My Story

It's kinda funny to be writing out my "story" because there are so many things that I want to include here, but I guess I will just stick to the major stuff.  I already covered a lot about myself in my first post, so lets go waaaaay back. 

I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio so I've known nothing but Ohio State from the beginning.  I grew up in Dublin and I love everything about that town. I have an older brother, Alex, who is finishing up classes at OU and planning on going into IT.  I absolutely adore my brother and appreciate that we have always been able to get along, I'm sure our parents appreciate it as well. I am very lucky to have parents who loved to travel so I was able to explore the world at a young age.  We went to France for a few weeks, a Mediterranean cruise which included Spain, Italy, and France.  We also took a few Caribbean cruises and trips to Cancun and Cabo.  We were very fortunate to have these experiences, the only down side is that I was so young I hardly remember most of them!

One of the biggest decisions I made at a young age was to join the cheerleading team at my middle school.  I don't really know why I wanted to do it, I just wanted something to do and was absolutely terrible at first.  The coaches I had in middle school gave me the foundation that I built my skills on and ultimately changed my life.  Cheerleading quickly became a passion and something that I could do well so I continued the journey through high school. I cheered for football and basketball, and I joined the competitive cheerleading team at my school. Competition cheerleading taught me a lot about being on a team and I had a blast doing it. All of my friends were on the competition team until my senior year. I had a tough decision to make. All of the seniors, and my friends, decided to quit the competitive team when our coach quit. It was something that I was passionate about but being in high school I just wanted to be with my friends. I tried my best to convince them to stay and it was no use. I made the tough decision to remain on the team while all of my friends quit. This decision shaped my leadership style and gave me my first real opportunity to lead a group. I felt a personal responsibility to the because if all of the seniors quit, who else would want to do it? I made it my mission to rebuild the team and recruit new members. The team we built was all new, new athletes and a new coach.  Since I was a veteran, the coach looked to me to assist her and build a bridge between her and the team. This role allowed me to find out the kind of leader I wanted to be and I am so happy that I made the decision to stay and endure the rebuild. I loved my high school career, but it wasn't over yet...

My mom practically forced me to try out at Ohio State. I wanted to be an Ohio State Cheerleader, but I was convinced that I was not good enough and would not make it. I tend to turn my back on things I fear, it's something that I have tried to stop because instead of facing a tough situation I just try to remove myself from it. My mom signed me up for stunting classes without my approval and did all of the appropriate research. I owe her everything. Finally try-outs came and they. were. terrifying. Roughly 80 girls were there for about ten open spots, and they were all talented. We went through a series of cuts, interviews, and a final routine over the course of three days. When they called my name on the last day was stunned that I had made the team with all of these incredible athletes. I remember being so shocked about it that it didn't hit me until I got into the car on my way home and I cried of happiness all the way back to Dublin. The experiences I have had while being an Ohio State cheerleader are one of a kind. I have had the privilege to be at every home football game, most basketball games and special university events. I could never put into words how much my team and this university mean to me after the experiences I have had with Ohio State cheerleading.

In all honesty I do not like the person I was growing up.  It is a tough time for everyone and I found that I caved into peer pressure and fell into a group of friends similar to a "Mean Girls" movie. I am annoyed that I spent so much time fostering fake friendships that made me into a bad person. I was finally able to find a group of people I enjoyed once I entered high school and I am still close with them today. My friend group has been with me through everything. We would hang out every weekend playing Taboo, watching movies and just sitting around talking. Those were honestly my favorite nights of high school. Ten of us would huddle up in my basement and just talk and laugh. I am so happy because the majority of these people are students at Ohio State so I can still see them. I am glad that I have been able to surround myself with positive, supporting and motivated people because I feel that I am a better person because of them. 

