Belongingness

I can’t stand it when I hear, see, or sense someone being discriminated against, no matter what the reason is. Race, skin color, intelligence, wealth, family, hobbies, mental disorders, and any thing else it is simply wrong. Although my own experiences don’t come close to the stories of the people I read about, I still know that one of the worst feelings is feeling like you don’t belong. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs includes love and belongingness before self-esteem, and I think this shows it’s importance in personal development. [1]  Anthony Luckett wondered “what life would have been like had [he] not lived with that tangerine family.”[2] I wonder too; what would he have been saved from had he been raised in a loving home? Family has sucha  powerful role in a persons life, and in most of the essays, something always came back to their family. I am so thankful for my family and the love they gave me, and continue to give me. My family is the only place I ever feel like I belong. I’ve always struggled with friends, and until a year ago, I never really had any. I don’t know what it is, but I never feel like people like me and I never find friends who care the way I do. This has been my struggle. I always feel judged, and like I can’t be myself. But then I started to realize that I am who I am, and I have my family, so I’m not afraid to be different and to be proud of that. My family is my safe zone, they love me no matter what I do, who I am, or what I look like, and I love them no matter what too. But I am being to realize that I cannot depend on my family alone, I need branch out and meet people, and until I came to this university, I didn’t want to.

Diversity was something I heard U.T. had, but it didn’t mean anything to me.  But I’ve discovered it means more to me than I could imagine. It means that each person I meet is different in their own wonderful and unique way, and that is what makes diversity beautiful. It is beautiful that we are each different, and it is something to be praised not rejected. Diversity means we can each teach someone, or show someone something new and different, everyone can bring something to the table to share, and most of the times the other person can connect to something they personally feel, creating unity. Because everyone is different, it leaves no room for discrimination. Sure, not everyone will like everything about a person, and that is okay, but making them feel like less of a person is not okay. Difference should be embraced, like speaking “Spanish in order to help retain [one’s] culture and heritage.”[3] Or looking at a difference in race just as a person would look at the difference in “the color of [one’s] eyes or preference in music.”[4] I feel like at this university, I fit it because I am different. One of the most important things I’ve learned this year is that people are different and that is a beautiful thing. This may seem simple, but discovering that has made life so much more enjoyable. I feel like I really have grasped what it means to listen empathetically. I will always make an effort to understand a person before trying to get information that will help me first. We all have a story, we are all different and we all belong here, every life is precious. [5]

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[1] http://socioloquy.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/maslow.jpg

[2] Anthony R. Luckett, “Multihued” in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump, (Ausitn: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 863.

[3] Miguel Ramirez, “The Unknown Want,” in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump, (Ausitn: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 854.

[4] Alessandro Melendez, “Living between the Lines,” in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump, (Ausitn: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 842.

[5] http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x83/winwin1111/unity.jpg

Past Present Future

Inscribed on the W.C. Hogg Building are the words of Alfred Tennyson: “O earth, what changes hast thou seen!”  (http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/wch.html) 

Although this quote was by Tennyson, it connects both the ideas of Darwin and Tennyson. First it reminds us of the past because this part of the world was once under the ocean and it has now become a community full of building and roads. Darwin’s theory of evolution explains to us how we got were we are today. It is interesting to know we have gills and tails in our mother wombs, and to me that confirms that we are all connected- every earthling. Darwin gives and interesting idea for the past while Tennyson gives an interesting aspect for the future; that we may become extinct. Tennyson calls us to look to the future, and consider the possibly of our own extinction. So either way the quote reminds us that we must appreciate our past and how we have become the beings we are today, be thankful for what traits we have, and we also must understand that the future is unknown, and we must appreciate each moment. I agree with Lisa that the Hogg's Building has seen its share of change; different people, different weather, and all the other things that change from day to day. Although it doesn't know the whole story, it helps us in this chapter of our life to connect the past and future and appreciate the present. Just like the shell, it reminds us of our pilgrimage and encourages us to enjoy each day and keep the future in mind.(http://www.artselect.com/Adrian-Burke-Sea-Shells/Art/a23112.m181880.sf415.w345.h345.jpg)

The Creator and the Created

Imagine the world before we knew it; before “beaches… hardened into stone”[1] cold buildings and “long street[s]”[2], back to Genesis where “God created the heavens and the earth.”[3] [4] Now picture our world today, and ask yourself what has taken place? [5] The answer is evolution, and as Kat said, “One of the most apparent divisions is that between creationism and evolution.” Therefore I do not accept Tennyson’s idea for a solution, for I want to build a bridge between creationism and evolution, connecting the different views. I have found that sometimes the best answer is not to side with one or the other, but with the continuities of the both sides.

