Zoo Trip

I want to preface this blog by admitting that I forgot to reread the directions to this assignment before visiting the zoo. I got a little too caught up in the moment because I was so amazed by the animals that I forgot to take photos of those around me. Just so you know that I'm not lying about going to the zoo, here is a picture of me and my roommates who came with me!

 

To make up for the fact that I forgot to take photos of those around me, I have an amazing story that shows the contagious nature of laughter. While we made our way up the platform, surrounded by greenery that made it look like we were in a rain forest, we came to the lion exhibit. My roommates and I as well as some other zoogoers stood in front of the majestic lion who was sprawled out on the ground. He sat up suddenly and everyone in the crowd anxiously awaited to see what happened. This giant lion began to try to throw up a hair ball, looking like a domestic kitten. I instantly start cracking up. When others around me heard me laughing and realized what was going on, they joined in too. Before you knew it, this giant crowd was laughing so hard about this giant scary cat trying to throw up a hair ball. It was honestly one of the funniest experiences!

 

 

P.S. To brighten up your day here is a picture of two elephants who are totally in love.



Negative Humor

One of my roommates this year has a very interesting quality. By this I mean that she is sometimes a little bit racist. I love her, but it pains me to hear her make ignorant comments about people of different races. It demeans the years of work and progress that our country has taken to even get to this point.

On a Sunday, my roommates and I were walking to the BLUU, when she saw a Mexican man walking down the street with a thick moustache. She made an innocent joke saying "he looks like my gardener". Normally, I would have just laughed and dismiss this joke, but because of Lit&Civ II, I had a heightened awareness to negative humor.

To me, the comment was so uncalled for. She had no reason to assume anything about this man's life and it was kind of the final straw for me. This negative humor provided me with a gateway to talk to my roommate about how I felt about her attitude's towards people of other ethnicities. No one deserves to be treated as anything less than a human.

I hope that my roommate is able to learn, as I have, the effects of negative humor on our lives and the way we perceive those around us. I have noticed that by trying to cut down on negative humor I am much more accepting to those around me. By not looking for their flaws as a means to make a joke, I am able to celebrate people's differences instead of bringing them down for them. I sincerely hope this is a lesson that my roommate will learn soon.

Learning Reflection #3

Just yesterday, one of my classmates from high school passed away. His passing provided me with one of the biggest learning experiences I have ever encountered. Never take the ones you love for granted and always reach out to those who are struggling, because you don't know what that could mean.

Manny Vargas graduated from San Marino High School in the 2013 class. He transferred into our high school from a different school district. We had all gone to school together since kindergarten, so it took a lot of courage for him to enter into the social scene. The moment he stepped on campus, his infectious smile and contagious laughter blessed everyone that had the opportunity to know him. He was one of my good friends Freshman year, but we lost contact throughout the years.

On Sunday, Manny popped up on my newsfeed on Facebook. I seriously contemplated messaging him to let him know that I hoped he was doing well, but something inside of me decided not to. I wish so badly that I would have had to the courage to reach out.

On Monday, May 4th, 2015, Manny passed away by suicide. He threw himself in front of a moving train at a station in Los Angeles. I was devastated when I heard the news. It pained me so much to imagine how much sadness he must have felt to do something like that. Manny's smile and laughter will never be forgotten, but he has served to provide us with such a beautiful lesson.

Our time on this earth is limited and we need to remind those we love each and everyday of how much we love them. You never know if it's going to be the last time that you see them. I don't want to go a single day without telling my family and friends how much they mean to me. If I lost them without telling them, I would never forgive myself. Also, it is our duty as humans to help those who need us. I wish that I would've reached out to Manny. Maybe it could have made a difference. I never want anyone who feels that way to feel like they have no other option.

Manny will live on in our hearts. He will be dearly missed. RIP.

Learning Reflection #2

This spring break, I was able to go to NYC with the TCU Neeley Fellows program. This trip provided me with so many experiences to grow as a student and a professional. I came into the trip with a negative attitude, if I am being completely honest. I was homesick, tired, and felt beaten down. I didn't see myself working at any of the companies we were visiting, and most of all I couldn't see myself living in NYC. I came in with preconceived notions of what the city would be like from my past visits and my sisters experience. Lets just say all of that was pretty far off.

