“We’re All in This Together”

There’s always something we have a love and hate relationship with. For me, one of those things is group projects. There are so many advantages to them, however, they can be very challenging. The pros or cons could go in either favor, but it really depends on the situation, the people in the group, and what type of project you are working on. In general, in almost any career, collaboration among a group of people to achieve a task is essential in making something work. Building effective communication skills, listening to to others ideas, and sharing a common goal all help a project to be completed well and efficiently.

Group projects can be great when the individual parts that make up a group have a role, carry out their role, and input on areas where they can be helpful. When working together it can be hard to share ideas, but with communication, these issues can be worked out. The best groups are comprised of members who are just as willing to listen as they are to share their personal ideas. When everyone is actively involved, the process not only is completed more efficiently, but it allows the experience to be more enjoyable. In contrast to doing projects alone, group projects are beneficial in terms of being more creative. When we work alone, we may only consider approaching a problem in only one way. When working with others, ideas can be more than one-dimensional and presented so that it appeals to a broader perspective. For these reasons, working in a group can be extremely advantageous, and allow a greater end result when carried out well.

Collaborating with others can also be really challenging for a number of reasons. Sometimes in groups, people think that if they blend or hide in the background, they won’t be noticed. When they are not the only person accountable, they let a few people take the reigns and hope to just throw their name on the project at the end. While not all people like to take control of a situation, input from other members is still incredibly important. Additionally, with more contributing members, it can help to have members focus on a particular section thoroughly, rather than spread across different aspects. However, when members don’t contribute, sometimes it can feel like the extra amount of people can slow the process. On the other side, with too many people looking to take control of a project without the support from others, a “too many cooks in the kitchen” scenario can result.

Through my various experiences in projects in different areas of study, I have always tried to play on the advantages of being in a group. I have tried to always be an active member and carry out my roles the best I can. While a lot of people don’t put in as much effort in a project due to the deindividuation that occurs, I feel a greater responsible to carry out my role. When people are relying on you, it’s important to do the best you can because your work not only represents you, but it represents others. So at the end of the day, even when a group project is really frustrating, everyone is in it together.

Passion Blog 4: If You Feel You’re Sinking

Halfway through the semester, it can feel like the days are never ending. Especially in the weeks leading up to spring break, the projects, presentations, and exams all start to pile up and everything happens at the same time. As frustrating as that is, it makes me all that much more excited for the break, when I hopefully don’t have to worry about too much. However, before we get there, we have a lot to overcome. Sometimes, there will be days when you literally want to give up. All of those goals for the semester just don’t seem possible anymore, and you just feel tired all the time. A lot of people hit this point, but there has to be a way to come back from it, right?

When the stress builds up and you literally feel like your head is going to explode, it almost feels like you’re actually drowning. The pressure to keep up your grades, stay on top of your homework, stay healthy, and still remain sane is a daunting task, but it’s still an achievable one (I think)! Sometimes, the breakdown is necessary in order to have the comeback. Sometimes, we have to fall apart to put ourselves back together. Sometimes, a mistake in the present can catapult future success. It may seem out of context, but Big Sean had it right when he said, “Last night I took an L, but tonight I bounce back.” College is a continuous stream of days in which students are forced to bounce back from a series of obstacles. That’s easier said then done, but sometimes, when you feel you’re sinking, you just need to try positive thinking.

Positive thinking can seem cliche to so many people, but attitude is the key to overcoming most situations. Most people don’t consider the effect that optimism can have on their performance. At least for me, I place a lot of the stress on myself, and in trying to perfect things, I can lose track of what is important. Stepping back and evaluating situations for what they are, instead of how it feels, can be crucial at times. Positive thinking can be more than just this “fluff” idea that people can dismiss.

Positive thinking promotes work ethic and persistence. Barbara Fredrickson, from the University of North Carolina, is a positive psychology researcher looking into these aspects. Fear, stress and negative thoughts can paralyze us, and prevent us from doing anything if we let it. It can make us narrow minded when we negative thinkers, whereas Fredrickson has noted the “broaden and build” theory through her research. The theory suggests that positive emotions broaden a person’s sense of possibilities, which allow them to build new skills for application in various jobs and life situations. Maybe that’s what we all need: a positive perspective. However, that’s very much easier said than done.

Often times, we determine our happiness or mood based on our success. Feeling great after a test you did well on or feeling miserable after failing one are not uncommon experiences for people. There is something more to consider though. Does happiness always bring success? Does success always make us happy Putting off happiness until we achieve some relative goal is a common mistake for most people, but what if happiness is our key to success? So when you feel you’re sinking, try positive sinking.

