Something to think about.





Definitely Worth Reading!

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.The students laughed..

'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and mow the lawn.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.


author unknown -- happy to attribute if somebody knows

Life Would be Pointless Without the People You Love

Throughout my life I have been extremely fortunate to have had multiple people who have acted as mentors. I remember back in 6th grade when I made the conscious decision to surround myself with only people who better me as a person. This decision, I believe is what led me to have so many mentors and guiding figures in my life.

One mentor who really stands out in my mind is Mr. Pregitzer from Milford High School. Mr. Pregitzer dedicated his time to making sure that all of his students succeeded. I truly admired Mr. Pregitzer because of the way he was so passionate about what he was teaching and doing (he was the adviser of Milford DECA, a marketing program for juniors and seniors). He was so intelligent, had so many connections, and knew all there was to know regarding marketing. He truly could have gone on to start his own company or do something that most would consider extraordinary; but really, me and the many other students before and after me would agree that what he did was more than extraordinary- he made a huge impact on our lives.

For me, Mr. Pregitzer helped me realize my potential. Through his guidance and motivation I was able to take 1st place in the nation in a Creative Marketing Competition. Never did I think I would be able to beat out 700 other students to win first place in Anaheim, CA. This new found confidence led me to apply for many colleges I would have only dreamed of going to. I went to Saint Louis University and then again, Mr. Pregitzer came in handy when I needed to make the tough decision to transfer or not. I didn't even have to email, call, or write him, I could just hear his words from high school always reminding me to do what I think is best for me, and follow my passion.

I believe I am where I am today thanks to Mr. Pregitzer. I know that no matter what I may need he will be the mentor who guides me in the right direction. What is so special to me about this mentor-ship was it wasn't forced- he didn't have to, he wanted to.

Since I was so lucky in the people I have been surrounded by, I always try to give back the same way people gave to me. I have never really been a mentor on purpose, or by assignment, they have just happened. For example, I came to Ohio State as a transfer student my sophomore year, and now, a sophomore that I live with just transferred here. I remember it being so difficult for me coming here; not knowing which orgs to join, how to meet people, everything was just very overwhelming. I try to make it a smoother transition for my roommate this year so that she can learn a lot easier than I did. I want her to have a better experience than I did my first year here so I do my best to share my knowledge of "what I would've/could've/should've done." While my relationship with my roommate is first and foremost a friendship, I still look at it as a mentor-ship because we are both learning from each other and sharing our experiences to better one another.

M.B.T.I

Before Buckeye Leadership Fellows I had never really heard of the MBTI before and I definitely never thought I would be taking it and getting an overall analysis of my results; but I must say I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity.

I think that the MBTI is a great tool but I would most likely not bring it up in casual conversation or in a job interview. My reason being, I see the MBTI as being more of a tool to help me better understand myself and why I may act the way I do in certain situations. Going into a job interview confident and understanding myself and  how I would react in certain situations based on my MBTI, I believe is more important than simply telling the employer that I am an ESFP.

So, although I don't see it as a talking point in a conversation or interview I still see it as an essential component. It is a way to help students, like myself, become more aware of themselves which ultimately could help in an interview.

Overworked and Unpaid

When people ask me how my summer was it usually sums it up when I mutter the words, unpaid. But in all honesty, I'd be lying if I told you I was at all unhappy.

I worked two internships, one with GCSC (The Greater Columbus Sports Commission) and the other with The Advancement Department at Ohio State. As an intern at both I helped mainly with the planning and execution of events. At GCSC, I was able to be apart of the biggest event Columbus has ever seen; USA Junior Girls National Championships. The event brought in 30,000 visitors and more than 30 million in visitor spending. I was able to meet girls from all over the country and help change their perception on Columbus by showing them what the city really has to offer. It was truly something amazing to be apart of. And over at the Advancement Dept, I was/ am assisting in Ohio State's HUGE campaign kickoff to happen this October. I'm working on a bunch of smaller odd jobs right now but hey, event planner isn't always the over-the-top events. Both very different types of events and experiences but both very unforgettable!

More importantly to me, I met so many people and I spent time with people who were happy and loved what they were doing. When I tell people how I want to go into the events industry they never skip a beat to tell me how I'll be working such LONG hours and LOW pay. (Sadly people care about that over what will make me happy). But anyways, seeing the event planners that I worked with happy and loving what they do completely reconfirmed my decision to go into hospitality and pursue a career in event planning post college.