Tennyson wanted to “contemplate all this work of Time,”[6] as Darwin contemplated “how infinitely complex and close fitting are the mutual relations of all organic beings to each other.”[7] Though their explanations differed, I got a feeling from both that Nature allowed us to evolve where we are today. Darwin believed natural selection was the driving force for evolution. He said, “Nature… cares nothing for appearances, except in so far as they are useful to any being.” [8] In a similar way, Tennyson imagined Nature exclaiming, “‘A thousand types are gone;/ I care for nothing, all shall go.’”[9]  Although Tennyson thought man was Nature’s “last work”[10] and Darwin believed it was the greatest work so far, both saw that it was Nature who decided what would happen.

Once we realize that we are not in control, we can see that “All we are is dust in the wind/ Everything is dust in the wind.”[11] [12] I believe we get too ahead of ourselves, and we think we are in control, but we need to be reminded that although we influence nature, we cannot control it. NATURE IS IN CONTROL. We are just one part, one aspect of the story. Tennyson wrote, “O earth, what changes hast thou seen!” This helps me to realize that although we can use science to guess what happened before and predict what may happen, we do not know. It is not a bad thing that we do not know. If we knew the answers to questions like this, there would be no place for faith. The faith that God created nature, and God is nature: he evolved us from dirt, and our bodies shall once again become dirt.

So to me, there is no need to separate evolution from creationism. Where Darwin and Tennyson’s ideas began and ended differ but what is important is what connected them: Nature. As both Darwin and Tennyson realized, earth has changed, and will always be changing; it might mean we evolve to a new and more efficient being, or it could mean we have reached the end and our skeletons will form with the earth to continue the story. “Nature [is] like an open book;”[13] telling the unimaginable story the Creator has made about the created. [14]

 

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[1]  Loren Eisley, “The Firmament of Time,” in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 1059.

[2] Alfred Tennyson, “In Memoriam,” in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 1087.

[3] Genesis 1:1 (The Jerusalem Bible) in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 1060.

[4]http://www.slona.net/resources/images/content/special/radio/water_world.marked.png

[5] http://www.isrealli.org/wp-content/uploads/davos.jpg

[6]  Tennyson, 1088.

[7] Charles Darwin, “The Origin of Species,” in Leadership and U.T., ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 1064.

[8] Darwin, 1066.

[9] Tennyson, 1085.

[10] Tennyson, 1086.

[11] Tennyson, 1086.

[12] http://abcotv.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/tornado1.jpg

[13] Tennyson, 1090.

[14] http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/IMC/2054~On-the-Way-Open-Book-Posters.jpg

Trees are the Bee's Knees

I would love to live somewhere “with fine trees in groups and groves and avenues.”[1] From what I have seen, Oxford seems like a place I will have to visit, for it “is [a] scarce spot in the world.”[2] [3] As you can see in the botanical gardens, nature is allowed to simply grow and flourish. It is amazing to me that we don’t appreciate the natural world more. But here in Austin, Texas, many people do show love for the environment. The Oxford Botanical garden pictures reminded me that there was one right down the road! The Zilker Botanical Garden is a wordless place: no words can describe its beauty, for it gives a “natural man contentment.”[4] [5] As our class walked along Waller Creek, I reconnected with my love for tree climbing, (although it was mainly statues that day) seeing everything in its natural environment, and just feeling a sense of euphoria from nature. I made a promise to myself that I would make time to come to the creek with my camera and just be in nature’s presence as I remind myself that, as Samantha said, we are “all part of nature.” While reading, I felt a new connection with the creek: “a child walks and runs up and down the bed of a creek.”[6] As a child, I spend most of my time at the creek behind my old house playing in the bright warming sun, fishing for minnows and crawfish, covering my body in clay at clay land, climbing up a rope to the caves, imagining I was lost and had to survive, making grilled cheese sandwiches on a sun heated metal sheet, and even being chased by snakes! [7] As we discussed early in class, we don’t want to lose the kid in us, the free-spirited, imaginative ball of energy, and nature allows me to never lose that because it feeds my “natural appetite for discovery, [my] primitive curiosity,”[8] and my joy for life. [9]

