The End

It always surprises me when I make it through another semester.  This semester has been great! First semester in my program, first semester in the business school.  It has been hard and time consuming but worth it in every way.

This semester I have learned that relying on other people in your group can be one of the scariest but most rewarding acts of school.  There are some people you end up working with that you really don't know if they know what they are supposed to do.  But having that trust in them and relying on them to complete their part creates that trust in one another.

I was sitting in on a panel discussion and they said that the people in your classes are not your competition.  They are your allies.  We are here to help each other succeed.  That is what I have learned this semester.   Work with your peers, help them and they will help you.

Remote Meeting (Team Projects)

This was a new experience for me.  I don't know if I have ever done a remote meeting, probably because I don't really like them.  I feel that things get done quicker and more efficiently when everyone is all together in the same room. There is less confusion.

However, this remote meeting was a positive experience. We were all able to be together and work at the same time.  With the document open in front of all of us, we were all able to stay up on top of it, and not get confused or fall behind.  We were able to cooperate well, letting everyone have their turn to say something and add their voice into the project.

Professional Networking Event

I attended the Experience Industry Management Conference for the Recreation Management program on March 26 and 27.  This is a conference where professionals from all over the recreation industry come together and discuss new topics, network with each other, and get to know students preparing to enter the industry.

The different professionals there ranged from hotel management to city parks and rec.  This event was a great way to get a little inside on every different aspect in the recreation experience industry.

I thought this conference was one of the most useful events because of its wide range of professions.  There is never a bad networking opportunity.  Event just talking to someone for a small amount of time can open doors to your future. Because of this event, I was able to apply for a job and have connections to the general manager of the resort. I am still waiting to hear about the job, but I know that I have that much more advantage because of my interactions with other people.

Too Much to Do

This is the time of the semester when everything seems to be crashing down on you.  Not really but it always feels like that.
This also is a very important time of the semester when everything that is due has a great impact on your grade.
This is the time when you have to keep pushing on and keep going. I have decided to keep that motivation going.  It is hard to tell yourself that, especially when there are so many other things going on. But if you can tell yourself to keep going and remind yourself that the end is near,  you can accomplish everything!

You Have to Start at the Bottom...

Sometimes you have to start at the bottom. A lot of the time you have to start at the bottom. This week we had a guest speaker in one of my classes come talk to us about hospitality and hotel management.  He has moved up the chain rather quickly for most people in that profession.  But he stressed to us that it doesn't always work like that. It rarely ever works like that.

He told us that most of the time you will have to start at the bottom. You will have to do that grungy work that nobody wants to do.  But that grungy work can give you the best experience.  Employers see that you have the patience and ability to work through that not so exciting work and it can and will help you.

Motivation

I am currently reading a book called Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink. This book talks about the difference between intrinsic motivation (personally rewarding) and extrinsic motivation (physical reward).  Most people would think that receiving a physical reward like money or candy would make them more willing to accomplish. Through reading this book I have learned that being personally motivated can move me so much further in life than other things.

The author explains and shows multiple experiments that prove this common thought wrong.  When people receive a physical reward for something they do, they begin to think of it as a  job, a task that just needs to be checked off.  While when they are personally motivated to accomplish the task they have that personal desire and want to do it the best they can.

Continually having that intrinsic motivation can be challenging. Especially when we need those physical rewards to pay rent and buy food.  But if you can have that personal motivation in as many things as you can, your life can become so much more rewarding for you.

I Lived

Sometimes music is just the best thing.  It gives me a way to just relax and take a breather.  Some music just makes you feel good.  My feel good song for this week has been "I Lived" by One Republic.

One part of this song really has just pushed me through this crazy week. "I owned every second that this world could give."  This line of the song has given me a lot of motivation for some reason.  It has just made me want to use my time so carefully and really realize what I am doing every day.  Life has so much to give, and sometimes we get caught up in it that we don't really see what we are doing.  So to you, make sure you own every second.

Resources

This week was full of future things for me.  We had the mock interviews in class, I met with my career adviser to go over my resume and job applications and I met with my academic adviser to finish up my graduation plan.  Life is stressful.

Going through all of these things this week has taught me and shown me all the great opportunities for help that surround me.  I have friends and classmates that will give me their honest opinion and tell me what to fix.  I have an adviser that is helping me look and find internship opportunities and helping me really know what I want to do in the future. And I have an adviser that is helping me just make it through this thing called college.

Up until this year I haven't really taken advantage of these resources.  But I have learned that my life can be a little less stressful if I use them! They are there waiting to help me, I just have to let down my pride or whatever has been stopping me and go.

Work is Theater

I read a book for one of my classes this week and this was one of the chapters, "Work is Theater".   Before I started reading I was just confused and worried to no end.  I am not an actress, I don't like to act.  But the chapter began to explain how work is acting.  Not acting in a fake, trying to cover something up sense. But acting as in providing others with a more enjoyable experience.  