By the end of the summer my friends working at places such as JP Morgan Chase, P&G, and Ernst and Young all were receiving offers for jobs after graduation. Not me. I guess that's what comes when working at smaller companies but hey, I am not going to stress and am going to enjoy the ride to see where I'll end up in just 9 short months. Okay, I'm completely lying, I'm stressing out, but writing that kind of made me feel better about it so I'll keep telling myself that.

And that was the last summer I will ever have as a student. Well worth it.

After 30 + times trying to make the sound and lighting better, I gave up.

Critical Thinking

vlog 4

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

(i really need to work on my head bobs= goal for next vlog) 

vlog 2

Spring Break 2K12

Since the theme of this years spring break seemed to be #YOLO (you only live once), it was definitely a great time. Watch the vlog to hear more about my favorite memory from that week!

Passion Breeds Success

Lesson #1. Everyone MUST be working towards the same goal. 

The initial meetings of this challenge were, well, more or less brutal. Everyone their own unique way of how they interpreted the challenge and their vision for this thing we were calling a conference. Everything was messy and the people who liked what we had come up with were excited and always wanted to work on this conference and then there was the other side of the spectrum where the people who were uninterested were clearly uninterested. This really bothered me. I decided to share my thoughts with a few people and soon realized they were on the same page as me. You might be asking why I decided to share with only a select few? Well because I knew some people just wouldn't care and the others who were passionate about it would get upset. Us in the middle kinda decided something needed to change. Once the organization structure changed, and then the whole idea of the conference changed as a result I finally felt great about this conference. Yeah, it came a little late in the quarter but it was needed. From what I have noticed everyone seems to be pretty passionate about the idea of this challenge. There will most likely always be a few people who have different ideas but for the most part the reactions I saw were excitement and motivation. Now that we are all on the same page and have a desire to work towards the same vision, I know believe that we have the potential to hold one of the most successful conferences that Ohio State has ever seem. 

Lesson #2 Not Everyone Can Be Heard. 

As much as it killed me to learn this (my Includer trait), its so true. Working in a group of 20 extremely intelligent people, who all come from different backgrounds and have many different outlooks on how things should be, is really difficult. As an outsider, I think it would look like the most interesting and insightful group of people; and while I would completely agree there are times where it can be a little much.When a group of 20 people all want to give their opinion on every matter, things don't get finished. The line needs to be drawn somewhere for where a few opinions is enough. Since we are a group of such talented and bight people we need to realize that each and every one of us has the ability to make a large decision and while it would be nice to have everyone's input, it just isn't practical nor realistic.. This leads me directly into my next lesson. 

Lesson #3 Trust is Crucial 

When someone says they trust me, I expect them to mean it. There were times when people would throw the "trust" word around and so while I felt completely empowered to work on whatever it was, it would sometimes bite me in the butt. I would show what I had completed and "this needed to be changed, this wasn't good enough, etc." It was, for lack of a better word, annoying.  Having trust in someone, to me, means expecting they get the job done, knowing they will do a good job, and not having the need to critique the work they completed. After communicating this with many people I eventually noticed a change. Rather than just saying trust I think now people actually practice trust. This trust that has been formed in the fellows has proven to be effective. I see this empowerment leading to actually getting things accomplished, not holding back because they are worried they will do it wrong. Establishing trust is hard, but necessary, and I'm thankful that we, as fellows, have found that crucial element. 

Potatoes & Rice?!

I was so excited when I heard we were finally doing something where our parents could get involved. My mom is constantly asking about BLF and what we are doing so I knew loved actually getting to be a part of it. I think it is important for the people close to us to understand what we are learning in these challenges and how they are shaping our leadership styles and the ways we are growing professionally from them.

For those of you who didn't talk to my mom... my mom and I are essentially the same person; which when working together can cause some problems. (Apparently I can never be satisfied.. I work with people completely different and its difficult, and I work with people exactly the same as me and its difficult.. ?) Anyways, like I said, working together we can sometimes butt heads. Although during this challenge it turned out a little differently. Neither of us are outstanding cooks unless we follow a recipe so from the beginning we both kinda stepped back and had fun figuring out different ways to beat chicken.. My mom and I both took on the same role and worked together to get it accomplished. Although I did see our particular behavior shine through when beating the chicken because she had her way of doing it and I had mine and since we are both stubborn we both wanted to only do it our way; after some time we compromised and I'm pretty sure we had the best flattened chicken there.