            Joseph Jones “traveled extensively throughout the world,” so I trust that he knew a good creek when he saw one. I think Jones was right: we need “to cultivate a fresh acquaintance” with nature “for our own mental health.”[10] I feel very passionate about “preserving every natural pocket”[11] of land, and this is perhaps where the wind will blow my career. I, like Jones, consider nature “a positive agency of survival,” so I feel an even stronger desire to daily take the time to become formless, and nameless and just be one with nature. [12]

“Waller Creek began as no more than trickle along a stretch of Cretaceous limestone,”[13] and because nature was able to take its course, it is an amazing place today, where I hope to have many significant experiences that help shape me as I create myself at this University.

 

 

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[1]  “Site of a University,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 315.

[2] “Site of a University,” 317.

[3] http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/302/scheduleframeset.html

[4] J. Frank Dobie, “The Mustangs,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 748.

[5] http://www.soulofthegarden.com/Images/April04%20ZilkerOriental.jpg

[6] Joseph Jones, “Cretaceous Limestone Gutter,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 666.

[7] http://www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com/images/newlogo.gif

[8] Jones, 666.

[9] http://www.picturevictoria.vic.gov.au/site/coburg/images/16942.jpg

[10] Jones, 666.

[11] Joseph Jones, “Preface Codger on the Rocks,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 661.

[12] http://www.thegreatillusion.com/mother%20nature%20new.jpg

[13] Joseph Jones, “Cretaceous Limestone Gutter,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 663.

Proud to be a Longhorn

As I watched Tech score in the final second of the game, I felt a deep pain in my heart. Although I was a defeated Longhorn in Raider land, I wore my burnt orange proudly.[1] While I was in Lubbock, I realized how glad I am to be a Longhorn, and I was dying to get back to the school, the people, and the city.  Longhorns have a “fighting spirit of progress”[2] and they make their way no matter what. It’s no wonder we have a longhorn as our mascot, but there are some characteristics I would have never thought we shared. I learned, from the marvelous Frank Dobie, longhorns have “strong attachments to their accustomed home,”[3] and it made me realize the same is true for longhorns at U.T.[4]

I have not been at U.T. very long, but I have fallen in love with Austin, and I know I want to live here if I don’t end up on the other side of the world. A lot of the Texas Ex’s I know have stayed in or around this area, and I think it is because U.T. was their accustomed home where they found life-long friends. College transforms you from a kid to an independent adult, and when you come to a place as amazing as Austin, it is hard to want to go anywhere else. Just like the story of Sancho, a person comes to U.T falls in love with the amazing people and spicy culture, and always has a sense of home here. Even when they can’t be here, they “raise [their] head as if memory and expectation were stirring.”[5] I have a much greater meaning as a longhorn than I did before, but with that I am disturbed by some of the things that have happened to our mascot.

The first Bevo “was served as barbecue to over one hundred guest”. I was absolutely disgusted when I read this not only because I had just developed a whole new respect and love for longhorns, but also because it just does not seem right. I liked to think our mascot was “lovingly cared for and protected,”[6] just as the Hindu’s treat cows. Although the Hindu’s cow has much more significance than a mascot; cows are “a gift of the gods to the human race.”[7] At the Diwali fest, I talked to Acharya Gulati and he taught me the importance of doing good things and not expecting anything in return, just as God gives us everything we have for nothing in return.[8] I know how important a gift from God is in Hinduism, so a cow must be very sacred. Although I do not expect U.T. to have the same view for a longhorn, I do believe we should respect our mascot more.

Respect for an animal that is just like us, on a journey through life with our home in our hearts and “true lover[s] of freedom.”[9] I think one of the reasons Frank Dobie was considered such an amazing teacher was because he realized that “only the sense of being in place gives… natural man contentment.”[10] As I sit in the six-pack in front of the tower, I am filled with warm fuzzies because I am a part of this University. Being away from my home at U.T. in Lubbock was not fun, but just as this reading has lead me to a new sense of being a longhorn, I will continue to always represent my school and never forget it is the place I was reborn.

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[1] http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2008/10/30/PH2008103004344.jpg

[2] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 733.