College has definitely been the time of my life.  I came into my freshman year convinced that I wanted to do something in medicine, such as physical or occupational therapy.  After realizing how difficult the classes are and thinking about how much free time I had, I decided to give up on pursuing a medical career.  I then decided to go into marketing, I'm honestly not sure why.  It must have been because I was most familiar with it, but there really wasn't a reason.  I felt so pressured to pick a major so I just sorta closed my eyes and picked one.  I am glad that I now enjoy marketing and I am excited about my future, but I will always wonder what would have happened if I stayed on my path.

I got involved in Kappa Alpha Theta and I have met some of the best people through Greek life.  As I said in my first post, both my mom and my grandma were Thetas at Ohio State, so it is really special to me.  I have a great support system in Theta with over 100 girls who I can call my sisters.  I often get asked how I can balance being an athlete, student, and being in a sorority and in all honesty I have no idea. I am hardly home and running around a lot, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I make it work because I want to make it work. I found that prioritizing the things I want in my life makes the balancing act a little easier, but there are times where I want to be two places at once.

As far as the future goes, I have some ideas of where I am going but they also depend on where my opportunities lie, where my relationship goes, and what my desires are.  I would like to study abroad in Hungary after I graduate in 2015 because athletics offers a few study abroad scholarships that I would love to have.  The company that I interned at this past summer, Cardinal Health, has a 3 year rotational program for Marketing that I am very interested in.  That means I would stay in Dublin for three years after graduation, but it would be a great opportunity. It's nice to have an idea of where I want to be, but I am up for anything!

Looking back on my life I realize that nothing went as planned.  I had a lot of ideas as to where I would end up, and I didn't really follow those plans.  Its best to just live your life one day at a time and let the future come to you :) So, that's my story (at least the big parts) so far.  I can't wait to see what the next chapters hold.

Feedback

For this assignment I chose to ask a senior member of my cheerleading team.  I chose this person because she has seen my leadership grow since freshman year.  She gave me both constructive and positive feedback.

She said that I have always done a good job of leading by example.  Ever since my first year on the team, I have tried to do what is instructed and followed the objectives of the team.  She noticed that as an upperclassmen I have been spending more time with the new members on the team in order to help them improve.  This is something that I have been striving to do not only in cheerleading, but in any situation.  I want the new members to feel welcome and know that they can always seek help from their peers.  I know what it's like to be bullied by and scared of leaders and I have always tried to make sure new members to an organization do not feel that way.

For constructive feedback, she said that I can sometimes be passive and avoid asserting my opinion to leadership and coaches.  I have noticed this about myself.  Now that I have been around the block, my opinion can actually be constructive and I think that I can do a better job at voicing my thoughts.  She commented on how I do not exude a lot of confidence in some situations that I could contribute to.

I was definitely nervous to do this assignment because it is hard to be vulnerable with someone, and ask them to be honest with you.  It was hard for me, but I imagine it was also hard for my teammate because she had to be upfront with me.  I was anxious to hear back from her, but I think it was very helpful.  It feels nice to have someone appreciate something that I have been consciously working towards, like making the new members feel welcome.  It is also eye opening to discover positive and negative things about my leadership style.  I am glad we did this assignment because it has made me more aware of how others on my team, and in my life, see me.

RAK

My idea is not large scale, but it is something that I try to practice as much as possible.  I believe in the power of kindness.  Kindness can be a small act like smiling at someone as they walk by, or "paying it forward" in a drive through line.  I bet we can all think of a time when a small act of kindness turned a bad day around, or gave you something to smile about.  When a stranger gives me a compliment on something I am wearing, or my hair or anything, it does really brighten my day.  Just think about it, one small comment can make another person happy for an entire day!  I think that is a pretty amazing idea and that's why I believe in the power of kindness and it is my hope that we can all understand this power we posess and put it to good use.

Kindness can be as simple as saying "thank you" or "have a nice day" to someone.  In this day and age we are so consumed by everything going on in our own lives, not that I blame anyone because having the power of an iPhone at your fingertips is pretty hard to ignore.  But because we are so consumed by little things, it can become easy to disregard the people around us.  If we take a second to look up from our smart phone when we are checking out at a register to smile and say thank you, it may have a more profound effect than you would think.  Last class when we did the social change project, my group rode around on buses and made a point to say thank you to every bus driver and it was apparent that they really appreciated it.  Most people walk past the driver buried in their phone, but the small amount of effort it takes to say thank you can brighten their day!

