Being the Change

Wow I have learned so much this semester! Its sad to see it go, and how fast it went. The last lecture was really good, I enjoyed all of the speakers. They had so much experience, and it was good to see a bit more realistic and modern leaders rather than the seemingly god-like figures that we usually consider leaders. I really loved hearing all of their insight, and I was really touched by Mrs. Halladay's experience when she went off the BYU campus with fellow classmates, who all ordered alcohalic drinks, yet she chose to stand firm in her believes and order a soda. This is really an courageous act of leadership, its one think to stand up to your friends who do not have the same beliefs and drink if they want to, but its completely different to stand up to your friends who have the same values, know all that you know, and yet go against everything they believe. This experience really shows that leadership opportunities will come up whenever you least expect it, this is what I've really learned throughout this course. There are so many opportunities to lead, no matter how small or seeming insignificant. This course allowed to see all of the opportunities I can serve, and to not only become a better leader but a better person.

Change

So I'm finally posting my blog for last week, because I got the flu and since Thursday I didn't feel like even getting out of bed, or doing and manner of thinking whatsoever, so I didn't post my blog on time. The lecture on change was really interesting for I saw leadership more as service rather than provoking others to action which is a huge part of leadership, especially inspiring others for good. Wanting to make change, for the better, is what we should all be motivated to do. Intrinsic motivation is the most important aspect to getting something done, no matter what you are doing. I need motivation to even get up in the morning, or else I would snooze through all of my classes. When leading others to bring about change it is important to inspire them, so they can have that intrinsic motivation to make a positive change as well, or nothing will get done. I like how the speaker talked about goals, nearing the end of the semester with finals looming ahead, I realize how important goals are, and if there is not motivation to do those goals nothing will get done, and I'm sorry to say that I am not motivated to study as much as I should be. For my leadership role being a part of Freeze Fest, I was motivated to do the best that I could to make the event successful, but little did I know that I would get the flu in the most important week and I wasn't able to do all that I could for the event. I was sick the day the event went on, and during all of the advertising events leading up to it. I was so disappointed, but it happens. I wasn't not able to provide the change I wanted, which was to bring the BYU student body together to enjoy a fun event, but I did what I could and I heard that the event went very well.

missed lecture : Goals

I came home to Bonney Lake, Washington early and was not able to make it to the lecture on Monday, which is lame because I think I could have really benefited from this lesson. I remember in middle school we would always set and plan goals we wanted to achieve. I thought these goal plans were pretty useless because I always had the same goal, do better in math, and I was not really passionate about achieving that goals, so I never succeeded  as much as I had wanted to. Now that I graduated high school, I have begun to make decisions that will impact the rest of my life. The first being to attend Brigham Young University, which is the best decision I have made in my life thus far. Now I need to start setting goals in order to receive a degree in whatever I specifically decide to major in, and eventually what career I wish to pursue. Without knowing what I want to do, its hard to have a plan in achieving a goal, with no goal in sight yet. I guess that it what I will have to work on first, then set goals which will allow me to achieve my final goal. What is most important in goal setting, in my opinion, is passion. Without passion, all is lost. Without passion there is not lust to achieve, no drive, and no determination. Without passion there is no success, for if you set a goal that you don't really care about, you will not achieve that goal, for why would you work hard at something that you don't really want?

I can use goal setting in my leadership role in BYUSA by setting a manageable schedule with daily task that I need to do, in order to achieve the final goal of putting on Freeze Fest, and bringing the BYU student body together to let off some steam, meet new people, and enjoy the festivities of the season. I need to have passion in my work, and really put in my all in order to have the successful event I wish to have.

"lets work together ya ya ya..."

This weeks lecture was on team work, and I thought I had a good grasp on how to work with other people since I have been working with people since kindergarten. But the lecture on Monday pointed out a lot of aspects of teamwork that I have thought of before. Only when people have significant relationships can teamwork be the most efficient and the goal will be fully achieved. I really liked the example of the BYU women's chorus. If they didn't like each other, they wouldn't sound as great as they do, as in any type of sports team, the more they like each other, the better they play, and the more games the team wins. Looking back on when I played water polo in high school, I remember we only played well when the girls on my team got along, for we had more passion for the game, trusted each other more, and actually enjoyed playing. When you enjoy doing something, you are more likely to be good at that something. That is probably why I am good at twisting balloons, and bad at chemistry!

