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.

uuuuuuh, i dont know...

It seems like it has been a long time since we were on Spring Break. I loved how the moment I stepped of the plane and turned on my phone, I was welcomed with about 5 emails from Feinberg himself. "Welcome Home" I thought to myself. As I realized there are only enough weeks left to count on one hand, I thought "how can I be remarkable" in these last couple weeks. Luckily I am not graduating so I do not need to focus on a job in this awful market. I am studying abroad in Sydney this summer with an internship so there is no worries to find one of those. A rare opportunity came to me that would be awesome to step up to. I had the opportunity to sign up as a volunteer for ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition in Indianapolis this coming weekend. Yah, I am a fan of the show but to be able to help out with such an amazing experience is awesome to me.

Anyways.. this class is always making us think outside the box, and thats exactly what is going on for IM2... we have to spend more hours thinking about a movie we can even write about than it will take to actually write the paper. I am really trying to find something that will enable me to write an interesting analyis and not just a crap paper. As much as I want to get it over with, I hate submitting crappy work.

As you can tell, I am running out of things to talk about and I apologize to whoever it is that has to read my blogs....

In the words of Feinberg..

YO

the leadership backbone

"The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it. " --Elaine Agather

After class last week, our group leader sent out this quote. I totally agree with it. You either have the guts or in this case backbone to step up to be a leader, and you develop yourself from that. You will learn when it is appropriate to pull out the "funny bone" and be charasmatic. Once you are a leader, you can then use that to set goals for the future which would be the "wish bone".

This quote reminds me back to the day people nominated themselves to be leaders. The people with backbones immediately stood up and walked to the front, and I hesitated. I stood up but I didnt make it down the the front in time because I had to think about it. This doesnt say that I dont have a backbone, maybe it is just not as strong as others.....

On a roll....

I have really been trying to "be remarkable" in this class. I have been trying to really analyize things rather than just summarize. I was so excited to receive the feedback from Feinberg that I made his wall of greatness or whatever it was called for my memo on The Queen. I worked hard on it and I was excited to get a High A and that he even posted part of my paper in the email. I was also excited about the extra credit. The very first clip in the email had a clip from the movie Pay it Forward with Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osmond (sp?) .. which oddly enough was the same movie I sent a clip of in for extra credit. I'm finally getting a hold on this class and I like the way it is constantly challenging me to do things differently and outside the norm.

Props to my group leader Kaileigh-- she is doing a great job!

test

I was really nervous about the first test, but the word on the street was that everyone fails. I am the type of person who enjoys getting good grades and whatever the rumor may be, I like to be prepared. I decided to look at the previous exam posted online and I am glad I looked it over. Not only were some of the questions the same, but it gave me a good idea about how the test would be made up. I still dont know how I did, but I know I did alright. AND if the rumor is true about everyone failing, I guess I failed less than someone else! Rather than just blowing it off, it is important to have information and be able to expect the unexpected.

this blog sucked, but i have senioritis and im not graduating til december. I need spring break, now.


byeeee

Interview

I recently had an interview for a job and after yesterdays class, I am hoping I did well. He talked about different ways to make yourself stand out and be able to back up what you write on your resume. It made me worry that I had not heard back from the company, but today in my inbox I had one from the company to fill out another application. That was relief to me, because I thought what I had to say during the interview was relevant and I was able to talk about my experiences. I can't stand people who join groups clubs etc just to put on a resume. I think if you are going to be involved, actually be involved!

Im hoping to hear back from them soon!

Seminar week

This past week has been very busy for me. On Monday, I competed in a sales competition for Abbott Nutrition. I had been dreading it since the moment I entered, but I knew it would only help me gain experience in my major. So not only did I compete on Monday, I thought my team did awful and had to go to awards right before our leadership seminar. Much to my surprise, my team won and received a cash prize of $5000 to split between the four of us. This competition showed me that it is okay to branch out and try new things and not to be scared. It not only gave money, and a resume booster, but I was able to interview with Abbott on Wednesday. After running home and changing I ran to class and much to my surprise had a great time. Kirk was very upbeat and was able to keep my attention much to my surprise. He talked about being remarkable and doing simple nice things for others. I have already written a thank you note to the woman who interviewed me from Abbott. I had a great time listening to what he had to say and wrote down all the books he listed. I even emailed him after to say thank you and he emailed me back right away.

