The Big Picture

It seems as if I have completely changed from the first day of class. I remember coming in hearing all these stories about the "Notorious Richard Feinberg" and how the class was so weird. I thought exactly that. I had no idea how much I would learn about life and the working world from this class. I now know that I must make myself stand out and be remarkable to get myself noticed and to have others listen to me. I need to go above and beyond and do extraordinary things. I have learned valuable lessons about pain, prejudice, and life in general. This class has taught me to think outside the box and to become better in every aspect of my life. I have become a better person and writer and group member because of this class. It has been the most inspiring class I have had, and I was sad to see it end.

and so it goes.
YO

Pain

The lecture on pain was really great. In some people's cases I am sure that it made them feel like "wow, my life isn't so bad", and in others im sure it let them know that they were not alone. There are times when I really think my life sucks but this assignment allowed me to see that it is not bad at all. Some of the responses gave me the chills and I felt so terrible for those people. This was an eye opener and it changed my perspective on my own life and allowed me to see how great I have it.

Movies

I absolutely love the movies. I love the way that you are able to escape from your life for 2 hours and just transform into a character. Movies can really take you away. I had an english class my freshman year of college where the professor was obsessed with classic film. Besides being a total creep, he got us to open our eyes and pay more attention to film and the characters in it. We got to watch a movie the first 30 minutes of every 50 minute class which i loved, because I hate english. I feel like I know a lot about movies, but yet there are so many classics that I have not even seen. I was so glad to do an assignment where we could write about movies.

communication

This is a bit delayed from last week's class, but the communication activity we did was pretty useful. There are a lot of peole out there who just like to delegate something and dont give people a chance to say anything in return. It is those leaders who are not successful. The two way communication just shows how beneficial it is to ask questions and get them answered. There would be a lot less confusion in the work place if quesitons were answered more often. Discussions are so beneficial compared to delegating.

this is short but sweet, but thats what I thought about that class.

A Day to remember...

Today, 10 years ago we lost a family friend. Carissa Deason was a friend of my sisters and someone I looked up to as a 12 year old. She was killed on her way home from spring break her senior year of high school by a drunk driver. It was early in the morning and we were driving home from orlando, and we passed a crash on the side of the road in Tennessee. Not knowing anything yet, we said "That looks like the Deason's SUV", but continued driving back home. It wasn't until later that afternoon that we heard the news that Carissa had died. Her father, an ER doctor, couldn't do anything to help her after the crash. She was airlifted at the scene....

I cannot believe that 10 years have passed since the accident, but every time I hear of people drinking and driving I do not forget the consequences. Its a topic that is really close to the heart.

Below is a link for the PSA that was aired about her. Take a Look.

R.I.P Carissa Sue Deason

1981-1999

JoyStar Family Interactive Entertainment Network - Drunk Driving Prevention-Carissa Deason

Extreme Home Family!

I just recieved the email about the family we will be helping and I am so excited about it.

The McFarland Familyfrom left to right: Curtis, Bernard (father), Dominique, and Courtney

This morning, one special Indianapolis family heard Ty's famous greeting, "Good Morning McFarland Family" and knew that their lives were about to change.

Meet the McFarland Family:Inspired by a librarian, Bernard McFarland learned the power of books at an early age. Though raised in an impoverished family, Bernard McFarland overcame his obstacles with his thirst for knowledge and graduated from college.
Bernard has a personal mission to redirect the minds of the children in his neighborhood, Martindale Brightwood, with "Pack House 2000," a program dedicated to helping exercise the minds. A hero to many in his neighborhood, Bernard expands their dreams by forming reading groups and organizing field trips to libraries, museums and cultural events throughout the city. As Bernard leads these efforts to help children realize their full potential, the McFarland home has deteriorated to an unsafe dwelling where his sons, Courtney, Curtis and Dominique sleep on the floor of their shared bedroom.
This week, the McFarlands will enjoy a much deserved vacation, while The Estridge Companies, the Indianapolis community, and the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team: Ty Pennington and his designers, Paul Dimeo, Michael Mallony, Paige Hennis, and Ed Sanders, fulfill the wish of this inspiring father and his family who have helped so many capture their dreams of a greater education and better life.
This Extreme Makeover build is unique in that it will transform the lives of not only one family, but their neighborhood as well. Follow the transformation on estridge.com and visit the build site to support your Indianapolis Extreme build team.

It is incredible how many people in the community have volunteered their time to help an amazing family. I feel so honored to be able to be a part of it. Though this family has been through a lot, it is great to see the leadership Bernard, the father, has encouraged to many others in the community.

amazing.

I understand the concept of the class in the fact that we report to the leaders who report to the president and then to the CEO.. I get it.

What we did in class yesterday made me realize a couple of things:

What I do not like about this process is how many people are in our groups. It is hard for 20 of us to come together and write a paper when it seems like there are not enough ways for us to divide it up. If it were a 20 page paper then fine, we each get a page. People are afraid to speak out maybe beacause they are shy or just do not have an opinion, but it is really hard for people to speak out in a group full of strangers. (I know, this is what will happen in the real world). I also do not understand why our president is not even in our class. Okay, he took the class in the past-- but don't you think someone in our class should be given the opportunity to help run it the way we want? I also do not understand why all the grades for what we have done aren't posted. I do all of the extra credit and get emails back with points but they do not seem to get recorded.

I really am learning a lot from this class. It constanly challenges you to become a better person, leader, etc. Maybe because it is unlike any other class I have had, but it seems so unorganized to me and is always in complete chaos. Maybe that is part of the lesson though. To be able to learn that things need to be organized, properly communicated, and interesting.