[3] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 716.

[4] http://www.theamundsons.com/photos/2006/texas%20longhorn%20with%20rose_1%202.jpg

[5] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 720.

[6] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 713C.

[7] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 713B.

[8] http://kalakar.co.in/Greet/greetings%5CDiwali.jpg

[9] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 744.

[10] U.T. and Leadership, (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 748.

Plan of Action

Life takes action; life takes planning: in order to become the person I want to be, I will need to apply my self to every class; getting as much information as I can. Next I will need to evaluate which classes I felt a connection to and explore organizations and activities that relate to that interest. By getting involved I will be able to see what it would be like to potential have a career in that field. Then I can use the many resources U.T. offers such as advising or more specifically the Career Exploration Center to discover the many different careers or fields I might one day pursue. “Any discussion of career opportunities must first begin with an emphasis on education. The career paths that we choose or that seem to choose us are largely shaped by our educational experiences. That is why the right education and the ways in which you can match your personal interest with your academic pursuits are extremely important.”[1]

            I’m fortunate the first four classes at this University have already set a foundation for Covey’s four intelligences : mental, physical, emotional and spiritual.[2] Mentally, all my classes fuel my passion for knowledge and force me to think in new ways. Emotional intelligence is “self awareness”[3], and I’ve discovered so much about my self through this very course from analyzing my personality type, to deeply considering my passion. Just learning how to write has helped me to see the big picture: having the criteria to look at before we write our papers, we are able to start with the end in mind. We know while writing the paper we do not want to fill it with anything that doesn’t have substance or meaning; we want to use our words correctly, try and be error free, and connect everything. In the same way, I want to live the way I am learning to write: start with the end in mind. By knowing what I want to accomplish, I will be far less likely to fill my time with things that don’t have any substance towards my goal, I will try to avoid mistakes that will keep me from accomplishing my goals, and most importantly I will make connections in all aspects of my life. As the Myer-Briggs test points out: I’m an ESFJ. I know that whatever I plan do must involve people because I’m an extravert. This has made my Communication class very important because I know I will need the skills to communicate with people. This is where my emotional and social intelligence will be important. My “ability to communicate successfully with others.”[4]

            Psychology has opened my (very complex and marvelous) eyes to the astounding system of the human body and increased my physical intelligence. I’ve learned all about “what [the] body does without any conscious effort”[5]. It is so fascinating what is going on every second inside our bodies.[6] In philosophy, I have been able to explore new and exciting ways of thinking; allowing my spiritual intelligence to grow. By learning about Hinduism, I have started to think more about my soul and how I can get to the highest spiritual level. From Buddhism I’ve learned about Karma and how I should not identify with the ego. Taoist has opened my eyes to just being a part of nature and realizing that by naming something, we set limits on it. The teaching of Confucius taught me about balance. With each new spiritual view, my soul is no longer limited to one belief. I spend a lot of time thinking about each view and what I believe.  U.T. And Leadership has strengthened each of these areas. Emotionally, I have learned so much about myself by looking at my personality type and truly examining my passion and leadership views. Physically, learning about the importance of using both my left and right brain has encouraged me to make sure I’m using my brain to the fullest. Mentally and spiritually, I have learned so much new information, and sympathetic imagination has allowed me to come to respect ALL earthlings.  

For the next four years I am dedicated to each class I take. Knowing “a man reaps what he sows,”[7] I want to put in as much effort and time into my classes as I possibly can. But I am not just dedicated to my classes, because knowledge “cannot lead, it can only serve.”[8] So I have to find something that my knowledge can serve as it connects me to the world. By looking at my personality and what classes I take a particular interest in, I can narrow down what field or career I might like to have. But I cannot decide what I will do until I have tested it by getting involved with organizations and activities that will help me develop a sense of what that career would be like.

