Reflecting on Leadership for Change

Exercise #2: The Sound Bite
The most important thing that I've learned this semester is to just DO IT!

Exercise #3
After reading my blog i was really in awe. I couldn't believe how much of a "scaredy cat" i was. (i know that's not a real word). I realized that I was really making decisions about my future based on what people wanted me to do and the doubts that faced from people. I really do feel that I've grown this semester not only as a person but academically. I feel that now I'm able to go head on into problems and not be afraid to ask for help. I feel very confident in my future, meaning I've faced that fact that I have very hard science classes that I have to take and I know that its going to be a struggle. Leadership for Change has really changed my it really does have to do with the people you know. When i was listening to peoples success stories in class, most of the time when they reached success it had to do with the people they knew, but mainly how hard they worked to get there. Whenever i think about my future now, it's like i know for a fact that i can reach it. I know that I'll be able to get there one day. I honestly found my planning wall to be very helpful to me and, i can actually say that after the class is over, im going to continue to follow it, because it really does help me to see what i have to do in order to reach my goal. Some of the activities and behaviors that I engaged in for the first time would probably be me discussing my future plans with people that didn't know anything about me. Im really not an open person and tend to keep my thoughts and concerns to myself, but seeing as though one of the main requirements for the class was being active with strangers i had no choice but to. At first i wasn't to comfortable with it, but after the first couple of classes i felt myself warming up to it and actually being okay with it. I now seem to find that talking to people who i don;t know about my doubts and problems are better than talking to people you don't know because they can't judge based on what they already know.The three things that I liked about Leadership for Change would be:

1. Making the flow chart and planning wall
2. The weekly readings we had... i liked that we had a variety of different books, even though they were different they all tied in to eachother.
3. Home Groups, i really enjoyed talking to my classmates, if i ever came to class feeling down or worried about something whether we had hardtimes within our individual groups or talking about it in class as a whole i always felt good about it.

The three things that I liked least about Leadership for Change would be:

1. The book by Komives, I know i said that i enjoyed the readings and i did but if i could take out one book for us to read it would be that one.
2. Not being able to have a panel of people with different professions

The three things that i would suggest to improve leadership for the change would be:

1. To have a panel of people with different professions
2. A different book other than Komives
3. That Dr. Rock not leave UIC so that she can teach another semester of Leadership for Change!

All in all i really enjoyed Leadership for Change and I'm very happy that I decided to take the class,because if i hadn't i probably would have switched to another major that I may have thought would have been better for me but in the end really wouldn't have.

Work the Plan

Exercise #1:First Steps
I currently don't have any more first steps to do until next semester,but in the meantime i wil just review over my chemistry books since i already have them and try to teach myslef some things ahead of time.
Exercise#2:Weekly Business Meeting
My buddy and I both went over with eachother how our weeks went. I told Rebecca that i actually had a good week, and im taking and doing all the steps from my planning wall in order for me to reach my main goal. I expressed to her that the only things really bothering me right now, was one, a research paper that i have to do for my english class that 's due at the end of the semester and two, the fact that im already starting to have anxiety about chemistry and other science classes.
Exercise#3:Sunday Meeting
My first Sunday night meeting with myself, actually wasn't that bad and when you actually think about it i think i we all have meetings by ourselves more than often, i just think of it as being in deep thought with ourselves with someone quiet. I went over my planning wall and looked at my flow chart to, make sure that im actually following all the steps. I also looked at my weekely calendar and i seem to be following my schedule pretty good. I didn't really have a hard times with myself,but i do keep a journal that i write in whenever i want to express things that i don't to tell other people. So i wrote in my journal about a couple of things mainly them being personal and not having anything to do with school related work.

The Buddy System

Exercise #1:First Steps
I've completed all the steps on my planning wall that i can at this point. The next step on it is to start all the classes that I've signed up for, for my major so at this point all I can do is wait for the Spring semester to start so that I can continue on with the steps of my planning wall.