When thinking of this idea, three of the seven Cs stood out to me.  Congruence, commitment and citizenship are important to my idea of being kind.  Congruence is "thinking, feeling and behaving with consistency, genuineness, authenticity and honesty towards others" (page 385).  This is important to my idea because kindness needs to be genuine and honest.  The most pure form of kindness is the type that is effortless and real!  Commitment to the idea is another important aspect.  Commitment requires some time and energy for the cause and it is necessary to be committed to being kind to others.  Citizenship is perhaps the most applicable C here.  "Citizenship names the process whereby the self is responsibly connected to the environment and community" (page 359).  We are all responsible for treating others kindly.  We owe it to each other to treat each other with respect, after all, we are all just humans trying to make the best of our lives.  As a community we can become happier by treating others nicely.  Not only can you make someone else happy, but you can brighten your own day by being kind to others!

I had a math teacher in high school who would assign us "RAK" homework assignments.  He would challenge us to do a Random Act of Kindness for someone and we would report back on what we did.  I thought this was a cool idea because at first we all put significant effort into these acts of kindness, but over time they became second nature.  And here is where I get my idea.  I challenge you to do one small act of kindness a day and see how that effects your life and the lives of those you are kind to.  I guarantee that these acts will become integrated into your daily life and you can go out there and make a difference in your community!

Kidder's Framework

Our scenario

When applications come in to join a student organization applications must be blind.

A student received an interview for a position, but their friend is also the president of the organization.  He was obviously biased and that is how the student received the interview.  Do you toss her application even though she had a 4.0 GPA and is very involved on campus?

Although the rules were clearly violated in this situation I would still have to keep this applicant in the running.  I do not think it is right to punish her for someone else's mistakes.  I would hold the applicant to the same standards as every other applicant and if they were qualified they would get an interview, and if they were not I would not give them an interview.  Since she is clearly well qualified for the organization it would be easier to fight for her spot because she deserves to be there.  I would base my decision solely off of the applicant's qualifications and ignore the president's breach of process.

What makes this a hard decision is the fact that the organization does have a process and it would be my job to abide by it.

Kidder's Framework

In this situation, I would have to decide between justice and mercy, and truth vs loyalty.

The justice in the situation would be the fact that the rules were violated and there are set consequences for violations.  If I valued justice I would throw out the application because the rules were violated and she got an interview because of her connections.

Mercy comes into play because I would feel bad for the applicant because it was our president who violated the rules.  I do not know if she had any say in whether or not the president gave her an interview and if she did not have anything to do with it I would feel bad taking her application out.  Mercy wins out over justice because I would feel mercy for the applicant and give them an interview.

I would struggle with loyalty because I would want to uphold my organization's rules and values.  I would feel loyal to my fellow members and to the promises I made to uphold what the organization believes in.

The truth of the matter is that this applicant is well qualified and even without the president's intervention, they would have probably gotten an interview.  Truth would win out over loyalty because I would want this applicant to have the same chance as the others in being reviewed.

Leadership Project - Marvel's The Avengers!

The Avengers

Characters:

Tony Stark/Iron Man (Information seeker/Opinion Giver)

Steve Rodgers/Captain America (Opinion Giver/Summarizer)

Bruce Banner/ The Hulk (Information seeker/Clarifier)

Thor (Mediator)

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow (Follower)

Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Follower)

Nick Fury (Encourager/Summarizer)

            The Avengers is a group of heroes, and with that comes varying leadership styles, personalities, and ways of executing their work. Tony Stark is both an information seeker and an opinion giver. He is smart, always trying to gather more details about the situation. That being said, he constantly gives his opinion, serving as one of the biggest personalities in the room at all times. His voice and viewpoint are always heard. Steve Rodgers, better known as Captain America, is a summarizer, always wanting to make sure everyone is on the same page. Additionally, Captain is an opinion giver who wants to ensure that everyone else knows all of the facts and details before proceeding. He is a reasonable person to have in the group. Bruce Banner/The Hulk is the information seeker and clarifier. A doctor by nature, the Hulk is always gathering information so he can calculate a plan of action. His natural intelligence also makes him a clarifier, elaborating on the plan of action for everyone to understand.