Thinking back, I don't think our group actually had a defined vision- which made it really exciting, fun, and  then of course stressful at the end when we had to throw everything together on a plate. I think we were a little worried at first because none of us in the group claimed to be excellent cooks (Joe was clearly lying). So starting off we tried to think of what we knew rather than really thinking outside of the box. I think it would have been more beneficial for our team to have taken a step back and create a vision for our meal rather than diving right into it.

In my perspective I really didn't find this too much different from when we work with just the fellows. I guess the only thing would be was I saw us kind of relying on our parents because we knew they had more experience so we were looking to them for guidance. Whereas when we just work together none of us noticeably the others when it comes to experience in a particular topic. I didn't feel as pressured to make things perfect either just because I knew if I messed up on something, my mom or one of the other parents in my group could help me out. It felt a little more relaxed than when working with the other fellows.

The most challenging part of this challenge would definitely have to be my lack of creative thinking when it comes to cooking. I have no idea what would go well together when it comes to food so I couldn't add much  to that conversation. I am someone who doesn't really branch out when it comes to flavor so it was really a challenge trying to imagine how pretzel breaded shrimp would taste. (Ended up being really good!) The easiest part was letting loose and just having fun with it. No offense to my team, but I really didn't think we would win... We were going against Meaghan the chef for petes sake. So I guess I didn't get extremely competitive from the get go and just wanted to make sure everyone had fun- and that was super easy!

Time Management- Yeah it was difficult but I was always making sure cooking times and such were all taken into account before doing anything.
Communication- After working at Sloopys I completed understand how important communication is in a kitchen. I was always updating people on what I was doing and getting updates in return to make sure we were all on the same page.
Decision Making - I really don't like making decisions. but I think for this challenge I was fine with it. And when we had no idea what we were going to put on what plate, Joe Shelby and I all made quick decisions and while potatoes and rice on the same plate isn't the best decision we've ever made... at least we tried? and, it definitely could have been worse....

 is anyone else confused?

.

I would most definitely recommend this challenge again. I had so much fun and I know my mom did too! It was great to incorporate new people into the group. I feel like the fellows, for the most part, are very comfortable with each other  by now and to throw in someone else spices things up a bit. (No pun intended).  Although I do feel like we were all pretty much miniatures of our parents!

Our food, made with lots of love, I actually really enjoyed!

Special thanks to Eddie, Sarah and Ryan for putting this together!

hopefully I'm not violating any copyright policies by using that picture at the top.... (property of ohio union) ?

This weeks blog prompt may have come at just the perfect time. I need to reflect in my life, but I have been putting it off.. why you ask? 1. because I am the best procrastinator. 2. I have so many things running through my mind I can't find the perfect place to start. Maybe this prompt will help.

Lets see. I wake up, play all my scramble games (for all you scramble addicts you know where I'm coming from/ get at me- jnorton36) think of everything I have going on that day, head to class, do some homework, go to meetings, find time to talk to my ma and pa, eat, procrastinate on the things that don't seem interesting and aren't do for a few more days (Kelsey, I told you discipline was NOT one of my strengths).. and yeah that is about the extent of my day. Nothing that the average person doesn't experience. 

But why have I chosen all these activities as a part of my daily routine though? Well scramble is boss <Ernest>  and class is mandatory, meetings are... well.. meetings and also mandatory and the rest is self explanatory. The unique thing about all of this, is I actually really thrive on the things I do every day. Lucky for me, I had some weird epiphany Freshmen and I was able to find my passion. So since changing my major I enjoy all the classes because I know its pretty much exactly what I want to do. Knowing what my passion when coming to OSU, I was able to strategically pick the groups I wanted to be involved in. MCEC- provides me with experience and insight for my career path, BLF- One of the reasons I joined was because it sounded awesome and the fact we were the inaugural class, but also because I can tell this is preparing me for my future in ways I never imagined.   AKPsi- Networking, friends, opportunities, etc. Rent The Runway- Again, experience for my career path as co-event planner.