Exercise #2:The Buddy System
The person that I decided to choose as a buddy is my friend Rebecca. She's actually taking a class similar to this one, instead her class is like a job training course were she has a mentor in the profession that she wants to be in which is a teacher and in her class shes actually able to go to work with her mentor and observe her at work. We actually live about 15 minutes away from eachother so we decided to meet up at her house to have our meeting. Since she's never seen my planning wall before, i decided to bring it so that she can see exactly what my plans are step-by-step to achieveing my goal as a pediatrician. She doesn't have a planning wall but she created something close it, but instead she calls hers a to do list. So for about the next 15 minutes or so, I explained to her the future problems that I might have and how right now, I'm really confident and feeling very optimistic about my plans. She explained to me that at first she was very worried that she would have trouble with the age group that she wants to teach, but when she observes her mentor and sees the different ways that she handles them, she doesn't feel as worried anymore. Our meeting actually ended up to be really good, although i would say that the only thing i didn;t like about it was that i had to keep explaining things to her such as what a touchstone is and a flow chart and a lot more now that I think about it, it would have been a lot better to stick with a buddy from class.

Moving and Shaking

Exercise #1:First Steps
The next step on my planning wall was to pick the necessary classes for my major that I will be taking in the spring. At UIC you have to wait until they tell you when you're able to sign up for your classes and last week starting on Tuesday I was able to, so i picked all my classes except for one, other than that I'm all ready to go for the spring semester.

Exercise #2:Reflecting on Fear

• The resistance that I've experienced so far is people telling me that I won't make it as a teacher and that I'll end up changing my major. The other type of resistance that I've experienced was with my mother when i thought that i'd be changing my major,she didn't quite agree with me and not very supportive. Also one my role models was'nt very supportive even though she wasn't direct with it i could tell that she really didn't think that i would stick with becoming a doctor.
• I think that it actually manifested me into a more stronger person in a way. It has made me stronger because it really just makes me want to work harder and prove everyone wrong. It also has made me in a way show my mother that I'm growing up and although she has a huge impact on my life she can't live it for me and I have to make my own decisons and learn from my own mistakes.
• I wouldn't say that it reveals stage fright in me, but more of survival fear. Only because I'm actually really scared that I might not make it and I always have the thoughts of what if's? I believe that everyone always have those thoughts,but it seems like it's always going through my head and I can't seem to get it out.
• The underlying messages I believe is that I can't let people's thought and comments about me get to me. I have to learn that I need to keep moving on and stay strong no matter what the problem or situation may be.
• I don't think that anyone really moves through or around it and if they do I believe it's only temporary. Even when people do reach there goal there still going to have resistance no matter what.

Get into Action

Exercise #1: First Steps
One of the tasks that I was to complete this week was to see my advisor and map out a plan for the next 2 .5 years of the courses that i have and still need to take for my major. On Tuesday i met with my advisor and after sitting down with her, i felt sad and happy. I was sad because starting next year I'm going to have to take Summer school classes probably all the way up until I graduate in order to graduate in the time that I want to and so that I have enough time to take all the courses that are required. I know that I have a lot of hard work to do and can't keep letting myself get discouraged when i see that its going to be a long rode down for me. I'm really trying to work on that with myself. I have to realize that there's alot of things in life that i'm not going to want to do,but have no choice to do it if i want to be or get to a certain point in my life. One of the reasons i was happy was because i had some very encouraging words from my advisor which really meant alot to me. I've heard of stories were students get horrible advisors who don't really care what type of classes they take, but mine really does. She told me that she knows, im going to have a tough and hard rode to walk on in the future,but she knows that I'm capable of doing it. I've heard these words many times from my family and friends, but its actually very nice to hear it from someone that doesn't really know you and doesn't even have to say anything to you, but the classes that you're planning to take. The second goal, that i wrote down to do was go and ask for tutoring. Even though im not taking any hard science courses now, i know that im going to need help with them in the future, so i went to the honors college and got there schedule for tutors. I emailed my old chemisrty T.A who i found very helpful last semester if she was interested in tutoring my one on one in exchange for some money. She emailed me back that night and said that she wouldn't mind to tutor me and that she would even do it for free, which was outstanding news for me and parents because they were the ones who were going to have to pay her. All in all i had a very successful week in completing my goals and I'm feeling very confident with myself and the goals that i have set for myself in the future.