Thor is the mediator of the group, attempting to create harmony among all of the differing views. Despite having a strong personality, within The Avengers he takes on a mediation role in order to straighten out the issues. Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., is the encourager and summarizer among his team. As the man who assembled the group, Fury is responsible for welcoming and ensuring the success of everyone. Finally, both Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and Clint Barton/Hawkeye are the sole followers of the group. Although they each bring a unique personality and skillset to the group, they are both active participants in the dynamic of The Avengers. Black Widow is strong-willed as the lone female of the group, but she has conviction and will always follow through.

            The forming of The Avengers begins over a period of time in which the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. assemble the group. To “bring together a group of remarkable people and see if they can become more” was the vision of Nick Fury, who led the formation. Along with Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Fury assembles the heroes from across the globe. The members, including Tony Stark/Iron Man, Steve Rodgers/Captain America, Thor, Bruce Banner/Hulk, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Nick Fury all come together under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s “Avengers Initiative.”

            The initial conflict and storming of the members of the group is evident due to the dominant personalities of each Avenger. Most prominently, we see Tony Stark clashing with Captain America. They both seek the greater good, but have different ideas of how to reach their goals. This conflict is followed by Stark butting heads with Thor, also due to their varying opinions. As the entire group is formed, storming occurs on a normal basis. Each member of The Avengers is used to playing by their own rules, so working together as a team is a huge adjustment.

            After the shocking and devastating loss of Agent Coulson, the members of The Avengers begin norming as a team. The death of their friend is the catalyst for normalizing them together. After working through their issues, they understand the greater purpose for their team to work together. The group’s personality is defined by the varying members’ headstrong qualities. United with the drive to succeed, The Avengers buckle down and work together as a unit.

            The Avengers clearly begin performing as a team when the Battle of New York breaks out. The group’s purpose is to answer their call to action: fight to save the world. This lofty goal can be worked towards once the Chitauri invades New York. They effectively utilize their specialized skills in a united front, working against the clock to save New York. Building upon their established foundation of forming, storming, and norming, the group works flawlessly together towards achieving their goal.

            Finally, the adjourning occurs once their mission is complete. The Avengers, despite not knowing how long their group would be together for, are proud of their accomplishments together. The end of their job doesn’t mean the end of the group, as they understand that they may need to unite again if they are needed.

            

True Colors and MBTI

True Colors
I thought this assessment was very interesting because it is the first that has ever pinned me as a "problem solver."  When taking these tests my empathy and emotion tend to stand out the most.  With that being said, I do think that this is a pretty accurate portrayal of my thinking style.  I definitely like to look at the facts of a situation and make decisions that are backed up with reason and logic.  I have a variety of interests in the fact that I love reading random articles on the internet or learning little useless tidbits.  Small facts about the world interest me in that way and I like to have a knowledge of what's around me.  I can be a perfectionist at times.  My mom has always told me that "I am my biggest enemy" and that is true.  I have always been very hard on myself to be the best I can be and I think that stems from trying to be a perfectionist.  As I have said in previous posts, I approach every problem analytically.  Whether that problem is a fight with friends or deciding what shampoo to buy, I value logic over emotion.