How Positive Thinking Builds Your Skills, Boosts Your Health, and Improves Your Work

A Little Piece of Advice

A lot of times in life we can encounter a person who makes us better. There may have been someone who reminded us to stay motivated, or someone who encouraged us to never change, or a person who just helped to lift you up when you were down. These moments can be so special that something we learned from it or something they said always sticks with us. By keeping these little things with
us, they can help shape who we are. Several years ago, someone told me, “Do what is right, even when you stand alone.” This saying has always resonated with me, and it’s something that has in some ways become a part of my character.

College is certainly filled with its challenges. From academics, social situations, and new experiences, it can be easy to get caught up in it all and lose track of who you are. There is something about this time in life and the transition that comes with it that can cause people to stray from their normal path. While sometimes this can be a good thing, the core of a person should not be lost because they have placed themselves in a new environment. Some people can be very self aware and realize the ways in which they are changing and evaluate if those changes are promoting or inhibiting their growth. However, some people can start to lose track of what makes them who they are among the chaos that often comes with college life.

When I think about what it means to do what is “right”, the meaning of this varies from person to person. What is right for one person isn’t always going to be right for someone else. Each person is different and with that comes a variation of what works for them. What is “right” for a person can be rooted in a spiritual belief, or a moral value, or just a personal stance they have developed through the experiences of their life. These things that are “right” can even change throughout a person’s life. The key to finding this compass of character is to self evaluate. By understanding what you need in your life to succeed, thrive, and be happy, only then can you determine your beliefs and values so that you can live your best life.

So many people in the world are afraid to stand to alone, in every aspect of what that means; whether that is to be physically alone or be isolated from others based on a certain belief. When you first leave for college, it’s a concept many people come to terms with. Incoming freshmen ask themselves, “Will I have friends? Will people like me?” It makes sense to worry about these things, but the value of being alone and taking time for yourself is often underrated. Being alone can give a person peace just to be with themselves and not worry about anything else. In another sense, to stand alone can be to stand up against the crowd. While everyone else may see something a certain way, when you don’t, it’s important that you hold true to your values. If everyone made the exact same choices and had the very same beliefs, wouldn’t the world be incredibly boring? It takes great courage to set yourself apart, even when others may not agree with you. However, doing this can sometimes be the greatest test of a person’s character.

Changes

Especially as a freshmen, the first year of college brings about a lot of new experiences. Your environment is changing, your interests are evolving, and you have acquired new knowledge about the world around you that you didn’t have before. However, as all of this is happening, you may realize yourself changing in some ways too. A lot of people have this notion that change is bad thing. So many people are afraid to step beyond their comfort zones, but this fear itself is what can lead to real problems.

When you have been away from people for a while, noticing differences in the way they look or act seems more obvious. Whether its physical changes or personal traits, people are bound to be different as they go through life, especially after leaving home for the first time. Some changes are good and some are bad, but either way, we can use them to learn something. Mistakes are an inevitable part of life, and they can happen a lot in college. Part of the process of maturity, though, is learning to make sense of our actions and choices. Being away from home, students are forced to deal with things for themselves. The days of parents fighting your battles and helping you through every little thing moves beyond you, forcing a person into a position of independence and self reliance. A lot of times, people don’t realize how much they have learned to tackle obstacles on their own, but it’s an essential skill for survival that college helps to initiate.

More than just the changes in who we are, we make changes in what we do. You might change your major a couple of times, change the group of people you spend time with, change your look, or just change your perspective. But luckily for college students, now is not a bad time to do it. Making changes can come at a risk, but the motivation behind changes and the greater goal attached to them, serves to make us better in the long run. Making changes is so much harder than people realize. Forcing ourselves out of our habits, taking on a new attitude, and trying to implement goals requires a consistency that a lot of people don’t possess.

Prioritizing what we want and executing a plan to get it is the only way to make changes. Someone once told me to replace “I don’t have time” with “It’s not a priority” whenever I talk about things I want to do, but complain I can’t get done. This really stuck with me because it creates a feeling of tension. There are a lot of changes people want to make, but priority determines which ones get carried out. I think a person’s priorities can say a lot about them, but that’s not to say they can never change what they are working towards. There are 3 C’s to remember in life: choice, chance, and change. To carry them out, “You must make the choice, to take the chance, if you want anything in life to change.”