I must say, I am pretty proud of where I am and what how I have chosen to spend my days.


Looking back on this past year it's hard to think about what my crucible moment has been. I guess I would have to say it actually happened fairly recently. It was when I was turned down from the Hershey Internship. While interviewing I was almost positive I was going to get the job, maybe I was over confident. Unfortunately I was unable to receive feedback so Ill never know why but what I do remember is how I felt during the interviews. I wasn't interested. I came to Ohio State because of my major, and now I was looking for a job outside of my major just because it was good pay? Yeah, as a broke college student that sounds extremely appealing, but isn't that kinda defeating the purpose of changing my major and following my passion? So I was pretending to be way too interested in this job when being interviewed and to be honest, I think I even convinced myself. If offered the job, I would have taken it. When the lady called to inform me of not getting the position I was a little upset. I guess it just hurt my confidence because I was so certain they would offer it to me; but in addition to being upset, I was so relieved. It reminded me of my purpose of being here. I think it happened for a reason, and a good reason that I didnt get it. Sometimes it takes something to reopen your eyes and remind you of your goals and mission; and thats exactly what Hershey did for me.


Something I haven't considered in a while- my future.
 why? Well because I use to do that a lot in high school. I wanted to think about my future all the time. Once I came to college that changed completely. I think I was scared to think about what my future will consist of; I didn't want to have any expectations and end up disappointed so I have just been taking it day by day and thus far I've been happy. Sometimes I want to think about the future but I stop myself and I'm not sure of the reason. But I am going to take this time to ponder about about my future and hopefully in a blog to come I will write about my thoughts and if I am going to stick to not thinking about it or if I ended up liking it and will continue to do it.

A Creative Mind is Rarely Tidy

The more and more I read about creativity the more meaningful this quote becomes to me. I really like this quote because the problem I had at the art museum was coming up with 3 questions about creativity. After redoing the same exercise at the end, I realized something... I thought too hard about being creative and original that it was actually a mental block. I was too worried about if others would find it creative that I didn't just write it down. So while I think creativity is important, I think we need to focus more on building relationships and atmospheres that foster confidence and courage to say and do whatever it is that is on the mind. I listened to Tim Browns Ted Talk on Creativity and Play and I just want to point out a few quotes from the talk.

(to give background info, if you dont watch the talk, Tim does an exercise in the audience where he asks everyone to draw a picture of the person sitting next to them in 30 seconds, after 30 seconds is up, multiple "sorrys" are said, and a lot of people embarrassed to show their drawing). 

 "we fear the judgment of our peers, and that we’re embarrassed about showing our ideas to people we think of as our peers, to those around us. And this fear is what causes us to be conservative in our thinking. So we might have a wild idea, but we’re afraid to share it with anybody else." 

"OK, so if you try the same exercise with kids, they have no embarrassment at all. They just quite happily show their masterpiece to whoever wants to look at it. But as they learn to become adults,they become much more sensitive to the opinions of others, and they lose that freedom and they do start to become embarrassed. And in studies of kids playing, it’s been shown time after time that kids who feel secure, who are in a kind of trusted environment -- they’re the ones that feel most free to play."

This reiterates my point that a trusted and secure environment is needed. For BLF I see us getting there, while we are one intimidating group of people; such intelligent, involved, already successful people, I hope we can create this type of environment to allow ideas to freely flow without the worry of embarrassment and sensitivity.

But one question I do have is - how do we build this type of environment? We all see play and friendship differently. I challenge us to figure out what it is that can make our group of diverse, and special personalities feel as though we are in an environment of play and to let loose and be the creative person we all can be.

Moving on in the prompt.

PLAY: Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.

Last time I played?- Hmmm, besides being out with my friends over the weekend, I'm going to say the last time I play was in a Major Campus Events Committee Meeting I had awhile ago. All 12 of us were 'playing' a game and we were all just having a blast, ideas were flowing, people were laughing and I truly enjoyed it. I wish everything could be like that!

Fridays workshop: 
First of all I'd like to say thank you to the CMA because I really enjoyed that. Its so nice to break up work with fun. I think it was a great way to get to know each other and how we work in an environment other than sitting around a large table trying to come up to thoughtful responses to Eddie and Sarah's questions. Mind you, I do enjoy those [:


Creativity Before- I really think I believed that to be creative you had to be artistic.
Creativity After- EVERYONE is creative. I just think about it too hard. Let the ideas flow.
   

