Leadership Weekend

So this last weekend I volunteered to help with a Leadership weekend. It was really great. I met some great high school seniors from a variety of schools. Can I name these individuals from memory? Nope. Can I see all of their faces and recognize that I know them? YOU KNOW IT!! The weekend was great. A new friend and myself were their leaders for the weekend, basically to make sure they did not get lost. Who knew it would be me that would get lost at least once a day.

I tried to help this great individuals open up to each other and become friends by playing "The Line" game from Freedom Writers. Here is a link if you want to see what it is. The Line Game. Freedom Writers We all asked questions so each of the 11 kids, plus Kyle and myself were able to get to know each other and find out that we all have things in common. Especially since we all come from different backgrounds. We finished our leadership lesson with a final movie clip from the Freedom Writers. Link again You are the heroes everyday. It went really well. We showed that leaders do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. It was really powerful. Freedom Writers is one of my absolute FAVORITE movies. After watching it, every time I feel like I can make a difference in the world.

The rest of the weekend consisted of campus tours, dinner, skit making time, and also game/relax time and open rec at the PE building. I spent the night at the hotel with these high energy peoples making sure that they were all ready to go by the time we were to leave. That morning we did an egg drop seeing what people were most creative. It was a lot of fun. Donna Edleman the vice president of students spoke to us about what it takes to be a leader. It was very powerful, I wish I would have recorded her speech and presentation.

After the presentation we all performed our skits. Now, I made the HUGE mistake of telling my group I did not want to dance. They seemed to take it as "oh lets make Shaun dance and be front and center of the whole group". I dug myself a grave I did. Since I am showing everything else from this weekend, I should show the Skit.

The weekend was a great activity and I suggest everyone that has a chance to go to one to do it! I want to end this post with a quote from the Freedom Writers. Miep tells the students " But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenage can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room"

Holy Stress Batman.

I am no stranger to college and homework. After being at college for 3 years and high school I am used to the stress from homework. Recently I have had so much thrown on me at once. I had a major scholarship application that was due today, the 15th. Getting essays written, tracking down past teachers for letters of recommendation, and getting more random information from high schools and running around was crazy stressful. Along with having to read a book that is ridiculously hard to follow and has some of the longest sentences and paragraphs I have every seen. But the thing that has kept me sane for the most part is a quote I heard recently. "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls the butterfly."

Ambassador's

So one of the main reasons I decided to come to Southern Utah University was because of a Transfer student leadership weekend. It is a weekend when student's come to Cedar City, have an interview, campus tour, dinner, a school activity and make some great new friends. When I was deciding where to transfer schools, SUU came to Snow college and one individual really convinced me to come to the weekend. Her name is Amie Anderson. I was pretty determined to come to SUU, but the fact that the day before the weekend she called me to double check if I was coming. It was the deciding fact that I was going to come to SUU. That personal relation was the reason I am came. The reason I am staying is a completely different reason.

That weekend I really came out of the shell I was in. There was a big group of us and we went to SUU's cabin. We played games, interacted with each other. Around 2 am most people went asleep, I didn't. I met a lot of people, including one of my best friends, Brian Sperry. Now, when this weekend started we did not become the friends that we are today. We started off on the wrong foot with each other. I sang a song at 3 in the morning, and he got pretty mad. I was loud and he was trying to sleep. I know I was very much in the wrong, and I would have yelled at someone else if they were doing the same.

Natalie, Brian, Scott, Me, Jacob, Amie

Upon looking at that weekend, I am so glad that I went.  These friendships that I have made here at SUU, particularly those in ambassadors. I love it here and hope that everyone looks at SUU for school because it really is great. I would do anything for these ambassadors that I work with weekly. It can be easy to get lost in everything that is going on, but these distinguished people have literally changed my outlook on life. I am learning more and more about myself and how I interact with everyone.

So until next time, "Don't be afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin" Grace Hansen

So I have decided to start blogging. I enjoy reading my friends and families blogs, so I am thinkin why not me. I am a currently a student at Southern Utah University studying Sociology. I am wanting to become an Occupational Therapist. I am currently undecided on what school I am going to apply and go to. Around 4 years ago I had a life changing moment, which I will tell on another day. I want to finish my blog right now with a quote that I have on the mirror in my bathroom.

"When I dare to be powerful to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid" Audre Lorde