Mid (Life) School Crisis

The feeling of time flying by is mutual. On Friday during math class our teacher tells us that our mid-term exam will be a week from Wednesday. We’ve only been in school for three weeks and already a mid-term!?! Wow!
I’ve been keeping up with the work load but I’ll have to step it up a notch in order to study for the exams.

What I learned this week

I also found the “I/we” attitude and the, “you” attitude to be very interesting. I sort of knew it was out there and that the concept was being used but I never actually paid much attention to it.

Single person projects have always been my forte while team projects have never worked well with me. When we are put into groups for class assignments I pull away from the group. This is natural for me because whenever I get into a group I always seem to do a lot of the work. Why do I bring this topic up? Because I learnt to be a bit more open while in groups for the cigarette commercial. How? Well I don’t really know. I just got off work so I’m really tired.

What I already knew and still wonder about

Unlike Steve I do not do well with public speaking and the only trouble I had in high school for essays were Persuasive ones. I was great at just spilling out the work and getting good grades even when I didn’t know what I was doing.
I still wonder about how I’m going to get the terms in my head. It is hard for me to memorize and terms were never the easiest for me.

How I participated

Together with Steve I have kept up to date with the question posts on WebCt. During class I also worked together with my team to put together a paper on the four topics of persuasion. After class I was asked by a number of people to help fix their computers; So I spent my lunch hour in the pit with laptops.


Now I don’t have a conclusion but I guess I’ll put my motto down too.

“Live Life and Learn; Bleed, Struggle, Reach Success.”

Day's Gone By

Man, is it just me, or does it seem like orientation was just yesterday? As I reflect upon the experiences of the last 3 weeks, I am reminded of the fact that I am so fortunate to be in this learning environment. I wasn’t expecting to be admitted for the fall as I was quite late in applying, but here I am and how grateful I feel.

What I learned this week

Like all things in life, we must come to appreciate the opportunities and things we have as well as the people in our lives. To obtain is more than the act of receiving; for example, most people do not come to appreciate something unless they’ve had to work for it. My experience has been such that, my appreciation for the opportunity to study and learn here at Okanagan College has grown on a daily basis, due mostly to the hard work and effort I’ve exerted. I find particularly that this course in business communications has been very worthwhile; for instance, during class this morning my level of understanding was opened further to the various impacts our words can have. I don’t think I’ve ever logically considered the difference between the, “I/we” attitude and the, “you” attitude, so this was very enlightening for me.

What I already knew and still wonder about

Throughout the course of my life I’ve had the opportunity to speak publicly on a frequent basis. This has provided me the ability to learn how to reach an audience more effectively and persuasively, so I guess I feel as though I already possess a considerable amount of understanding when it comes to being persuasive. On the other hand, I believe this course of study will allow me to better determine my level of intellectual understanding and ability to reach an audience, so I am excited to continue learning more of this valuable material.

How I participated

Throughout the week I’ve continued to provide support to my fellow class mates where needed and feel that the overall understanding of WebCT and the course outline is growing. Today, Marc shared an example of the difference between the major banks and ING, while teaching us about the “I” and “You” attitudes. He referred to the fact that the major banks are all about themselves, but that ING is geared towards the customer. I felt impressed to express how effective this approach has been for ING by stating how much money and business they have taken from the major banks with the self centered attitude.

Conclusion

As I stated earlier, I feel so fortunate to be here learning all these valuable lessons regardless of the challenges that are presented. The bottom line is that we live in a free nation with more opportunities than most people around the world even dream of. My personal motto is to try and make the most of every moment and do the best that I can, so until next week, work hard and do your best.

Steve