My senior year of high school I decided that because Chemistry was one of my strengths in school and I wanted to help people, I should go into the medical field. But instead of entering college a Pre-Med student, I decided to see what it was like and volunteer at Dell Children’s Hospital.  I started at the beginning of last summer and at first, I loved it! I loved that the staff seemed like one big family, as I am extremely family-orientated. I volunteered in as many areas as I could. I thought I would love the ER because it would be exciting, but it didn’t take me long to realize it wasn’t for me. Dealing with families wasn’t the easiest thing to do and I found that I did not have the patience for it. I started to spend more time in the clinic, but I found that it was hard to have patience with the children in the waiting room, and learning about therapeutic responses opened my eyes to how children think on a different level. My favorite area was the pre-op. I started helping the Child Life Specialist Jenny and Belinda with the Sunday Surgery Tours. This was fun because we got to go through all the medical equipment and procedures with the children in a fun way so they would not be scared when they came for their surgery. The most significant thing I’ve learned from Volunteering is if I ever did anything in the medical field, I would do it at a children’s hospital because it is designed to be kid-friendly and fun. It’s a much more pleasant place to be and it has an uplifting mood. But after a while, I lost the joy for it; some days, I was not in a great mood and it was very difficult put a smile on for the kids and be patient with them. I realized I could not handle the stress of the medical field. I could never be stuck in a building full of sick people every day of every week of every month of every year. Realizing that I thrive when I’m not restricted to one place or idea has helped me to realize I want the world to be my office. [9] The biggest thing I learned from the hospital is that I get tired of doing the same thing.

I have already started to look into what careers I might want to pursue by paying a visit to the Career Exploration Center. The more books I read from their library, the more I realized: I would love to work with nature because there is no limit to what I could do.  From the Career Exploration center library and a visit with Amy my wonderful college advisor, I found that there are many environmental opportunities. I can see myself now: Working with a team doing research, then informing people of the information I find because there is a “need for individuals who possess effective communication skills.”[10] Or I could take my love for helping people and use a more natural approach: healing with plants. A bolt of lightening struck the millions particles in my mind making a strong, clear, unique idea[11]: The environment appeals to all four of my capacities. [12]  A career in the environment is not limited by any means, whatever specific path I take, I will be able to fulfill my passion of interacting with people, learning more about nature, and travel through my office: Earth.

As I develop my four intelligences, I develop the person I want to be, and along the way I will discover whether or not an environmental career will help complete me and connect me. What career I choose is how I will connect my inner self to the outer world. With the world as my office, "the sky is the limit."[13]

 

Word count: 1471

Word count without quotes: 1374

URL:http://ellensview.blogspot.com/2008/10/life-takes-action-life-takes-planning.html

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[1] Fasulo, Mike, and Jane Kinney. Careers for Environmental Types & Others Who Respect the Earth. 2 ed. (Chicago: VGM Career Books, 2002), 6.

[2] Covey’s Four Human Intelligences/Capacities, in U.T. and Leadership, 42.

[3] Stephen R. Covey, “The 8^th Habit,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 42.

[4] Covey in U.T. and Leadership, 43.

[5] Covey in U.T. and Leadership, 42.

[6] http://www.humananatomy.biz/?404=Y (accessed October 30, 2008).

[7] Galatians 6:7 (New International Version).

[8] Daniel Goleman, “The Power of Emotional Intelligence,” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copies & Binding, 2008), 62.

[9] http://www.thehomeofficeorganizer.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/earth_apollo17.jpg (accessed on October 29, 2008)

[10] Fasulo and Kinney, 3.

[11] When lightning strikes sand, it can create glass. The millions of particles in mind my mind, is the sand on a beach, the idea is the glass that forms from the lightning.

[12] http://geoffc.smugmug.com/photos/46211726_62rEs-L.jpg (accessed on October 30th, 2008).

[13] Lil Wayne, “The Sky is the Limit.” http://www.metrolyrics.com/skys-the-limit-lyrics-lil-wayne.html (accessed on October 30th, 2008).

Animals and Alice

As we look at animals and humans, were does one draw the line in separating them? From Alice’s experience and our own, we can see that there are differences in how we think and feel about different subjects. Alice finds many times that she offends the animals, and it made me wonder how many times I myself have offended an animal. In order to find what separates us, we must find how the other feels, thinks, and perceives things in comparison to the way we do. Because we cannot speak with animals, we have to take everything we know about them and try to see what it is like being them. The best way to do this is sympathetic imagination: “actually entering into the object… to secure a momentary but complete identification with it.”[1] If we could only use sympathetic imagination in our daily lives we would be able to be more respectful to the other species.