I started out the trip with a fun surprise. I missed my 8:00 flight out of DFW. In complete panic, I had to find a way to make it to NYC somehow. I without a doubt learned to always give myself some cushion time at the airport after a snow storm. I made my way to Lovefield Airport, waited in the terminal for 7 hours, and boarded a Virgin America flight to NYC that would land very late at night. So late in fact, I had to stay the night with my friends in the Bronx at Fordham University.

The trip began and we started visiting companies such as Footlocker, that I had no interest in before. Seeing the day to day life of an employee at a company like this showed me that I was in the right major. If I liked what they were doing at Footlocker, a company I had no interest in, then I was on the right track. My biggest learning experience came from visiting some Advertising Agencies such as VML and Translation.

I don't consider myself a very creative person, so marketing was really off the table for me at that point. I walked into VML and was captivated by the relaxed and innovative environment. I learned all about a job called an Account Manager, which is basically a person who uses management skills to serve as a link between the creatives and the clients. What they were doing was so interesting to me and I envisioned myself working there. I had no idea that through this trip I would find my future career aspirations and fall deeply in love with a city, that I had no intention to fall in love with.

Here's to the future!

Learning Reflection #1

This year I got a permission number from the business school to start taking classes for my major already, even though I am just a sophomore. I got lucky enough to have been admitted into Opportunity Recognition with the inspiring Michael Sherrod and I have truly learned so much throughout this class. Looking back and reflecting upon the wealth of knowledge that I have gained from this class, I know that I am walking away a better person, student, and entrepreneur.

Professor Sherrod has started multiple million dollar companies, including Digital City, which he sold to AOL for $400,000,000. Hearing such a large sum of money I instantly thought he would be a man that was motivated by this factor, that his success hinged upon his need for riches. At the beginning of the semester, this unbelievably bright man who was wealthy beyond belief looked the class in the face and told us that he had sold his mansion and his luxury car and had opted for smaller more realistic models, simply because he saw that those things were not making him happy.

We followed this conversation by reading The Monk and the Riddle. A book that outlines the Entrepreneurial journey and our tendency as humans to opt for "the deferred life plan". In essence this means, putting off our passions "in the short run" in order to pursue money. However, how this usually plays out is you wake up one day when you are 50 and realize that you're working a job that you actually hate. The book prompted us to explore how our passions and entrepreneurship intersected. It did not say that we aren't suppose to work hard or do things that aren't at times enjoyable. This idea really stuck with me. I long so much to find a career where I feel like I can wake up everyday, and maybe not enjoy it for each one, but at least know that I am making a difference.

The second and final learning experience that really stuck with me from this class is the idea of questioning everything as an entrepreneur. The world around us is teeming with inconsistencies that we are too blind to even notice because of our need to confirm our own biases. We as humans need to be actively searching to question authority, the way companies are being run, our own actions, and really everything that surrounds us to open our eyes to the world of opportunity that surrounds us. By practicing this discipline, it was amazing to see how much I realized, simply by opening my eyes.

Conversation Partner #6

For my final meeting with Vena, I met up with her and her sister for the Conversation Partner Social. It was so gratifying to see Vena interact with all her classmates. Each and every student was so unique, coming from completely different backgrounds. When I arrived, Vena squealed with excitement. She was so excited to introduce me to her friends. She had so much pride when she told people that I was her conversation partner. It was very sweet. Vena took me to go get some cookies and we played the most boring rounds of Apples to Apples of all time.  Playing a word pun game with foreign exchange students was a bit challenging.

I was able to meet both Hunter and Nikki's conversation partners as well. Getting to see two of my friends interact with this person that they had form such a special friendship with was really cool. Both of their partner's had such admiration for them. It really hit me that this thing that we were doing was more than just hanging out; it was making real friendships.

We gathered all of out conversation partners and were determined to find a more fun alternative to Apples to Apples. I ran over to the side and grabbed Jenga, hoping that they would like it. To my surprise all of us knew what the game was, no matter what country we were from. I can't really explain it but I felt such pride building that Jena tower up with Vena. Sharing something as stupid as a game with three pillars sounds a little ridiculous, but it made me feel closer to her. We played four of the most intense Jenga rounds in the history of the universe. When the day concluded I gave Vena and her sister a big hug and told each of them how special they were to me. Both of them expressed how much it had meant to them to have me as more than just a conversation partner, but also a friend.