Reaching Out Part III

My Planning Wall

Exercise #1: Interviewing Role Models

The last role model that i decided to interview is Feyishola Tijani. She graduated from college a year ago with a degree in biology and says that she plans to some day go to medical school. Feyi didn't have the grades that were up to the standards that some medical schools wanted and is taking a program for students who plan to go to medical school in the near future. The program is really intense and at the end of the two year program most of them are often accepted into the a medical school of their choice. Feyi said that she had a great deal of trouble taking the required science classes while completing her undergraduate degree. At times she said that she felt like giving up and even changing her major to something that she thought was a lot "easier". She said that this happened numerous times,often around the times she was feeling very stressed about a particualr course that was giving her great difficulty. She figured that if this was the path that she really wanted to take she would have to have the patience and the determination to do so. She said that she would review notes, after lectures and labs,and problems or questions she had she went to the proffesor with or took it to tutoring with her.Talking with Feyi was actually very refreshing especailly after i decided on the path that i really want to take in my life. I know that im going to get discouraged and feel like changing majors a million more times, but I'm just going to have to work very hard and do everything and anything that'll make the process for me less stressful.

Exercise # 2: Complete Your planning wall

LOOK ABOVE

Exercise#3:Complete your first step
Last week one of my goals was to speak with my parents about which path i really wanted tp pursue in life. It was between becoming a teacher and a pediatrician. I've always wanted to become a doctor,but when I started college, i realized i was having a lot of trouble with the science classes, so i started to second guess myself. When i first told my mom that i was thinking of changing my major to education she acted as though she was fine with it,but i could tell that she wasn't very happy at all. That was very discouraging for me so i never spoke about the major change again. After talking with my home group about the situation i decided to speak with my parents about it. I sat them down and told them about all the difficulty i was having with the science classes and how i didn't know if becoming a doctor was really my passion. I also told my mom how when i came to her about being a teacher she really made me feel bad because it was like she wasn't supportive at all. She went on to explain that it wasn't that she wsn't supportive it was just that she was a little disappointed with me because she didn't want me to give up,because she knows deep down inside that i can do it. I agreed with mom and decided that im going to stick with my major and work hard at the classes now and in the future that'll bring me difficulty.

Reaching Out Part 2

Role Model #1
My third role model that i decided to interview this week was actually my old 8th grade teacher, Ms. Naughton. I decided to interview her because even though she was a teacher for four years, at the end of her fourth year she decided to go into law. Ms. Naughton said that although teaching was one of her passions and she enjoyed interacting with children, she felt that she was ready for something new in life. Ms. Naughton was a great teacher to me and we actually ended up becoming very close. Ms. Naughton's whole experience with teaching and then leaving it to practice law is really something that i look up to, because im still stuck between choosing to become a teacher or a doctor and this week one of my goals was to sit down with my parents and talk to them about my situation. Ms. Naughton's story actually gives me hope because, this weekend I came up with a decision in which i believe will make me very happy.

Interviews with Two of my Role Models!