            Alice does not do a very good job in being respectful to the various creatures in Wonderland. Poor Mouse was frightened many times as Alice talked about cats and dogs, and although Alice did not intend to frighten the mouse, by not imagining herself as a mouse, she could not stop herself from saying offensive things before they slipped out.[2] Alice had the advantage in Wonderland to be able to talk the animals, so just by listening to his history, she could “understand why it [was] [the mouse] hate[d] cats and dogs.”[3] We, on the other hand, cannot communicate with animals and, therefore, we are not reminded of how our actions affect them. We think nothing of harming an ant or insect, although when it comes to harming dogs or cats, we tend to “have a bias towards big mammals like us”.[4]

            We should try to be sensitive to something no matter what its size is. We should even consider how they feel being the size they are! Alice, once again, has an advantage in Wonderland as she becomes only three inches tall. The Caterpillar, also three inches tall, thinks it’s a very good height, but because Alice is not used to it, she in unable to understand how the Caterpillar feels, and because of this, she offends him by saying it is a “wretched height to be”. [5] [6] Each animal should embrace who they are, and others should respect why others feel the way they do, even if they are different and embrace their own way.

            Taking just a moment to consider what another feels can help you understand where they are coming from. An upset Pigeon accuses Alice of being a serpent.[7] Alice defends herself, for she knows she is not a serpent, but the Pigeon shares what it thinks a serpent is, giving Alice a new perspective.[8] It was such a “new idea to Alice, that she was quite silent for a minute or two”[9] as she considered the Pigeon’s view.

            I believe considering another’s view is crucial in life. Whether the view of an animal or insect, human or plant, everything deserves to be respected. By “seeking first to understand”[10] you must use empathic listening so that you “listen with your heart…for feeling, [and] for meaning.”[11] Although we do not get to experience Wonderland, where we can easily communicate with animals, we can still give them a fighting chance by placing ourselves in their paws, hooves, feet, or fins.[12] [13]

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[1] Walter Jackson Bate, “The Sympathetic Imagination in Eighteenth-Century English Criticism” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 160.

[2] http://www.ebbemunk.dk/alice/08mouse_pool_of_tears.jpg (accessed October 22, 2008)

[3] Lewis Carroll, The Annotated Alice (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000), 27.

[4] Donald G McNeil, “When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans”, Bump, 1046

[5] Carroll, 53.

[6]http://thumbs2.modthesims2.com/img/5/0/2/5/2/MTS2_Lethe_s_669091_caterpillar-2.jpg (accessed October 22, 2008)

[7] http://www.natureman.net/files/snake_emerald_tree_boa.jpg (accessed October 22, 2008)

[8]http://www.naturalmath.com/workshops/scrapexchange/20january2004/alice1.jpg (accessed October 22, 2008)

[9] Carroll, 56.

[10] Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (New York: Fireside, 1989), 240.

[11] Covey, 241

[12] http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18525/18525-h/images/illus_p019.png (accessed October 22, 2008).

[13] http://www.rydersranch.ca/f/footprints_4.jpg (accessed October 22, 2008).

Alice guide to Surviving U.T.

As a child, we usually perceive things in simple terms, yet as we grow older, we begin to see more connections and things become so complex. It is funny to me that Alice in Wonderland is a children’s story, because as children we miss the point. Reading The Annotated Alice by Lewis Carroll has helped me to make connections to my own life here at U.T. and also it has helped me see things in a different light.

It seems like in high school I wanted “nothing but Facts,” but I’ve realized this can only get you so far.[1] Using my imagination is a freeing and challenging task that allows me to have to come up with my own thoughts and ideas. Surprisingly, I have been using my imagination more now that I am in college. Perhaps this is because, like Alice, some of the new material I’m learning seems as if “it’s all in some language I don’t know”.[2] I have to look at things differently and see them from other standpoints. Just as Alice uses the mirror, I use my imagination to think of things differently. One of the most powerful ways to see something in a different view is to try and see the view of that thing! “The sympathetic imagination is the ability of a person to penetrate the barrier which space puts between him and his object, and, by actually entering into the object, so to speak, to secure a momentary but complete identification with it.”[3] Alice startles the mouse by mentioning her cat, and he cries, “Would you like cats, if you were me?”[4] The question made me wonder if Alice really did put herself in the mouse’s view, but I assumed she didn’t because it seemed like she was only trying to get the mouse to see a different view. Maybe she would convince the mouse that her cat isn’t bad, so maybe all cats aren’t. This really stood out to me because I have realized how many different views there are here at U.T. Allowing myself to see things differently and consider other peoples opinions has opened up many new doors for me.

