Reading through the blogs this week, I perceived that our class has developed an open minded appreciation of leadership that really impressed me. For instance, I saw more than one post discussing Macklemore’s recent performance at Penn State as not only awesome but as an inspiration in leadership. It seems unlikely that a rapper could be seen as a positive role model and provide leadership advice for today’s youth, yet according to Madison and Ramya’s blogs about the Macklemore concert, the young rapper managed to accomplish just that.
Madison,
Unfortunately I could not attend the Macklemore concert, and after reading your post I feel like I really missed out! Many rappers in modern society gain fame by rapping about controversial topics. However as you discussed, these topics often consist of drugs, alcohol, and violence. I enjoyed your analysis of how Macklemore achieved success by rapping about controversial subjects that were much more meaningful and empowering. I also think that what you took out of the experience of seeing him perform says a lot about your own leadership skills. Your ability to see the value and importance of not only the messages in his songs but to take something away from the way he lead the audience shows that you have developed a keen eye for recognizing the leadership lessons that can be taken away from each type of experience. By sharing your insights from your experiences, you have also made your peers better leaders and I really appreciated the insights you shared specifically in this post! I can’t wait to see where your story takes you and how my own develops as well!
Ramya,
Wow, it sounds like you’ve been really busy! I know that as a college student it is hard to find the time to improve and empower yourself through events such as the ones you describe, but it seems like both experiences were completely worth it. It is obvious that the lessons you took away from the experiences left a positive impact on you! It’s also pretty cool that you are finding ways to attend such a wide range of performances and speeches and see the connections between them. For instance, your comment about talent and imperfections that you developed after seeing Macklemore, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, and Capt. Mark Kelly really blew me away! We so often get bogged down by the imperfections we find in our lives, yet if we focused on overcoming these imperfections instead of accepting them as roadblocks we could achieve more than we ever imagined. As always I enjoyed reading about your perspective on leadership and I hope you continue to enjoy such impactful experiences!