Role Model # 1:
The first role model that I interviewed is actually a very good friend of the family and is in her first year if teaching at an elementary school in Evanston, her name is Angel Mcdonald. I decided to pick her because shes been through alot in the past couple of years and still managed to achieve her goal of becoming a teacher (first grade teacher), pursuing her masters degree and rasing a two month year old boy as a single mother. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in education at Aurora University. She went on to explain to me that undergraduate school wasn't very difficult for her. She said that there were alot of times people especially her immediate family thought that she was should've been a doctor or a lawyer, they wanted her to pursue a job that they thought would "benefit" her more in the future, rather than go after a job that she would feel complete with and happy in the end. This really made me look up to her more because im in a situation right now, where im majoring in biological sciences, in hopes of getting and completeing medical school in order to become a pediatrcian. My parents love the whole idea of me becoming a doctor, and even though they always say that whatever i do decide to do they'll support me 100%, its a little discouraging because i know deep inside they don't mean it. While conversating with her, i explained how I'm not totally against becoming a doctor,because it's been a dream of mine ever since i was a little kid, but im just not sure that i can totally handle everything that comes ahead. Ms. Mcdonald explained that she thought long and hard about becoming a lawyer( following the footsteps of her father), but she could'nt go through wasting time in money in something she knew she wouldn't be happy with. She continued to tell me how she had to sit down her parents and explain to them that she knew they wanted the best for her,but it's her life and they're not the ones living it. One of the most difficult and scariest times in her life was taking the test in order for her to recieve her teacher's certification. Once she graduated from college and obtained her teaching certificate she applied to graduate school and started looking for a job. As our conversation was coming to an end, she told me that she's is very happy and content with how things have turned out in her life. She also told me that I need to sit down with my parents explain to them how,im not a small child anymore and that i have to live my life the way that i want to,even if it mean picking a career that they think may not be suitable for me.
Reflection
I really enjoyed speaking with Angel. It made me realize that i'm not the only one with the problem of trying to satisfy my parents and myself at the same time. I really found speaking to her helpful and she after speaking with her i left with a lot of courage that i think will help me if i actually do decide to switch majors.
Role Model #2:
My second role model is Dr.Shanice Vulgar,whos been a pediatrican going on 10 years now. She graduated from Northwestern University and continued all the way to medical school. She started of our conversation first by telling me that if i really am serious about a career in the medical field "theres no playing around". She said that the classes in undergraduate school are very difficult and challenging,but its going preparing you for half the work you're going to complete in medical school. I asked her if this was the career that she always wanted to do,and she said yes and no. She said that she loved science biology to be particualr,but she wasn't sure were to wanted to go with that. She said that it wasn't until the middle of her second year in college that she decided that she wanted to go to medical school. I then asked her if she had ever failed any classes,in undergraduate school, and she said no,that even if she had failed some classes, she would have reconsidered her major. She explained that medical schools don't want the average,but they want the best and if you're having a difficult time already medical school isn't going to be easy at all,especailly when it comes to taking the tests. When she told me this i really started to feel very discouraged. My first semester at UIC i failed chemistry 101,and everyone is always telling me that if you have a hard time with 101, your going to have a hard time with the 112and 114,because 101 is the easiest. Im not going to lie, i ended our phone converstation quickly only for the simple fact that i didn't want to hear the truth. I know deep down inside I'm not as dedicated as becoming a doctor as i would like to think i am,but theres smothing inside of me that is still very hopeful. I remember before i started college,when people would ask me, what i was majoring in and i would tell them i would always say "your going to change your major" or "are you sure you want to do that, i dont really see you as a doctor". All those negative comments really just push me to prove them wrong and actually become a doctor.

Plotting a Path

Exercise #1:Make A Flow Chart

Become a pediatrician

• attend college/obtain impeccable grades
• graduate with honors
• take practice MCATs
• apply for medical school scholarships
• apply to medical school
• write personal statement for entrance to a medical school
• submit grades
• ?
• take and pass the MCATs
• get into medical school and complete all requirements
• complete required residency and research

Exercise # 2: Mapping Your Network

1. Professor Witherspoon: Biology professor
2. Dr. Jankalow: 773 685 3288- Pediatrician
3. Dr.Guy: 773 685 3288-Pediatrician
4. Ms. Jones:312 642 4454: Biology/chemistry teacher
5. Professor Mareck: lmareck2@uic.edu/chemistry professor
6. Benet Deberry Spence: UIC, College of Buisness
7. Dr.Kruzack:773 975 9957
8. Childrens Memorial Hospital, Public Affairs Department: 773 880 4500
9. St. Josephs Hospital: 773 665 3000
10. Ganiyat Sarumi:773 396 8582: Social worker

Discovering your Personality and Touchstone-#4

What is your touchstone?
Dream:
My dream is to become very rich and successful in life. I want to become a famous super model and be in all of the fashion show and catalogs to come. I also want to become a pediatrician, when i tell many people this, they often think that its not possible, but to me the impossible is always possible.my dream is to also make enough money to provide for my parents, so that they would'nt have to work anymore.
Target:
My target would be for me to obtain my M.D and opening my own practice as a pediatrician. I would've also said that my one of my targets would be to become a model, but after reading about the difference between targets and dreams i realized that wanting to become a model would only be a dream,which in reality i won't be easy trying to accomplish.
Touchstone:
My touchstone would be financially stable. To also bring me fame that many want, that is mostly what i would want from me becoming a model. If i make it as a doctor my touchstone would be totally different. Yes, i would want the money but i would also want to take everything i've learned from medical school and go to poor countries that are in need of medical care and attention. Countries where many people wouldn't want to go. I want to be able to give back to my community and also back to where my parents originate from.
Role Model:
When i think about my role model i pick my sister. Even though she's not in the particular field that i want to go in to, but shes done many great things in her life,and even though she's had a lot of rough times,she still always comes out on top. She has graduated from college and is now about to start graduate school. While shes working to obtain a master's degree,she works with kids from highschools on the west side and acts as a mentor to them.
Exercise # 2: What Is Your Personality Type?
My personality type is ISTJ, which means Introverted,Sensing,Thinking,Judging. It means that i am quiet and reserved,loyal and dependable,believe in laws and traditons and i tend to expect the same from others. Im very hardworking and usually finish any task no matter how big it is if i put my mind to it.They also say that i am extremely faithful and loyal. I actually tend to agree with how they describe my personality and don't have any negative remarks toward it,excpet that i think they make me seem kind of boring. They also make me seem like i dont have any excitement in my life and i believe that i do,but other than that i actually agree with how they've seemed to describe me.