At the same time, I feel like so many doors are shut, and I cannot get it. Sometimes I get lost in the diversity, and I feel like I’m not special enough or I’m insignificant compared to the other 49,999 people here. At other times, I feel as though I’m a big stupid lump, just getting in everyone’s way. I’m sure Alice would agree that it isn’t a great feeling. Alice struggles with being too big and too small to get to the places she wants to go and I think that happens a lot in college as we miss judge ourselves. But in order to overcome this, I have to look inside myself and figure out what I want to achieve and why I’m here. I noticed the caterpillar didn’t care how Alice felt big or small, he only wanted to know who she was. When you get to college, you have to seriously ask yourself, “Who am I and why am I here?” When I started to think about why I was here, I realized one of the deciding factors of coming to U.T. was that my father went here. Alice says to herself, “I do hope it’s my dream, and not the Red King’s! I don’t like belonging to another person’s dream.”[5]  This made me think about the countless people who are at a school because their parents wanted them there. Although this was a similar situation for me, I made it my dream to be here. I made sure I was living for my dreams, and not the dreams of my parents.

Becoming your own person also means taking responsibility for yourself. In the first chapter of Through the Looking Glass, Carroll writes, “One thing was certain, that the white kitten had had nothing to do with it—it was the black kitten’s fault entirely.”[6]  It is so easy to place the blame on a professor or another class than it is to admit you did not take care of your work. This quote made me realize the importance of taking responsibility and being honest with yourself because it is ultimately up to you! Black or white, a kitten is an innocent kitten. You may want to blame one thing or another, but usually neither of the two is at fault.

There are so many lessons to be learned from this book that apply to the college life as well as other children’s books such as Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. Although we sometimes miss the meanings when we are young, we can find them by carefully reading them again as young women and men.

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[1] Charles Dickens, “Hard Times” in U.T. and Leadership, ed. Jerome Bump (Austin: Jenn’s Copy & Binding, 2008), 281

[2] Lewis Carroll. The Annotated Alice. Definitive Edition. (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2000), 148.

[3] Bump, Jerome. "Sympathetic Imagination." October 5, 2007.http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/302/scheduleframeset.html (accessed October 20, 2008).

[4] Carroll, 26.

[5] Carroll, 233

[6] Carroll, 137

Images:

From http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/302/scheduleframeset.html

and

Dr Seuss: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n185/deblee13/Dr%2520Seuss/dr-seuss.jpg&imgrefurl=http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm%3Ffuseaction%3Duser.viewprofile%26friendID%3D54000830&h=298&w=400&sz=50&tbnid=8rAy6ajYXkoJ::&tbnh=92&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddr%2Bseuss%2Boh%2Bthe%2Bplaces%2Byou%2527ll%2Bgo!&usg=__cOYDE5vLUjsw7NjoIn98w7vi6r4=&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=7&ct=image&cd=1

Turning Dreams into Realities

A hero is someone that sets out with only their goal in mind and stops at nothing to achieve it. It wasn’t until I read the various stories that I came to this conclusion. I read about different people with different goals or dreams that all came to one University and accomplished something bigger than themselves. Heroes are not limited to what already exist; they break the mold and invent new ways, new styles and they make changes when needed.

When it came to hearts, Denton Cooley saw a “whole new opportunity for [himself] as a young surgeon” (TxTell: UT Stories, Denton Cooley, X931)[1]. He knew what he wanted to do and stopped at nothing to achieve it. Performing the “first successful heart transplant in the United States” and introducing “'bloodless’ heart surgery”, Cooley paved a new way, set the bar higher, and in doing so, caused others to improve. [2] As the picture shows, the heart is complicated and one can immediately understand the medical milestone he led to. Luis Jimenez also had great influence over others, but it didn’t seem that way at first as he received negative remarks about his work. Keeping his goal in mind, he continued to do what he was passionate about and it led to his amazing “fiberglass depictions of cowboys and Indians” earning him a spot on a list of the “'most impressive, intriguing, and influential Texans’” (TxTell: UT Stories, Luis Jimenez, X935). In both situations, these men set out in their own paths to achieve something new and inspiring.[3] In this picture you can see Luis Jimenez and his the outstanding work.

