SAIL

by Lori Lawson

This past weekend I had the opportunity to play Dungeons and Dragons – the ultimate crown of nerdiness. (Technically it was Pathfinder, which is like an older version of Dungeons and Dragons, but we’re just going to ignore that fact.) After watching 7 hours of Lord of the Rings, the time had come for me to make a character. With the help of Dave, the “game master” who essentially plays god to the game, I began to form a strong archer knowledgable in the ways of the land. As time progressed and the game began I became more and more absorbed with the world we had so delicately crafted.

After defeating the rogue skeletons of the tundra as I let  my scouting party onward, danger once again crossed our path. This danger came in the form of an Ice Dragon – right as all of my allies were incapacitated. I face the dragon alone, using my bow and my sword to slowly whittle away the dragon’s health points…and then I got eaten alive. Whole. One hour making a character, two hours of leading my group forward, and it was all over in one turn. How did this happen? A series of 3 dice rolls by Dave that in total probability would say should only happen 1 in every 8,000 dice rolls.

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Leaders never get to take a day off or lack even a little because we are always being watched. If you do even the slightest thing wrong people become judgmental and question your leadership abilities. Sometimes when you are a leader and you make comments you do not necessarily mean or you look down on a situation you can lose the respect of those counting on you. I found a little video about a young athlete, that when he said something, he did not know how he was effecting those that followed or looked up to him. In the end, he notices how his actions effect everyone was a whole.

Best part, i think, is the coach! He didn’t put up with any BS from the athlete and by showing him his full potential  he made an example for all the other players on the team. GO COACH!

I don’t know about you all, but sometimes Christmastime can be the most stressful time of the year…everyday there’s something to do, somewhere to go, something to buy, on top of all the other day-to-day business of life. You are expected to be happy, and cheerful constantly, even if you feel tired or worn down. There’s a certain amount of pressure to spend a lot of money, and buy the right presents for everyone and if you don’t have the money for that—too bad. Christmas will wipe you broke, and if it doesn’t our culture seems to teach that you didn’t fully enjoy Christmas for all it was worth.

Don’t get me wrong—I love Christmas. But I long for a purer Christmas, a real Christmas. I love snow, and lights, and smiles, and cookies, and laughter…and I love time with family, reading and acting out the Christmas story…and I love caroling parties singing ‘Joy to the World.’ But I think that sometimes Christmas is too much about busy-ness…and not enough about rest. “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinner reconciled” is certainly lost in this time of go, go, go. I’d encourage you all this Christmas to challenge what our culture deems appropriate for the season. To seek out the true Meaning of Christmas and the rest that comes through Him.

In aspects of leadership, these reflections also ring true. Leaders, especially those who have lead for a long time, can often become run down in their work and have difficulty finding the joy in what they once had joy and peace in. Sometimes their purpose becomes hazy, and they lose motivation. Similarly, I think it is important for leaders to not try to lead on their own. In fully relying on Him, they can find rest and reassurance.

I don’t know how many of you guys know this about me, but I am somewhat of a quoteaholic. I love quotes. Preferably motivational/inspirational quotes or comical ones, but I do enjoy the occasional sad quotes too. Dr. Seuss and Mark Twain have provided me with many likable quotes over the ages. But quotes from unknown authors have always been my favorite. Who doesn’t like a good mystery? So with that I will now provide you with a quote that has been on my mind recently.

“When you bake a cake, you need eggs, milk, sugar, butter, and flour. If you are missing the sugar, you can still make the cake, but it’s more like bread. You see what I am saying? It’s still edible, it just won’t taste that good.” – Unknown

Other than the fact that I love yummy cake, I chose to share this quote with you all because it reminds me of the great work we did this past weekend at the Capital Area Food Bank. When everyone finally arrived I remember looking around at the five full bins of cans that we had to pack. I knew that we would be able to accomplish it all, but I thought it would take the two hours. I forget who, but I know at one point someone remarked that they thought we would be done early. My response was, “I don’t know, there is still a lot to do.” Well, I learned my lesson; never doubt the amazing abilities of Piedmont 2^nd. But also I it made me realize just how crucial every single one of us was. Had just one person not been there, then it would have taken us significantly longer to finish the packing. 8,000 pounds of food in an hour and a half is quite a success. In this if one of us (the ingredients) were missing then we still would have managed to package the food (made a cake) but it would have taken much longer (not been as yummy). In a team every person matters, and if I do say so myself we all make quite the team.

by Lori Lawson

I really want to spend this last blog post of the semester assessing the changes I have seen since “Piedmont 2nd” first came together to form the super power of the combined Leadership and Community Engagement and Sustainability LLC floor. First,  I would like to start with my own progress. While this self-reflection may not pertain to you specifically, I think you will be able to find some similarities in the way you grew as a leader. I know that I came into this experience as a sort established leader. I had organized events, ran service projects, and been elected to many leadership positions – no of which mattered here. The application process was over, I got accepted. Now I stood at the bottom of the totem pole.