The lab this week was also a lot of fun, nothing beats a good teamwork activities, and the skits that we did were so much fun, and hilarious! My personal favorite was the Harry Potter skit, not that I am biased against muggles or anything... ;] I could really tell which groups really worked well together, though all of the skits were really good. Being in a class full of leaders, I thought there would be more contention between those who  wanted to control the group, but everyone really worked well together, and each person had their ideas heard. Other team work activities I have been in, have not been as successful. In high school, I was always the leader and did nearly all of the work because nobody in the group would do their part. I've noticed that working in teams at BYU, everyone does their part, which makes the group so much more efficient, and the task that much more enjoyable.

Being a part of BYU's Freeze Fest, I have had to work will the other people in the committee. We really have to have teamwork in order to accomplish our goal, and put on a successful event. I really enjoy everyone I have worked with for Freeze Fest, everyone really does their job, and I feel think we will be successful.

ethics and virtue

I really enjoyed our mock trial in our labs this week. The last time I did a mock trial was in 8th grade so it was fun being able to do it again. I think ethics and virtue is a touchy subject in court cases because it is do hard to deem the standards of what is right and wrong. Being in the LDS Church we have a clear understanding of these principles, but for people in other faiths (or people who have no faith), there can be a lot of grey area. We do have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights to deem what our natural rights are, but specifics such as abortion (life vs. privacy), and free speech (flag burning) can be interpreted either way. I think it is really important for people of the LDS faith to determine what the boundaries are by the Spirit. For I think the Founding Fathers were inspired when they wrote the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

I actually worked in law firm this past summer, and I know that lawyers may have to go against their best judgement and take the guilty side, which is why I could never be a lawyer. The lawyer even told me about some cases (not giving specifics or names) and clients who he absolutely did not like because of their crimes, and he had to defend them! I think lawyers have to have the mentality that it doesn't matter who wins or losses, just that justice is served.

In the case we did in class, I think the witness fell into peer pressure. I am an avid animals right activist, but students should have the opportunity to learn in the best way possible.

I do think that the final decision made in the case was the right one, and I was super excited that my side one! Go Defense!

I probably won't use ethics in my leadership role because being in charge of advertising for Freeze Fest does not involve a lot of controversy. But integrity can be used in every leadership role, and I can use integrity in my leadership role just by putting the most effort I can into that role, and not slacking on the job.

Service

This weeks lecture is on service, which summerizes our purpose for being leaders at BYU, to serve all those we can. I found it very inspiring that the speaker shared the great examples of service from famous leaders. George Washington not being dressed as a general, dug in the trenches along with the other soilders. Though he was a great leader and in very high standing, he was not above working in the muck.

A quote that really touched me is, " a servant leader is a servant first...it begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve others first, the conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead." All of the great leaders that I can think of never strove to be leaders and to be recognized, but only wanted to serve. They already had the serving mind set, so they were more able to become great leaders. I feel like being in a leadership position is a blessing, not something you can try to gain. Society views leadership from the opposite perspective which is sad, because we end up with leaders who are only in the position because they stepped on some many people on their way up.

In viewing my leadership position with BYUSA, for we were require to have a leadership position for this class, I think we should have viewed it as a "serving position" rather than a "leadership position" because we can't just "be" leaders. We really have to earn it. So instead of viewing my position as being the advertising coordinator for Freeze Fest as me being a leader, I am going to focus on how many people I can serve. The point of Freeze Fest is to bring BYU students together, to branch out of their cliches to form great relationships with people they would have never met before, as the motto "warm up your social life" suggests. I really want to serve the BYU student body through Freeze Fest, because I think they will really benefit from the time I spent working on this event. Through serving, I might be blessed to become a leader, but for now, I'm going to focus on those I can serve.

Conflict Resolution

I missed last weeks lecture about Conflict Resolution for I was flying home to Seattle to crown the next Daffodil Princess but I copied the notes from Victoria.

I thought it was interesting that "conflict is in direct opposition to growth", because we need opposition in all things in order to grow and develop, not only in a spiritual but in every other circumstance whether its working out, you need to strain yourself in order to get better, and in relationships. I have noticed that whenver my friends and I get in a conflict and figure it out, we are so much more closer. I have had some sort of conflict with all of my closest friends, because the opposition we have faced and overcame brought us closer. Conflicts can be any manner of things, whether it was a religious debate or an issue of trust.

In order to overcome conflict, you really have to humble yourself, whether its humbling yourself to forgive another or to admit that you have done wrong. I once struggled forgiving on my my friends who hurt me, repeatedly. I really had to humble myself, to forgive her and allow her back in my life, and I am so grateful I did. Once I got into the habit of forgivenes, it was so much easier to forgive other friends who did something against me.

Though there have not been any conflicts in my leadership position yet, as being on the activities commitee for BYUSA's Freeze Fest, if any problem did arise I would just have to remember to be humble, and see things from another's perspective, and remember that opposition makes relationships stronger.