The main example that really showed this to me from the chapter was talking about a cashier at the grocery store.  The have two options when a customer comes up: they can either just rush through the groceries without talking or they can make it more enjoyable by talking, scanning the groceries a fancy way, or just trying to be happy.  

There are times not just at work but everyday when we don't feel like doing something.  We don't want to talk to others, or do anything.  But that is the job of life.  That is when the acting comes into place.  You aren't trying to cover up how miserable you are, you are just trying to make things more enjoyable and comfortable for others around  you.

Thank You

Thank you. It shows gratitude. It shows humility. It shows respect.  I think this week I truly discovered what can come from these words.  I have always tried to show thanks to those around me., no matter where I am or what I am doing.  I have tried to do this at work a lot lately.  Talking and improving that respect for my boss and supervisors.

I think people realize and notice those thanks more than I realized, until this week.  This week, my boss offered me the new supervisor position that will be opening up in the spring.  I am so excited and thankful for it.  But he told me that why he wanted me to take the position.  I had made an impact on him, through my work and my actions.

Team Building

This week I really learned the benefit of working with other people.  In one of my classes this week, we spent a whole class period doing team building exercises.  These exercises really opened my mind to the relationships that need to be built for a team to really understand one another and work together.  We went through and ice breaker exercise, communication exercise, and problem solving exercise.  During each of these exercises, each member of my team learned a little bit more about the other team members.  Even though we have been working together since the beginning of the semester, we were still able to learn something new from each other.

It takes a lot of trust and confidence in your team members to get things done.  The more I learn from them and not just use their ideas, but combine mine with them the greater our outcomes can be.  Everyone has different contributions to make and when there are ideas coming from every direction, you can be more creative.

Time

Time is a big part of life.  If you really think about it, time controls a lot of what people do every day. This week I learned a lot about how I spend my time.  I had to keep a time diary for 48 hours. I learned a lot about how my time is spent in these 48 hours. Along with doing this time diary we read Elder Oak's talk "Good, Better, Best" from October 2007 Conference.

I wasn't doing anything wrong with my time, but I realized I probably wasn't doing the best thing I could have been doing.

I decided this week to be better at using my time. I want to be better at using my time more effectively, and for better purposes.  I want to be more conscious of how I am using my time and what I can do for others more.



Good, Better, Best

Life...

In one of my classes this week we had an internship panel.  Former interns for the Marriott school came and talked to us about what to expect and look for in an internship.  As I was sitting there listening to them I realized my grown up life is now.  I need to start now, yesterday would have probably been a better time to start but now will work.  As they were talking to us, I realized the importance of networking and really becoming acquainted with all different kinds of people.  It is oftentimes through those people who we would not originally connect with, that we find those rare opportunities. This is my new goal, to put myself out there.  To get to know and become acquainted with those people who I wouldn't first think of.

Nothing Goes as Planned... Ever

This week I learned, or remembered, that nothing goes as planned.  We have plans and something always happens that disrupts those plans in some way.  And that is O.K.

It is okay that things go wrong with our plans.  I think that is one of the best ways for us to learn something new.  It proves to others that you can adapt and work around problems that come up unexpectedly.

This is something a lot of people could work on, even my humble self needs to be better at adapting to problems.  I think everyone can learn how to accept the problems that come up. If everyone understood that their planned out day is not going to go exactly how they planned it, there would be less stress in the world.

Creating A Balanced Life

Recreation. A lot of people think of recreation as just time away from work, a time to just relax. Which is true. I will not disagree with that one bit. But I don't think people understand just how important it is. This week I have been working on a paper for a class explaining the importance of recreation. Recreation needs to be a part of our everyday lives, it needs to have an important place in our personal lives and our relationships with others.

Think back to when you were a child, you probably spent a lot of time with your family.  Your memories consist of those family bonding times, that more often then not, involved some sort of recreation. Those are the experiences that create relationships.  Even here while I am in college, I have been able to establish deeper relationships and friendships with those who I find time to go on an adventure with more than those I sit in class with. Recreation creates a balance in our lives that keep us energized and motivated for life in general.

I know it can be hard finding that time.  Everyone in every stage of life seems to be running all day trying to get everything done.  I want that balance in my life.  I am going to begin incorporating more recreation in my week.  It doesn't have to be a grand adventure up to the top of the mountain. It just has to be something to get my mind off of school and work. A time for me to relax and enjoy myself and the company of others.

And so it begins

Well, the new semester has begun.  For me, this semester has already been a semester of change.  Little things like new classes and new work schedule of course are a part of these changes. But these changes also have been things such as moving apartments and starting my major.  It's all very exhilarating and exciting, but at the same time completely frightening.  I've never been one for change. Slow, prepared for it change has always worked for me, but, all at once everything is different change is...different.

This is a new time for me though. Throughout this change I have been able to see what I really want to improve in my life.  I have begun to see what I can add to this change.  I have begun to ask myself "What Now?"

I have been taking these changes and making them a part of me. This semester I want to be able to keep developing these changes and see how I can grow, see how the change can improve me. I am going to learn something new from them if it takes all semester to do it.