The most inspiring heroes, to me, were the ones who saw were something needed to be changed and stopped at nothing to not only find a way to change it, but make that miraculous change a reality. Heman Sweatt went against all odds and fought with everything he could to bring about a radical change at the University of Texas. His dream was to go to law school at UT which would mean breaking the “racial barriers” that kept fellow African Americans from doing the same. Heman was a hero because he was striving for more than a personal goal and gave up whatever it took to achieve it. In a similar way, Leon O’Neal encouraged Julius Whittier “that the only way for Texas football to change would be for blacks to come to Texas and change it” (Texas, Our Texas, Julius Whittier, X919). [4] This helped Julius to realize that it wasn’t just about his life, but the lives of all the other talented athletes who desired to play at UT. The most significant change was brought to my attention a few weeks ago, and I was reminded of it as I read “The Times They Were A’Changing”. This change involved the whole University. Students begin to think for themselves, and in doing so changed their world. Sure, they might have been “terribly self-righteous”, but they took matters into their own hands and made their own judgments from the knowledge they gathered (Texas, Our Texas, Betty S. Flowers, X914). Betty Flowers had a huge impact on Bill Moyers who claimed she was “the person who [he] would wish to be born as” (TxTell: UT Stories, Bill Moyers, X938). Moyers was a student of hers, and he learned to write in a way that connected things that most did not see a connection in.

When I think of a hero, one name comes to mind: Martin Luther King Jr. [5] He had a dream, and he died fighting for it. In a crown of sonnets, I wrote all about Dr. King’s life:

“For a man that could compare there were none

Righteously he lived to be a good son

Everyone could see a bright burning Light

Extending a hand to those who lost sight”[6]

My dream is to be a part of something radical that inspires others to seek the truth that is hidden and question everything. I want to see my dream come true or die trying. The University of Texas has molded passionate, goal-driven people into incredible leaders and heroes, and it will continue to forever. The only question is who will be the next to rise above and make their dream come true?

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[1] Bump, Jerome. Leadership and U.T. 66540. 2, Austin: Jenn's Copy & Binding, 2008.

[2] http://blogs.indiewire.com/twhalliii/heart_med.jpg (accessed October 13, 2008).

[3] http://americanart.si.edu/eyelevel/images/jimenez_and_vaquero.jpg (accessed October 13, 2008).

[4] http://www.prizes1.com/texas%20football%20gm.jpg (accessed October 13, 2008).

[5] http://www.writespirit.net/inspirational_talks/political/martin_luther_king_talks/martin-luther-king2.jpg (accessed October 13, 2008).

[6] Hargrove, Ellen. "King of Kings." (2008):

The Next Step

As I questioned myself if I wanted to be a leader, I found that I didn’t want to at all. I then proceeded to ask myself, “Why do I no longer have the desire to lead?” “Assess[ing] how [I] feel about power” lead me to the answer (Lee, X80). Whenever I thought of leadership, I thought of power. Power is not what I want, and I have no desire to have power over anyone. Once I established this, I was able to think of leadership in a new way. I began to analyze the word in doing so found my definition of a leader. A leader is someone that leads ideas and knowledge to connect with other pieces of information, and in doing so, inspiring others to do the same. “Intellect alone will not make a leader,” but because I am passionate about my own intellect, I can use my passion to inspire and guide others (Goleman, X62). Connecting emotional with intelligence is what makes me want to be a leader!

Holmes said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”[1] (Covey, 96). What lies within us is our ability to connect what lies behind and ahead and this is where it all begins. Synergy “catalyzes, unifies, and unleashes the greatest powers within people” and it is the “essence of principle-centered leadership” (Covey, 262). John Newman explained that our minds connect a "view of old and new, past and present, far and near” and “has an insight into the influence of all these one on another; without which there is no whole, and no centre. It possesses the knowledge, not only of things, but also of their mutual and true relations."[2]

When we look within, and connect, we grow some much. I believe you should never stop growing, learning, or discovering yourself. “The idea is that when we take time to draw on the leadership center of our lives, what life is ultimately all about, it spreads like an umbrella over everything else” (Covey, 294). Being a leader is just a part of my life’s journey to discover, learn and grow.

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[1] Covey,Stephen. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. First Fireside ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.

[2] Jerome, Bump. "Leadership." http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/302/scheduleframeset.html (accessed October 8, 2008).