I have taken a lot away from this workshop, mainly as I have said in here a couple times already..

DON'T THINK TOO HARD ABOUT THINKING CREATIVELY.

The chapter of my autobiography will come in a second post. I want to think about this one. 

 “Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you 

work.” -Rita Mae Brown

Life = Risk

STRENGTHS

ADAPTABILITY

      EMPATHY 

                INCLUDER

   RESTORATIVE

SIGNIFICANCE 

    
something I plan to do more of is reflect on them and make sure I am using them to the fullest.

A strength that I thought I used exceptionally well during the previous challenge was my restorative strength. According to Gallup Strengths Finder the Restorative strength means: 

"People especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it"

Although, our team was perfect and there wasn't much to restore ..... (I'm not sure, perhaps I am the only one who feels this way?).

Just kidding, BiggerThanTheGame definitely had our fair share of problems. From communication, to fundraising I had a few moments where I just wanted to rip my hair out and quit. But, since a strength of mine is Restorative, I knew I needed to fix these problems. I took a step back, looked at the problem at hand and (not always in the best of ways) resolved it. For instance, we obtained only a few corporate sponsors... nearing the end of the challenge I had no idea what to do.. WE NEEDED MONEY! I thought and thought about ways to go about it rather than just asking for money on the corner, and absolutely did not want to let my team down so I was going to get that money. After realizing all the resources here on campus I figured fundraising nights would be the best. Although it didn't work out as planned.. we raised maybe $300... but it was still a solution, and I felt proud and I  think my teammates were happy I didn't just give up. Although this resolved the problem for not having a ton of money, I think it did something much bigger, I think it also restored the excitement and confidence that BiggerThanTheGame had in the beginning on the challenge.

SKiLlz 

Yeah, its alright Napoleon, I don't computer hacking skills or nun chuck skills bow hunting skills either... 

but I think I could think of a few I do have. Lets see...(making list on paper) 

Okay, so my top 3

Organizational, Creative Thinking, Influencing Others... oh one more I'm actually really good at Vignettes.

  

Even though I gave 4 skills there is one that I can truly say I want to use to the fullest during the planning of this conference and that is my creative thinking skill. Like I have said in earlier posts I know that I have great ideas but I dont like throwing a rough draft of ideas out there. I rather take a week to come up with just one great idea. I know this poses a huge problem because time is valuable in this planning, so since I know I have this skill, I am going to for once, just throw my ideas out there. Im sure some will work and some will be completely stupid, but its the fact that I am not wasting a skill that will be only extremely beneficial to the planning process.

FEEDBACK

Okay so I tried really hard to make this video relate in a creative way to the way I like feedback, but the more I think about it... I don't think its gonna work. sorry.

I look at feedback and something positive, and I  think so many people see it as something negative. Honestly, if someone tells me something on ways I can improve I am very grateful that they are taking the time our of their day just to make me a better person. Yeah, sometimes it can be hurtful and things I don't necessarily want to hear, but, what I have learned is that hearing those things that I don't want to hear, is the feedback that has made the most impact in my life. So honestly, I welcome feedback of all kinds- I truly do not have a preference of how to receive it. I will say though, that if someone were to give me feedback and the way they went about it offended me.. I would simply tell them and maybe ask that next time they went about giving me feedback that they would do it in a way that wasn't so offensive. But I would not make a big deal out of it at all.     The feedback that I love the most is recognition. A strength of mine is significance, and while I still am completely confused on how "wanting to be important in the eyes of others" is a strength, and I can't help it but I really do appreciate recognition. To be honest, I think it has to do with being a middle child (they never get the credit or recognition for anything)! As much as I love being recognized I also love giving recognition when people deserve it; so that is some feedback you all can most definitely expect from me! In short, please just provide me feedback in the way you feel comfortable with and I will simply let you know if it bothers me! 

Before I leave I want to share this motivational video that I watched today in a meeting. I think it really relates to BLF. 

Thats all my fellows, 

          -Jessica 

I LOVE BEING A BUCKEYE! 

