[My] TOUCHDOWN!

For most of my life, I was never really given the power to visualize my own future; my parents had always set the expectations for me.  Most dealt with mastering all areas of academics, but when I neared my college years, they realized that that just wasn’t possible – to be good at everything.  So, since I never really chose my own path for school, I let them decide for me that I should take the business route.  Now, it wasn’t entirely a decision made by them.  I’ve had experience working at Bloomberg LLP, as mentioned in a previous post, as well as in the Youth About Business program at Columbia University, and I liked it; I don’t know if I love it, though.  Now, here I am at Baruch College, chasing down my BBA in Marketing Management with a minor in Communication Studies.  But, what kind of life can I lead with this sort of major?

[*] My first goal is to become a part of or even head the marketing team of a new, developing business or project.  Some of my friends aspire to become entrepreneurs and start their own, thriving business, and it’d be ideal if I could help with the marketing aspect.  My other choice would to be work for Disney’s marketing team.  I’m open to working with almost any project with Disney because I just love the mood Disney sets for people.  Growing up watching the shows and enjoying their theme parks, I’ve gotten to know the atmosphere they set up for their customers, and it’d be great if I could continue giving the sense of warmth, family and fun customers expect to receive from Disney.    

[*] My first goal leads to my second one of becoming financially independent and living on my own.  It’d be awesome if I can finally make life decisions on my own without my parents breathing down my neck every time.  Since I’ve lived in New York City all my life and always felt I’ve been kept in a shell, it’d be ideal if I can move away from this city.  I plan to be financially sound in either a suburban area close to New York City (because I don’t want to be too far from my family) or in another urban area.

[*] Since I live in New York City, driving isn’t really necessary for me, so once I move away, I want to find the courage to learn how to drive.  No matter how silly this sounds, I’ve always been afraid of driving because I really suck at driving games … lol … Naa.. It’s mostly because I grew up having motion sickness, and even though I don’t feel this way as much as I did when I was young, I still get dizzy or nauseous every now and then during a long car ride, and being in the driver’s seat might still give me the same feeling.  Still, I hope to get over being motion sickness altogether, get my permit and be able to sit behind the steering wheel.  And, plus, driving would definitely, or at least hopefully, improve my sense of direction.  If not, thank goodness for the invention of a GPS.

[*] After I’m financially sound and have found a career that I enjoy, I’d like to settle down, start a family and get a dog (always wanted one but my building doesn’t allow pets =/).  In no way will I quit my job, though.  I definitely want the best for my children, and if it means that I have to quit my job, I will, but I really prefer not to.  My mom is a housewife and works normal business hours, and I would like to be able to do that too.  I don’t want to rely on my husband financially, and I truly believe I will be able to have a successful career and work at the same time.  I would love to have my children grow up in a house, too.  I’ve never lived in a house before (only apartments), so it’d be awesome to live in my dream house (with a lawn/garden, picket fence, garage, basement, an upstairs floor and backyard) with my family.

[*] My final goal that I will mention in this blog relates back to my parents.  I will never forget my roots or the fact that my parents have always supported me throughout my childhood, high school and college years.  And for that, I want to earn enough money from my career as soon as possible so that my parents can retire and then I can support them financially after.  

To make my vision a reality, I plan to solve my problem with time management and be more optimistic when it comes to doing things.  This will surely allow me to become more productive in school, in the business world and when I plan club/school events.  I also plan to get an internship/job related to marketing for this summer.  Ultimately, these actions will set me on the right path to making things happen for my vision.

Everyone Must Vote

When the class received their results for the first test, many were not pleased, including me.  I knew I didn’t do as well as I could have, but I definitely wasn’t expecting to get as low as I did.  Thankfully, the professor offered us the opportunity to collectively, as a class, come up with a decision on how exactly we wanted to be graded and how to reformat the test by the end of class.  Many were pleased with this task, but as time went by and compromise among about 80 people seemed nearly impossible, people’s attitudes went from “Alright, let’s get this done!  I need this;” to “We’re getting nowhere fast.” 

When we started conversing about how to make the final decision package to hand in to the professor, immediate chaos erupted.  Small group conversations were going on from all areas of the room.  But, not long after though, one male figure stood up and went up to the board to tell the class we should get some ideas down together.  He admitted his handwriting wasn't great, so another male figure immediately volunteered to lead and write down everyone’s ideas on the board.  It started alright; people were raising their hands and waited to be called on before speaking in defense for their idea.  During this time, I took the accommodation approach.  I saw the matter as being more important to everyone else rather than to myself, and I figured that I would let everyone else work it out and see what happens from there since I felt a bit timid.  Perhaps my silence should be viewed as the avoidance approach, since silence can be taken as withdrawal from the group, but I don’t believe I was withdrawn.  I paid careful attention and had faith that the class would come to a consensus eventually, and I figured I’d let them work it out first and add in my input later when the tide cools down if needed. 

Unfortunately, some students got antsy and started shouting (without being called on first) and this caused a domino effect because others would do the same to get their point across.  It then became impossible to comprehend any one person with the near madness that started.  Seeing chaos erupt more so than in the beginning caused me to switch to the avoidance approach, which made me withdraw my attention from the class “discussion.”  I thought about raising my hand to put in my input, but with the tide so high at this point, I’d be overcome by those who shouted louder than me, and there was no point.  I lost interest and just reverted to hearing people shouting rather than listening to what people actually were saying.  

Another person in the room actually got up to leave because he didn’t see the “discussion” going anywhere, but the professor asked him to stay, and he reluctantly did so.  Fortunately, this changed the tide and mood.  Everyone saw this student almost leave since nothing was agreed upon and knew that if people continued to argue for their self-interests, that was how the class would end – with no collective decision and no gain for anyone.  Then, the first male figure who stood up, from the beginning, took charge in the front, and things became more efficient.  People began collaborating their ideas, bargaining (like with the T/F section for the next test), and agreeing to cross out some unpractical ideas.  As I saw the tide changed, I began taking the compromise approach.  Everyone’s opinion mattered and was heard.  When I agreed with an idea, I made sure to vote for it and vise versa.  I didn’t literally speak up at the end, but my arm was my voice in the matter, and it was how I used my right to vote.  Thanks to the two male leaders (the catalysts), the male student who almost left (who caused the turning point) and the class’s collaborative effort, a final decision package was proposed to the professor and approved! 

There are a couple of ways that this conflict could have been handled better.  When the two male leaders took charge, both of them should have stayed in front – one could write while the other could take charge of the group discussion.  When dictated to, it’s sometimes hard to write on the board because it’s different than writing with pen and paper.  I know that when I write on the board, it’s harder to get down what someone is saying because I’m not used to writing on a vertical surface, so it requires more concentration.  Perhaps that is why the one who was writing couldn’t get down everyone’s ideas quick enough??  The other male leader could have dealt with the group interaction from the beginning because he did a great job controlling the madness towards the end and seemed more vocal than the other leader.  So, the original method of seeking everyone’s individual responses and then making the decision could have played out better had it been organized with more leadership, since we did have a sufficient amount of time.  Combining the two male leaders’ capabilities (one who made sure everyone’s opinion was heard and another who controlled the group and encouraged everyone to get the task completed) would have been better than having them separate during the decision making process. 

We could have also split up into groups in the beginning, set up a time limit for each group to come up with their ideas, write down the final decisions for each group on the board afterwards and vote/compromise collectively among those.  This method would have ensured that everyone’s opinion was heard, even the quiet ones, throughout the entire process.