Blog 9

At the start of the semester, I wasn't really sure how I would feel about the class. I was excited to hear that it wouldn't be following the same class structure as usual, and would instead be  discussion based. While I did appreciate that, I also underestimated how much I would take away from the class as well. I learned quite a bit about what it means to be a leader, and how different leadership styles can lend themselves to different scenarios. Through this, I was able to evaluate myself and see what my shortcomings as a leader may be.

Through the weekly blog I began to be more critical of my ideas on leadership, while becoming more open minded to others. Reading other students blogs allowed me a glimpse of a situation I wouldn't normally be placed in, and I was able to see how somebody else reacted and how it worked out for them. This alone is something I plan on taking away from this class, as I've never really been good at looking at a situation from a perspective other than my own. By being able to better accomplish this, I have noticed that I began becoming a better leader, just by becoming a better listener. By sticking with this, I believe I will have an easier time leading groups in the future.

Another big take away from this class is the activity we did about two weeks ago; where we were divided into different cultures and had to build a town. I had never really thought about how or why some people may see the system as unfair, but when I was casted as a Black person I was exposed to it. I had always heard of the stereotypes, but never really thought about them or how they can affect peoples lives. I always believed that since I don't have any stereotypes going through my head, nobody else does, but that was incredibly naïve of me. I see now that just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean that it doesn't happen at all, which seems like a very selfish way to word it.

My final take away has to do with how I view others. Like I said above, I usually only saw things from my perspective, and wouldn't understand how other saw things. However, after a few moments in this class I realized that I must be able to do that. If I kept going in life only accepting my view then it would be impossible to be an effective leader. To me, a leader is somebody who can see all sides, and knows when to concede leadership to somebody with a better perspective on how to handle certain situations.

This class to taught me a lot about what it means to be a leader and how to best suite oneself for the role. Not only did I learn about what techniques and strategies leaders use to improve themselves, but also how I can improve myself in everyday life.

Peck's theory

When looking at Peck's theory, I find I can easily apply it to my experience first joining my student organization, Camp Kesem. In brief, Camp Kesem is a national organization that was created to service the population of children affected by a family member’s cancer. We put on a weeklong sleep away camp for the kids, and then follow up through the year until next camp. For my first year, I was very uninvolved, at least until I got to camp. Upon arriving however, I began to join the community.

When I first got to camp after the 7 hour drive from Chicago, I felt like I wasn't truly part of the community. I didn't know many people, so it was kind of awkward for me, as I was definitely part of a psuedocommunity. We were all very courteous to each other, while also avoiding any type of conflict not to step on other’s toes. As I became more comfortable at camp and with my fellow counselors, there was for sure some chaos. There was some jockeying for power amongst some of the newer counselors, which is too be expected. Luckily, we took the path of emptiness, and we were able to overcome our barriers and communicate for the good of our cabin unit.

Around the second or third day, we were able to set our egos aside and look past our previous first impressions and start to work together. We were able to make a lot of progress towards making the camp a better place for the kids. Finally, by the fourth day we became a full-fledged community. We began to work together to overcome our issues, instead of just trying to solve them on their own. While it was tough, it was necessary, as we became a much better group, as well as more productive.

Once we reached a full on consensus and were all on the same page, our work became much better. We were able to anticipate each other, and jump out ahead of any problems that could have arose. It was also a much better feeling knowing we were all in agreement.

Target Identities

Growing up I always thought my issues and problems that were insurmountable, but that couldn't have been more wrong. I'm a white male, and I took that for granted for more than half of my life. I was never bullied for my skin color, or face challenges that others may have faced because of my gender. I can't even begin to comprehend how growing up with either of these target identities being different would change the person I am today. Nihal's story in class was very interesting to me, and made me think about how lucky I am to be born with the opportunities I had. Being born the way I am allowed me many opportunities that I may not have had I been born with either a different skin color, and/or different gender. Just by looking at me, the majority of people will have no preconceived notions of who I am, unlike they may have for others. However, this isn't always an advantage. One of the non-target identities I identify with deals with my father abandoning my mother and I shortly after my birth. Because of this, I faced many other challenges that most of my peers did not. While I consider this to be one of my defining traits, nobody can tell this just by looking at me. I struggled growing up because of it, which is a struggle nobody can know unless I tell them about it. I guess that it just shows how you can never really know somebody without taking time to learn about them.