He said:
My pleasure to be with you Allison... thank you for your kind e-mail note...I'll keep it :) READ Lead - SUCCEED

Kirk

I thought that was really nice of him to email me individually. It shows a great leader makes time to appreciate others and gives simple gestures like that.

leader eval

Though I am a little behind on blogging from last weeks class, I have been thinking about what the "leaders" of the class had to say about themselves. When asked their leadership story so many of them just started listing activities they are in, President of and other stuff. When I am judging someone its not always about the list of their accomplishments. I want to know about them as a person. I remember the first guy who went up, not only was he an athlete and has accomplished a lot, he had a passion about being a leader and he wanted others to be involved. You could tell he really cared about others as well. To me, being a leader is more than what looks good on paper. You have to have energy, passion, and many other characteristics to get people to follow you in the first place. I am getting ready for an interview and I know I have done a lot of activities, but that is not the only thing that makes me who I am. I am glad that I had the chance to watch everyone so it showed me how to present myself in front of others better

i guess im a follower...

Soo today in class some people were picked out to tell why we should follow them. The first person said because she had thoughts. Well, obviously we all do thats a pretty lame reason. I did not have the best reason either, but I put a little more thought into it than that. But what is a good reason to follow someone? The second person said he was big enough to guard us from bullets that could be shot at us.... okay, I do not want to get shot but still, not the best reason. I obviously want to follow someone who cares about what they are doing, but what I am doing as well. I really do not know the type of person I would follow though. I guess it depends on the situation I am in.

So then the situation comes around to go to the front if we want to be a leader. People from the class start coming down, and I am trying to get out of my seat. I had a bunch of crap on my desk that was preventing me from getting up fast and by the time I got up we were told sit back down. I was labeled a non leader and I would never be able to be one in class. But if you were not the first person to stand up and get to the front does that make you a follower? You could have gone up there because someone else did, and that makes you a follower not a leader. You can look at it many ways. My theory: I have delayed reactions and I got up too late to slow.

I guess I will have to be ready for next time. :)

1/26/2009

Today I really enjoyed class. Not only were the email's read hilarious, but the videos were pretty entertaining as well. A lot of good points were brought up about how it is up to you and each one of the choices you make to make an impact in your life. You can choose to be plain and dull or you can choose to be remarkable.

In your own life you are faced with choices each day. One after another. Todays lecture made me think about all the little things in life that I have done. Have I opened the door for someone, have I said thank you for the little things, have I helped someone pick up their things if they dropped them? All little tasks yes, but they have an impact on someone. I like to think that I am that person who is willing to help someone when they need it. Its not always what you can do to get ahead in life. Sometimes taking the initiative to do things out of the norm and stand up for what you believe in is what it takes to be a leader.

The Queen

So today in class we watched the move "The Queen". I had seen the movie before so I knew what to expect obviously, but when you watch something for the second time you are able to understand things better. The second time around, I was more focused on the parts with Princess Diana. Before seeing this movie I had no idea that the Royal family disliked her so much. Anyways...

The quote at the beginning of the movie said a lot. It was "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" -Henry IV

Being put in any leadership position can be hard. When Princess Diana died, although the Queen did not like her one bit, it was a situation she had to deal with. It seemed as if she put it off as long as possible. I thought the position the Prime Minister was in was even harder. Knowing how the Royal family should have acted and suggesting to them things they should do would be rough. How would you even approach someone with the title of Queen and tell them what they are doing is wrong? I couldn't even imagine and I thought the leadership he showed throughout the movie was the strongest. It goes to show that it is not always glamorous to be a leader, but you have to know what the right thing to do is.

CSR 309 First Day

I didnt know what to expect going to this class. I had heard so many different things about what to expect. To my surprise there were a ton of people I knew which made me feel better. We started watching what seemed to be an infomercial, and I was not sure if I were to be taking this seriously or not. So I kept watching, and knew others were thinking the same. A kid turned around and asked the man teaching the class if this was a joke and got yelled at... it was pretty funny! When the "infomercail" was over we had to write what we thought the philosophy of the thing was.. which to me I thought the man was talking about how you can take charge of your life and change the aspects of it in a moment.

After we turned in the papers, some students filed out immediately. Others stayed in their seats. Since I had no idea what was going on I stayed until class ended. This eventually led to me learning that there was an assignment due today that I didn't know about. I didnt know because earlier in the day when I went on blackboard to print out the syllabus (afraid something like this might happen) the link for the class didn't work, so I was mad.

Anyways, at the very end of the class, brave students stood up and told us to read the syllabus multiple times and carefully to find assignments, and that they are not due in numerical order.

This class is going to teach me to be very observant. We will see how the rest of the year goes, and how it class will show me more about leadership.

Byeeeeee