Effective Communication

So after this week's class I started thinking about what I could do to improve my communication skills. I've realized that whenever I have problems with communication it is usually because there is no follow-up. If I've asked someone to do something in a committee I assume it was done and done on time, which is not always the case. If I had taken the time to touch back with that person or group to make sure everything has been done it would really save me some headaches and time. Next year some sort of follow-up that I could use in the classroom could be something as simple as having a quick 'go around' where everyone says how they have used/will use what they learned from the last class period. This way I can gauge if the learning outcomes for last week were met or not.

Joke of the Week:
Two peanuts walk into a bar.

One was a salted.

Diversity

After reading the articles that Heath and Allie gave us this past week I have come to realize how little diversity is in my life. Like most all of the peer mentors I come from a very small town. For the most part everyone was christian, and everyone was white. Since coming to college I have been exposed to more diversity, but all of the people that I associate with on a daily basis are very similar to me. I suppose this is mostly because I am in the college of ag and an animal science major. It is pretty rare for someone of a different race or ethnicity to be in one of my classes. Some of the reason why there is a lack of diversity in my life would probably have to do with the fact that meeting and talking to people who are very different from me puts me outside of my comfort zone. I am usually afraid that I will say something to offend someone. But I have made it a goal to go outside of my comfort zone more often. I usually learn the most when I'm doing something that I wouldn't typically do.

Joke of the day:
What do you call a dog with no legs?

It doesn't matter what you call him he isn't going to come.

Awareness Assessment

After taking the awareness assessment that Lisa and Jenna gave us this week in class I was a little surprised with the results. I scored the lowest in the emotional awareness which is a category I thought I would score higher in. I don't ever really get stressed, even when I have a lot on my plate. The way I see it is the more you worry about all of the things you have to do or about the things that are going wrong in your life the less you do about it. I tend to take things as they come and deal with them accordingly.

What significantly dropped my score in emotional awareness is that I am not comfortable taking risks. I took a class in entrepreneurship and all I really learned was that I will most likely work for "the man." I hope to become better at being able to take risks as one of my future goals is to own and manage my own organic/all natural pork operation.

Amber's Joke of the Day:

How do you get a Kleenex to dance?
~Put a little boogie in it!

Chapter 4- Establishing and Maintaining Relationships

While I was glancing through chapter 4 before class the "why are we here" section caught my attention. In this section five ground rules were listed honesty, commitment, boundaries, confidentiality, and expectations. The ground rule that stuck out in my mind was boundaries, because it got me thinking about the conversation we had in class the other week about what to do if you see a mentee at a party. Although the book doesn't address this situation specifically my guess would be that the authors of our book would want mentors to leave the party. I personally have mixed feelings on this issue. Ultimately if I were in this situation, although I will be of legal age, I would leave the party. However, I would first approach my mentee and make sure that they are not there alone, have a designated driver, and that they are being responsible.