(This video never gets old)

Truly though, I really do love being a buckeye. Being a transfer student it is so easy for me to see how great of a university Ohio State is. There is an endless amount of opportunity. I truly wish I could take advantage of all of it. Ohio State has so much diversity, tradition, resources and the list goes on and on of all the obvious great things, but there is something about being a student here that provides an overwhelming feeling. I love the sense of community and pride. Although I don't even know a fraction of the people here, the ones I have had the opportunity to meet I am so grateful for. They each provide their own unique perspective on anything and everything. My two years at Ohio State have truly shaped the person I am and more importantly the person I want to be once I leave college (ew I really hate that thought).
   

If you can't tell I am in a grateful mood.. I read this article  on expressing gratitude and how it can lead to a happier life.... ( I just like to read weird things like that), and so I figured no better time to start than now!


Anyways here is my prompt 1, We'll see how this goes.....






Initial Reactions 

• YAY!. 
• I was so excited. I mean event planning is what I'm going to school for,  how could I not be excited?
• Uh Oh 
• I knew right away that people were going to expect a lot from me. Especially the ones that know I want to go into Event Planning. As soon as the challenge was stated I got texts and looks about how this is "so me", although this is was an "uh oh" it also made me super excited and motivated. A chance to stand out with something I am extremely interested in. 
• Another Uh Oh 
• After being presented our challenge, I looked around the room and realized how hard this was going to be with these completely different personalities. As an optimistic person, I tried to think positively - after all we are Juniors in college, we can go about things in a mature manner. 

Biggest Fears 

• Me?.... An introvert?
• My whole life I have been an extrovert, but as early as the first conversation talking about our challenge as a group I backed down. I think this happened because I feel like a lot of personalities in our group pick apart what people say and analyze it, but I just want people to take what I say for how it is, so I almost was afraid to say anything. Also, I'm not much of a brainstromer, or even a rough drafter, I think long and hard about something and then I'll put the idea out there. But until then, I really don't want anyone critiquing it. I know this is something I need to work on, mainly because I don't want a great idea I have to miss an opportunity to be heard. I guess I'll stop worrying about what others think and shout my ideas out there. 
• Hostile Environment
• And to think I thought that last quarter working in teams created a bad environment for the group, I'm afraid this could make it even worse. As someone whose 4/5 strengths are relationship strengths it really bothers me to see that people already have problems with each other. In my ideal world everyone would get along... I know, beauty pageant answer, but so true. From here on out I really would like to see everyone express their feelings openly. Keeping them bottled up will result in an ugly explosion.. and one that I really don't wanna be apart of. 

Largest Hope

• Equality 
• This definitely goes back to my request for everyone getting a long. But for this challenge, I HOPE that we will all see eye to eye and realize we are all on the same level. No one is better than anyone, we are all different and have different strengths.. Lets welcome everyone  to use all their strengths to the fullest, and even if they don't necessarily coincide with our own, still be respectful. 
• Sorry it is not my intention to come off like a counselor. I am at fault for making all of these mistakes too! 

Expectations 

• Myself 
• I have high expectations for myself. Like I said earlier, I could tell people were going to expect a lot out of me, and they should. I would expect a lot from someone else if our challenged was based around the sciences or something I have no knowledge with. But I really want to shine through with this challenge and impress myself. Working with a team is hard, and I expect myself to be open to all ideas and think about what is for the good of the group and not just something I would like to see. 
• The Group
• I can tell there are mixed expectations. Some want an extravagant convention- some really aren't that into it at all. Both are totally fine. But like I expect of myself, I also expect of the group... to think about the good of the group and the good of this convention and not just themselves. (I don't see this being that huge of an issue). 

Core Competencies 

• Teamwork 
• This will be HUGE. In my opinion, teamwork will make or break this challenge. 
• The Other 13
• All will play a huge role in how this conference turns out. I plan to keep all of them in mind while going through this next year and working on this challenge.

Well so now you know where I stand on this challenge, cant wait to read all of your blogs and get a better understanding for where each of you stand as well.


Adios,
-Jess

In Just 10 Weeks...

Words can not properly explain how grateful I am to be a Fellow in BLF. I have already noticed a major improvement in many aspects of my life; from the way I see/think about things, to the way I communicate with people, the way I manage my time, and the way I challenge myself to do things out of my comfort zone. I know that this program will put me a step above my competition when my time ends at Ohio State.

