Social Media Week, but I will try to answer the assigned questions.

I chose to engage in Twitter for Social media week. I learned that if you hashtag the same thing for 20 tweets in a row, people tend to get curious and ask questions. I also learned that if you tweet big organizations they often say thanks for the mention! Whoo. Go AOTA. I already use twitter fairly regularly, and I enjoy that type of social media; however, I did not consider using it to get name-recognition for education and my career. I agree with the article about how twitter can boost your happiness. Through all my trials this week seeing the jokes and prayers sent over twitter and Facebook I have been encouraged and my spirits have definitely been lifted. I think God can use social media. I was surprised that social media can be used for survival. That's crazy! 

Social Media does have an impact on individuals and on populations of people. Its interesting to investigate the various effects of Social Media.

MBTI Reflection

What I learned about myself through Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

My results showed that I am ESFJ. Meaning that I am extroverted and gain energy from outer influences, I sensing in regards to my perception, reason with feeling, and I take on a judging attitude rather than a perceiving attitude.

I am highly extroverted according to both the self-assessment and the results from the MBTI survey. I would agree fully with this statement. I focus more on people and things rather than ideas, concepts and my own thoughts. I have highly active to the point of being "fidgety" at times. I often talk before thinking and use trial and error processing rather than thinking and considering outcomes. I gain all my energy from outside sources. I cannot even study alone, which can be a hindrance at times.

I am moderately sensing, which does not surprise me because the differences between sensing and intuition confuse me. I would agree that I am more attentive to the present, but my practicality also pushes me to think of the future when making big decisions. I like the "step-by-step" processes and pay close attention for small facts or details.

I am moderately feeling which I would fully agree with. Under most circumstances I reason with my heart instead of my heart. The only times that seems to differ is when I know that the feels of my heart may cause conflict with others which I try to avoid at any cost. I am trusting, often too trusting. Even though I consider myself more pessimistic, I often trust people without knowing them well. I value "warmth" in relationships. I love to dive into deep discussions with people near the start of relationships.

I take on a judging attitude rather than a perceiving attitude. I am clearly judging according to the assessment.  I would agree almost 100%. I love being the planner or organizer. I make lists for everything, from who I want to meet up with throughout the week to homework. I am goal oriented and enjoy keeping a prayer and goal journal so that I can see the progress being made. Closure in all circumstances is important to me. I enjoy knowing when something is finished and that it was finished in a good manner.

As a whole, I agree completely with the overall description of ESFJ. I would consider myself warm and sympathetic. I try to be personal-able and approachable. I am conscientious and loyal, valuing security and stability. I am highly uncomfortable with conflict. Usually others see me as sociable, enthusiastic, energetic, organized, and traditional.

Iowa State Bucket List

I have always been future minded with an over-active imagination. So thinking of a long list of things I would love to accomplish before leaving this campus was not a difficult thing for me to do. So in no specific here's my list of goals or tasks I hope to accomplish:

1. Go to a gymnastics meet
2. Climb the water tower
3. Hold a leadership position within an organization
4. Graduate in four years or less
5. Make it into my first choice grad school
6. Win an intramural t-shirt
7. Start a club (preferably whack-bat)
8. Go to 1 home event for every sport
9. Win something at bingo
10. Know everyone's name on my floor/in my house
11. Graduate with honors
12. Never fail a class
13. Go into every building
14. Polar plunge
15. Memorize the fight song
16. Rush the field
17. Go to every home football game in one season
18. Always maintain 15+ credits
19. Ride every color Cyride
20. Go to an away football game

As an extroverted person, I look forward to all the social event available at Iowa State. I want to take advantage of both academic and social opportunities during my 4 (or less) years here. I have not always been a sports fan, but I enjoy the atmosphere of events as well as the unity through school spirit. My education has always been a priority, and I want that to continue through my college career as well. I know that with the social activities available setting aside time for studies may be a struggle for me, so by making them a goal I will better find the motivation and determination to excel in my academics. As far as learning everyone's name on my floor, I believe that because college is one of the few times in life where we live with people and see them daily, it is one of the few times where we have that sort of sphere of influence. I feel like I could be a positive influence for the girls on my floor and I hope to develop relationships with all of them. 

I am looking forward to taking full advantage of the opportunities available through the university and other campus organizations. Go state!