Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Razzy Fresh Thoughts

I just want to start out by saying razzy fresh is the greatest place on the planet. Possibly better than starbucks. I think it is safe to say if you ever need the Donner HF or CA, just go to razzy fresh.

I'm going to try to keep this short, as it appears the short people (dawn) are trying to compensate by writing novels. Everything that everyone has said so far is definitely enlightening, and I'm glad Luther found his way into this some how. He's everywhere. Though a brief summary does not really do the previous posts justice, I think a big takeaway from all of them is the idea of being comfortable in the skin you're in. Take advantage of your strengths in order to be a leader, which will help you be yourself.

I want to provide another way to think about meeting people too, which is one of the reasons I wanted to become a CA. It's the idea of taking a step back sometimes. Most of the people you are going to meet (especially at CMU) have the hidden potential to be a leader somewhere inside of them. I consider myself to be a decently outgoing individual, and sometimes I forget that that can be overbearing for some people. I like going out of my way to say hi to random people I'm passing on the sidewalk, making friends that work at places I frequent (ie Starbucks) and just putting myself on other people's radar in general. It makes it easier for other people to open up to me as well, since initially meeting someone is sometimes pretty difficult or awkward.

Unfortunately, I sometimes forget that other people may also be entirely capable of introducing themselves to me, and they may do it differently. Sometimes people may want to say something to you, but if you command the conversation too much, they may not get an opportunity to share themselves, while you meanwhile are doing a lot of sharing of yourself. And sometimes it may mean a lot to that person that they had the courage to speak up and say something to you first.

Cute story obviously needed: About six years ago I was skiing at a local resort near Rochester, my homeland. I was by myself at the time and just kind of standing in line at the ski lift, waiting to get on. All of a sudden the person standing in line next to me poked me on the shoulder. Up till then I didn't even know she was there...she couldn't have been more than seven or eight years old. So I just kind of turned and said Hi, to which she said 'I just wanted to let you know you have really pretty eyes'.

Minus the fact I was flattered that someone thought I had pretty eyes, I was more taken aback by the fact this little girl had enough courage to just randomly tell someone who was at least twice her age something as personal as that, let alone muster up the courage to just say Hi or something.

So I guess I have two thoughts from this. The first is, don't underestimate people. You'd be surprised at how willing to talk about stuff people can be so long as you come off as a conversationalist on some basic level. I've found this applies a lot to my residents. I've learned so much from them by just introducing myself and just letting them talk. The second thought relates directly to that and what I was saying in the beginning. Sometimes you need to set aside who you are for half an hour or so so you can appreciate the other person. You may be really excited about music, sharing some exciting thing you did, or quickly finding something in common with a stranger and wanting to tell about your interest. However, take a step back. Let other people 'show off' their potential to be a leader too. That's why I wanted to be a CA. I wanted to learn how to better develop the potential in others, and one of the easiest ways is just giving them the opportunity, and there is no easier way than just simple conversation.

That was actually pretty long, sorry. Hope everyone's summer is going well!
--Evan

3 comments:

  1. Hey Evan, here are some of my thoughts on your post...

    1) I too have developed a raging Razzy Fresh addiction, triple chocolate with strawberries...ridiculous!

    2) embrace the inner dork :)

    3) identifying the potential in others = right on...I'm preparing my post now, i'll be interested in your thoughts!

    4) maybe the little girl thought you were Justin Beiber and just needed a closer look (I'm sorry friend, I just couldn't resist)

    HH

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  2. Oh, Razzy Fresh. I loved living in California for the summer last year because there was a fro-yo store on every corner.

    As for conversations with others, one of the best hints I ever heard about how to start/keep a conversation was to ask the other person about him/herself, which is truly where you can shine. But a follow-up to that is that sometimes, you need a friend who will ask you how you are doing.

    Did you know Razzy Fresh had "Buy 9, get 8 oz free" cards? I missed that memo the first three times I went, but now I'm all on board this train!

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  3. Clearly, the subtle take-home-conclusion is that like Dawn, Evan also feels he needs to compensate...

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