Diversity Event:A Business case for dveristy

I attended the "Business case for diversity" diversity event a couple of weeks ago. This event focused mainly on diversity in the work place. I learned that diverse people think in completely different way from one another. Whether you are male, female, from a different background, or different culture, everyone thinks a little bit differently. This difference in thinking is what creates a wide range of creative ideas to approach different tasks. It has been found that average IQ diverse groups of people have better results doing tasks than high IQ people who are not diverse. Ultimately, accepting diversity is a problem we have faced since the beginning of time, and now are starting to see that it is so much easier to work together rather than to outcast one another.

Twitter and Social Media

Twitter was my first experience with a social networking site. Overall, I don’t really see myself using Twitter at any point in the future, but I can see how using it regularly could be a positive habit to get into. My Twitter Account saw very little action at the beginning of the week, but as the week went on I began to use the website more and more. I was able to know about breaking news right as it was happening, and I was also to know about everything that Deb was doing. Twitter is a great resource for many reasons, of which I was able to see as the week went on. One reason that Twitter is a great tool is for advice. As one follows more and more friends, and more people follow them, it is really easy to talk to people you can relate to. In meeting people similar to myself, I found that they also find themselves in situations very similar to themselves. It is in these situations that the Twitter community assists one another in giving advice and learning from everyone’s mistakes. Another great way to use Twitter is for connections. After using Twitter this past week I noticed how easy it is to meet so many new people. These people can establish professional or casual relationships. So whether you want to make new friends or want to network to help get yourself a job Twitter is great.  Finally, Twitter is a really great learning tool. The easiest way for us to learn is from each other, which is why we all go to school. Twitter makes is so easy to share knowledge which makes it really easy to learn. Overall, Twitter is a great tool as long as it is used properly. Whether you are learning, getting a job, or just talking with friends Twitter is a great way to get connected with others. 

Blogging assignment #2

Throughout my life, there have been certain things that make me feel accomplished and satisfied. I don’t think that at any given point I have been at my “best” because I strive to be better every day. The thing that makes me feel really accomplished is hard work. There are many things that I feel good about because I work hard to do them. One thing I did starting in eighth grade and continuing through high school was Mock Trial, which was probably the most academically grueling thing I had ever done before college.  Also, the couple of years I have had jobs which require a lot of hard work and at the end of the day I feel very accomplished because of them.

                For those of you who don’t know, Mock Trial is exactly what is sounds like; a fake trial. The Mock Trial program that Iowa has is the biggest and best in the nation, and to have a good team in Iowa means to have an even better team among the nation.  The Mock Trial team that I was on qualified for the state competition for four out the five years, and placed in the top four in two of those years.  On the team I played both an attorney and a witness. It was good to learn both of these types of positions because I got to learn the law of the case, as well as portraying a different person.  Learning and understanding the law is a task. It required many late nights, a lot of memorization, and a good solid understanding of the case.  Mock trial brought out the best in me because it required so much diligence, teamwork, and so many other things.

                During the summers of 2008 and 2009, I worked on for a company pouring concrete grain bin pads. Going into the job, I had absolutely no knowledge of the trade, and I knew that I would have to pick it up fast. In small, rural town Iowa the summer is the prime time to prepare grain storage systems before harvest comes. In 2008, the price of corn skyrocketed, so we had a lot of work to do. By the end of the summer I had a firm grasp on the concepts of pouring bin and dryer pads. Looking back at the concrete I have poured, I think about how those pads will probably outlive me as well as the early mornings, late nights, and energy that went into them.  I feel very accomplished at the end of both of those summers which in turn helped to make me better.

                The thing that makes me better every day is diligence. Sometimes you try and fail, but in order to succeed one needs to stay diligent.  I am trying to carry this same diligence into college to help me to be my best and be successful. 

My opinion of the extremely accurate Mindset List of 2014.

The Mindset List of the Class of 2014 from Beloit College is extremely accurate. Take, for instance, number 28- “They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists is a request for the time of day.” It’s like, “Why on earth would you point to a place on your body where you would strap a watch and look at me with that look of inquiry on your face? “ Another one, number 46, says that according to us “Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.” Absolutely- usually the DJ will play them right after Elvis Presley. Another statement on this list that I find completely and undeniably true is “Someone has always gotten married in space (#48)”. I’m pretty sure NASA didn’t form to just go up there and ‘explore’, because everyone knows that the only logical reason to go up into space is to form a bond a holy matrimony.

                We don’t understand the concept of pointing to your wrists as a sign of asking for the time. After years of research, it has been found that people used to wear these things which provided them with the time called “watches”. Okay, so the big question is: Did everyone wear these so called watches? The answer is no. Imagine someone sitting in a library in 1984 wondering the time because they are watch-less. They think, “Gee I’ll just go ask my pal Bernardo,” when they quickly realize that people are not allowed to just get up and ASK someone something in a LIBRARY. It was at that moment that the “what time is it motion” was created. Bernardo saw this motion and was confused at first, but then he quickly realized what his friend was asking him and responded with the time, thus getting yelled at for talking in the library (the “fingers to represent numbers” motion would not be invented until 1985). Watches have since then disappeared of the face of this earth, which is why none of us understand the origin of that motion.

                According to The Mindset List of the Class of 2014, we believe that Nirvana is played on the classic oldies station. This could not be truer. Clear back in 1987 (5 entire years before we were even born) a band by the name of Nirvana was at its inception.  So we grow up when suddenly we realize, “Wow. This music is an entire twenty three years old. It belongs on the classic oldies station.” We all know that The Beatles were classified as oldies in 1980. It’s the same thing with Nirvana; you grow up with some music and once you approach twenty it becomes oldies.

                It is also completely normal procedure to get married in space. The class of 2014 looks at this situation logically. Back in 1961, a couple really wanted to get married in a romantic setting. After hours and hours of contemplation, they decided to get married where no man has gone before- outer space. After numerous proposals to the federal government, the United States decided to form an organization by the name of NASA.  The American people were furious. Why on earth would anyone want to go into a new frontier? Do you just go up there and look around for a while in hopes of advancing the human race? No.  America did not want to just go hang out in space. Finally, the people realized that NASA wasn’t formed to just ‘explore’ space, but it was formed so that humans could use space as a giant wedding alter. To the class of 2014, this is an extremely obvious and logical piece of our history.

                We as the class of 2014 are very unique. We are living in a world of advanced technology.  A world where you don’t need a watch to tell the time because we were all born with standard world clocks in our minds.  A world that only plays Nirvana on radio stations with Janis Joplin. A world in which people have always gotten married in space.  Yes, it is a complex world, but it is the world that the class of 2014 will soon be running.