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The smartest people on earth are those that spend their time as best as possible. People like Terrence Tao. Terrence Tao is a “math prodigy” that got 760 out of 800 on the math SAT… When he was 8 years old. By age 11 he was doing university level math. He then went on to Princeton and got a phd at 21! He’s a brilliant example of what one human being could do if they spend their time as best as they can. He’s won dozens of math awards since then, including the Fields Medal, which is basically the Nobel Peace Prize of Mathematics. Actually, even greater than the Nobel Piece Prize, and harder to obtain.

If you’ve ever been that kind of person that practiced 10 hours a day on a certain skill, I know I’ve been there and done that a few times, you know how rapidly you can improve that skill, and improve at a higher rate than most people you encounter. Each time I practiced a skill for that long, during the present moment of practice, I felt like I was concentrating fully and doing my best at the activity, for 10 hours. But now when I think about those intensive practices, I feet like those practice sessions were instantaneous. That they didn’t really happen. The feeling is just like how quickly elementary, middle, and high school seemed to pass by, instantly. But right when you lived at that moment in time, it seemed as if everything were normal.

In an essay by Paul Graham, he wrote about a lot of interesting ideas and concepts. How the 16 year old Shakespeare or Einstein might seem impressive, but they would not be unlike your other friends you currently have. Because they’re still normal people. The only difference is that, like Terrence Tao, also a normal person, they spent their time as best as they could. Perhaps they didn’t even realize they were spending their time as best as they could, maybe they just made all the right choices based on instinct. It’s best not to over complicate ideas.

In summary, the smartest people on earth are those that spend their time as best as possible.

So I haven’t really found my niche here at Mason and it is mostly because I never really talk. I stay in my room often and I never let people know how i feel or what I am thinking. My mom sent me this the other day and it really spoke to me.

I think as a good leader, knowing when to say something and knowing when to let other talk is a great quality. If you are constantly talking you cannot hear what others have to say and their advice would be more useful then something you thought of yourself.  I think those that are continuously sharing their thoughts and options are very selfish and one-minded. They think that everything they say is the best and will be useful for everyone. However those that listen to everyone and speak only when needed have a better picture of what could be useful to the group as a whole.

Plato is saying that you do NOT always have to say something. You could learn exponentially more by listening to others. People also look at you differently if you stay silence and only put your input in when needed. I know we have all noticed when that one person that never talks finally speaks up and what they have to say is absolutely genius. As if they have been listening the entire time and when they have something that would be beneficial they announce it.

I strive to be that person, just the same way no one likes a ball hog… no one likes someone that does not know how to be quiet!

-keilah S

There was so much going on on Thanksgiving day, one of the many was the Redskins vs. Cowboys game. As my family and I watched the Redskins win I noticed a commercial that stuck to me and made me think of our leadership class.  I would show it to you, but I couldn’t find the link for it. :\ Anyways, in the commercial it said ” Good leaders get guys to follow them, great leaders get guys to believe in themselves” , as it showed RG3 running in the background. I thought that quote is completely right; yes it’s awesome when leaders can actually get people to trust them enough to follow them, but what’s even more amazing is when leaders can get their followers to think that what they do makes a difference and they’re all important.

Differences are often the first thing we notice about others, whether at first glance, preconceived notions, or even through general stereotypes. Granted, each of us as individuals do carry with us different religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, paired with a myriad of different experiences that have shaped each of us into who we are and who we are becoming. However, I think it’s a fair challenge to make the claim that we’re all really not that different when put into perspective.

The Dalai Lama wrote a book called The Art of Happiness where we discusses an idea that attempts to convey the importance of cultivating both compassion and happiness in a body he refers to as ‘the human family’. The Dalai Lama conveys a lot of truth through these ideals. In reality, each of us do desire to be happy. I find this as being one of the very few fundamental traits shared by the human race as an entity. He goes on to emphasize the cultivation of both our inner happiness and compassion for others as a means through which to fix our eyes to a greater perspective of life through the eyes of others and away from being so diligently focused on ourselves.

I think by shifting our perspectives to focus on what we can share with others, what we can learn from others, and how we can help others can serve to be one of the easiest ways to be a lead. Each of us desire friendship, companionship, compassion, and perhaps most of all, happiness. By focusing on cultivating the traits we share with others in our own hearts and minds, we can grow to be a more compassionate and happier culture and generation as a whole.