Even though I already feel like I have learned a ton about myself, and other things, I still have a lot that I would like to get out of BLF. I have many goals in my life but I realize I need to first accomplish the small ones to get to the bigger ones. I have 3 main goals that I have for myself in the BLF program:

1. Build Confidence. I don't think this is a trait that I necessarily lack but I know it is something that I will always need to work on. There are multiple times where I doubt myself, such as knowing an answer to a question that my teacher asks, but then I second guess myself and someone beats me to answering when I knew it all along. Or when doing an impromptu speech, I'm sometimes afraid I'll sound ridiculous and then I psych my self out and actually do end up sounding ridiculous. I just know that if I was able to be way more confidant in myself and realize that I can do it/ do know it, then that confidence would show in multiple aspects of my life. I want to go about building my confidence by doing things out of my comfort zone and while I may doubt myself at first, after I realize I can do these things I wont have to hesitate anymore. Although, this is easier said than done, so it is something I will have to continually work at; and I am very willing.

2. Networking Skills. While I thought I already knew a lot about networking from my businesses classes in high school and college, there is a lot that I didn't know. I really enjoyed the networking event that we got to go to and I realized I still have a long way to go. I can be professional in that kind of setting, but I noticed I need to work on my business card trading, my follow-up emails, and just making a connection and keeping that connection. Through the BLF program we are going to have the opportunity to meet so many accomplished people and I want to have them in my network while in BLF and long after. So, while I know the basics, I am going to do my best to go above and beyond.

3. Time Management. In almost every single one of my evaluations the past quarter I talked about how my time management skills have improved or still need improving. Last quarter I realized just how important this skill is, I've never been as involved as I am this year, and while I absolutely love every second of what I do, it gets extremely stressful at times, and that's why perfecting this skill would be ideal.


While I am on the topic of goals, I'm going to jump into talking about my teams (BiggerThanTheGame) goals.I remember at the first meeting together we were so excited and we set our goals so high because we truly believed that is what we could obtain. We talked about how we would achieve these goals and everything seemed perfect. Once we got into the grind, we realized we didn't really have enough time to go about getting the money and reaching out to Michigan the way we wanted to. We didn't a plan B lined up so I the 'Director of Corporate Relations' just kind of gave up for awhile. I was overwhelmed because I didn't know what to do to get this money. I wasn't hearing back from companies and I didn't reach out to my teammates like I should have because I didn't want to disappoint them (even though I know they would have been more than willing to help out). After giving up and realizing we had just about $0.00 I knew I had to do something. That's when I decided to go the old fashioned route of fundraising. Just putting on events at bars and restaurants and pretty much just standing there and asking people to donate. While it was really upsetting to come no where near our original goal it was eye opening to see what we could have done to prevent this. We should have set more realistic goals for the time we had and for the way we wanted to go about it, and we also should have had a backup plan in case our original did not work. I am actually really thankful for failing because I'm not sure if I would have learned as much as I did.

I not only failed in reaching our teams goals, but I failed miserably at the presentation in NYC. Wow, I don't even know what to say about that. It was quite the experience. I am not a bad public speaker nor am I a shy person, that is why I was so disappointed in myself for being like that. Although I do know exactly what I did wrong. As I said earlier I have ZERO confidence when it comes to impromptu speeches, and while our presentation wasn't necessarily impromptu, we never rehearsed it. And that's where I am different from my teammates. I am someone who needs to pretty much know what I am going to say and feel confidant about it or else I freak out and mix up all my thoughts and they come out like they did --- like jibberish. I am not blaming my teammates for this because it is solely my fault. I should have stepped up and told them that that is how I am and they would have had no problem going over it with me but instead I knew none of them needed it like me so I just didn't say anything because I didn't want to sound needy or pushy.
     I know this is a major weakness of mine because I am not always going know beforehand what I will have to say so this is something I need to work on but I also need to work on speaking up for myself and knowing that this is how I am and other people will more than likely be understanding. This was definitely my biggest learning experience from the whole quarter because it was so unlike me, but I REALLY never want it to happen again, and I will make sure it doesn't!

But anyways, I enjoyed this challenge so much. I hope you all were able to get as much out of it as I did. I can't wait to see what this quarter brings and what I can learn about myself and others in just another 10 weeks!

Until next time,
- Jessica