MBTI
My personality description is an ENFJ.  I think this is accurate as well, but this portrays more of my leadership and relational styles.  Again, every test I have ever taken has pinned me as an extrovert although I have always seen myself as an introvert.  As a kid I always had "alone time" after playing with friends and I still do this after a long day in college.  I do enjoy being around people and tend to get more energetic when I am surrounded by friends but I do think that I have some introverted qualities as well.  I agree that I use my intuition when I am looking at an issue over sensing what is going on.  What differs from this test is that I am a feeler versus a thinker where in the True Colors test I was a thinker.  I think that the context of each test definitely made an impact on what my results were.  The MBTI was more situational, where the True Colors was only words that described me.  It makes sense that these two differ and I have to say that I can be a thinker and a feeler at times.  I had a very large percentage for judging and I think that is very accurate.  I like to have order and I like for things to be planned out.  I am very busy on a regular basis and if I have to add something in to my schedule at the last minute I will stress about it.  However, if I have a free day I am happy to just go with the flow.

Overall, I think that these are accurate representations of my personality.  I know that my friends and family would agree with the MBTI approach more because those are qualities that are more easily seen.  I show my care for others and my empathy when I sob at every sad scene in a movie.  My "green" personality is not something that can be measured as easily because it is what is going on inside my head.  Also those who are close to me do not always have the pleasure of working with me in a school environment ;).

My Personality and Mission Statement

My personality type: ENFJ

Extrovert 44%

Intuitive 12%

Feeling 12%

Judging 78%

I feel that this assessment is pretty accurate.  I am definitely an extrovert in the way that I like to keep a wide group of acquaintances, however I do enjoy my alone time every once in a while.  Ever since I was a child I liked to be alone in my room after socializing.  I still do this even in college.  

I trust my intuition when evaluating a situation.  I understand others pretty well, so my gut feeling about them tends to be correct.Ignore warning

I am more of a feeler than a thinker, however, I try to use logic whenever possible.  I try to control how much my feelings guide me but they typically prevail.  I do prefer a logical explanation to any situation.

I had a very high percentage for judging over perceiving and this is very true.  I need to have all details before I can make a decision on anything.

1. Think about your gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, special abilities or disabilities, age, socioeconomic status, religion, birth order and any other influences that come to mind.  How have these factors influenced your personality and learning preferences?

The debate of whether personality is a product of one’s upbringing or genetics was very interesting to me in this chapter.  I think that a blend of nature and nurture made me the way that I am.  The most profound factor that has an influence on my personality and learning preferences is being a woman.  I tend to approach every situation with my emotions first and evaluate from there.  However, I do understand myself very well and I try my best to sort out emotions from logic so I can evaluate situations better. 
The way I was raised also has a large impact on my personality.  My parents were very easy going and allowed me to be independent.  I admire the way that they treated me as an equal and not as a subordinate so that I felt that my opinions and requests were valued.  Because of the way I was raised I am level headed and easy going as well.  It takes a LOT to get me fired up and it is hard for me to get angry at anyone because I just look at an issue from their perspective and at that point I can’t really be mad. 

Of course my age has an impact on my personality.  I am 20 years old so I am just rounding the corner of being a true adult.  I feel that I have grown exponentially in the last three years in college.  When I think back to how juvenile I was in high school, just three years ago, I shudder a little bit.  It is crazy how much one can grow in such a short amount of time.  I am beginning to understand the world around me, and acknowledging that there is a heck of a lot of things that I still do not know.  Perhaps the most liberating thing about growing older is realizing that the people around me have so much to worry about in their own lives that they do not care or pay attention to what I am doing.  As a teenager I thought that everyone was watching and judging me at all times and as I grow older I realize that no one really cares and it is a great feeling!  This realization has become another important factor in my personality because I feel that I am not ashamed to speak what I feel and do whatever makes me happy. 

2. Write your own personal mission statement. What is your purpose in life? What values are important to you? What do you want to be? What attributes and capabilities are important to you?

My mission is to be the best person I can be by loving those around me and accepting the qualities that make them unique.  I will strive to create happiness for the people in my life.  I will be the best I can be by challenging myself to be better than the day before.  I will help create a healthy working and living environment which encourages self-expression, questioning and perseverance.  I strive to be enthusiastic about life and create a balance between spending time with my family and being successful in the work world.