Never the End, but rather the Beginning again

Hi fellow ELPers!

When I first thought about taking this class over a quarter ago, I had a few hesitations. Some people I had talked to that had taken this class fall quarter were not too fond of it, and I was nervous about what taking twenty units would do to my social life and sleep levels. Even after enrolling, people would ask me how many classes I was taking this quarter and when I would respond with "Six!" they would tell me I was nuts. But I knew I wanted to take this class because it embodied exactly what I wanted to get out of Santa Clara, a small unusual learning environment, surrounded by people who wanted to make a difference, both at SCU and also in an even bigger context.

And what do you know, but dreams can come true! This class was everything I had hoped for and more. Each one of you surprised me with your depth (especially as freshies, we can all still put a mask sometimes) and your motivation. Many times I think to myself (maybe slightly selfishly) that I am the one who is trying and organzing more than others. But being around such hard-working people made me feel like I wasn't doing enough, and thank you for that. I would take twenty units over again in a heartbeat.

I think my favorite part of the class was blogging and reading everyone else's blogs. Blogging because it forced me to look inward, at what makes me tick, what I value, and who I want to be. This was wonderful; I often think people don't look inward enough in our fast-paced world. And reading everyone else's blogs was also an incredibly special opportunity because it is not often that you can look into the mind of another, and see their thoughts, delights, and fears. Some of you were an inspiration with the way you explored yourselves.

What I look forward to growing in leadership development is meeting people who will make me question what I believe. I think it will polarize me in one way or another, making my beliefs on the subject stronger, or changing them, but I do want to be questioned and to explore how I think and feel. I think leadership is the perfect opportunity to do this because as we saw in the SCM, change is a main focus. I want to meet diverse people who will introduce me to their way of thinking, and to see how I react.
Additionally, I would like to grow to be a leader who can take on any challenge but also understands that sometimes they must say "no." It is truly an art to allocate your time in the most efficient way, and still be happy with what you do, and I hope to be someone who can do that.

Thanks everyone for an amazing quarter and good luck with future endeavors!
Finally, a shout out to our vivacious "practitioners" and buddies, Lori and Casey!! The class wouldn't have been the same without you!


And now I leave you with one of my favorite Harry Potter quotes, kinda in response to whether heroes are both or made.

The Opportunity Cost of Life, "What If?"

Webster's Dictionary defines opportunity cost as:

 "the added cost of using resources (as for production or speculative investment) that is the difference between the actual value resulting from such use and that of an alternative (as another use of the same resources or an investment of equal risk but greater return)"

Now this is a very economic-y definition of something we experience literally every day of our lives. And, what it means in laymen's terms is that opportunity cost is what you give up to do something else. It happens all the time. We give up eating a pizza to eat salad because of the added calories. We give up time spent with friends to hang out with our significant other. We give up money we could use on clothes or other activities away to save up for a big trip. All these decisions come to varying extremes, but opportunity cost in present in every decision we make.
And I am obsessed with it.

Everyone has a drug of choice in some way or another. For some people it's gambling, for others it's food, and even unfortunately for some it is drugs. For me, I constantly think of what I could be doing. Even when I am enjoying something completely I am always comtemplating if my time could be better spent or if I should be doing other things, or even what I'm going to do next. Many times it can be good for insight and planning in my life. I pride myself on being a practical person and I think some of it comes from being able to completely understand what benefits I will be able to get from a decision. It definitely has helped me look at a bigger picture too when thinking about what I want to accomplish in life and my goals.
But...
It also keeps me from totally enjoying the moment. Thinking about what I could be doing makes me totally stressed all the time. This doesn't mean that I'm not happy, or don't enjoy the things I'm doing, quite normally I do. But, for example, many times when I'm with someone I'm dating I think shouldn't I be out exploring the world and meeting hundreds of new people, instead of being on this date!?!?! Come on Christine, like you always tell every one else, you only get one chance on life!!! You need to go explore and create and find yourself! and then therefore I don't really enjoy the date.
It also makes me incredible indecisive when it comes to big decisions because I look so hard at the benefits of both options, that they both sound good and then I can't choose!


Leaders too I think have to re-learn how to handle this all the time, because each situation is different and so therefore the opportunity cost will be. Whether it be an ethical dilema or forsaking a few years of income to get a Masters' degree.

Obviously, I recognize this is something that I struggle with, and am trying to correct it. But it is hard to not think that you can always be doing something better with your time.

Thank you for reading ELPers! Hopefully you guys know that this wasn't a call for a mini violin while I have a pity party. I've really enjoyed getting to know each one of you through class and your blogs. You all are so special and have shared quite a lot. This is a challenge that I face in life and wanted well educated opinions. Goodluck with Week Ten everyone!!

Game Show Host! Tuckman's Stages of Group Development

Who wants to win a million dollars!?!?
Well unfortunately, ELP is one of my favorite classes this quarter, but I don't think even they offer a million dollars. Welcome to the game anyways!

The clip from "Remember the Titans" I think best describes Tuckerman's second stage of group development. From the clip, it is obvious that the players know each other, but they don't agree with one another's views. Specifically, race is the dividing factor. From the worksheet I think suppressed tension breaking is the conflict between the two players. Each has been holding back things that irritate them and they are at the, "Hey! I've got something to say point." The interaction between the two boys is definitely a storm at its height.

Next up, the video clip from "Coach Charter" is in my opinion the third stage, or "Norming" where the group has the feeling of, "We're all in this together!" There is conflict between the coach and the player who can't quite complete the workout, and is therefore punished. In this instance, it is the leader of the team or the coach who is too harsh on one of his players. His teammate (Channing Tatum) stands up for him and epitomizes the characteristics by helping the other player do the workout. The sense of commitment to one another shows the "cohesion of shared goals" and "acceptance of diverse people" that the team experiences.

Then, for the fourth stage of group development or "Performing," "Finding Nemo" seems to have it in the bag (get it?). It can be seen through the quick thinking and decision making ability on the part of the older fish and the rest of the fish crew in the tank when they need to save Nemo. If they had been in any of the other stages of development they wouldn't have been nearly as effective in their performance, because they would still be developing to what appears to be fluid cohesiveness. The creativity of launching the older fish out of the tank would only be accomplished by a group who knows and trusts each other.

Finally, Genie and Aladdin have the fifth stage of development: Adjourning. This was clearer because it was the end of the movie and the end of a team, just like this last stage. What doesn't appear though, is the negativity that the worksheet predicts. The two part ways eager to see each other again. It does leave the viewer with the thought of "Now, what?" which is the characteristic of this stage of development, and Disney gives you free range of imagination on this one.


Now for the one that was missing, Stage One: Forming!

Traditionally, I'm not an enormous fan of High School Musical, but this song "Stick to the Status Quo" really hits the nail on the head when it comes to "self-orientation" and "exploration and discovery of how to interact with one another as a group." We can see that high school is the group they are in, and with the arrival of a new group member, everyone starts to really try to find their place, the main characteristic of "forming." In the song, students reveal secrets that incite excitement and optimism and a little against the norm as well.