Understanding Yourself

• Pick A Color

I am yellow. I am bright, I'm a sunny day and easily seen, I am also very welcoming. Whenever anyone is feeling down they take one look at me and can't help but to smile.

• Private Eye Game

The house seems to be a very cozy home. Four people live in the home, even there the family consists of four children, there are only two in the house. The two siblings that I observed seem to be very close with eachother, maybe because they're the youngest who knows. The home consists of a living room, three bedrooms, a bathroom,kitchen,and a basement. Throughout the home many there are many religious prayers and pictures, the prayers are written in arabic and the pictures are of different mosques around the world. All of the rooms in the house stay busy and none of them are left alone for a long period of time. The furniture in the home seems to be very expensive,but you also get a cozy,relaxing feeling when sitting or lounging around. The kitchen seems to be one of the busiest places in the home,there is always lots of cooking and eating going on in there. I can tell this family loves to eat. I would definetly have to say this family does not like messes. Especailly the father who is always stopping to pick up or straighten something out here or there. The family as a whole seems to be very close knit and you get the vibe that they love eachothers company. Everyone in the family obviously loves to dress, there closets are filled with name brand clothes as well as designer hand bags and shoes. They all seem to be well educated. The children seem to be in school and both the parents have jobs.

• Seeing Yourself as Other See You [Version No.2:Creating Your Cheering Section]
  
  

• Twenty Things You Like to Do How long since last done?
  

1. Eat Costs money or free?
   


2. Sleep Alone or with someone?
   


3. Read Planned or Spontaneous?



4. Clean Job related?



5. Go Shopping Physical risk?



6. Getting pampered (hair, nails,eybrows) fast or slow paced?



7. talk on the phone Mind,body or spiritual?



8. hang out with family



9. hang out with friends



10. laugh



11. sometimes going to school
    


12. give advice/recieve advice



13. make money



14. have a good time



15. meet new people



16. babysit adorable little kids



17. watch movies



18. daydream



19. going to mosque



20. attending family gathering

I actaully really love doing all of these things,and actually didn't have a hard time listing twenty, actually could've easily listed forty!

• Your Ideal Enviornment

In my ideal enviornment, there would be peace. Everyone would get along and no one would be jugded by the decisions they make, the way look, or who they are in general. No one would have a hard time making ends meet,because everyone would be financially stable. No one would watse food,because they would'nt take it for granted, there would also be enough food to go around. Everyone in my family would have great jobs and independent. I would meet a great guy who makes alot of money, someone i can trust and depend on and doesn't cheat. I would be everything that I ever wanted to be in life and more for myself as well as my parents. I would live by myself and drive a black range rover and have a yorkie named pepper.

• Your Ideal Day

My ideal day. I would wake up to perfect weather, a breakfeast of pancakes,eggs,bacon the works. I would then head of to school for only a couple of hours so that im not spending my whole day in a lecture hall or classroom. I would then meet my friends for lunch and at one of my favorite reasturants (cant decide on one at the moment). After lunch i would head downtown, for some hours to get as much shopping done as I can,after all the shopping stop to get a little snack and then head home. Once i make it home,i would take about an hour and a half nap,wake up do all of my homework and then eat some dinner. After dinner if its not to late i would hang out for about an hour or two with my friends. Once i make it back home i would either read a book or watch a show on t.v with my mother depending on what's on that day. By the time im done reading a couple chapters of my book or watching t.v with my mother i would most likely be heading off to bed. That concludes my events of an ideal day.

• Fantasy Analysis [this includes questions 1-7]

1. The elements that are indispensable to my happiness really wouldn't be anything. I remember that its just an "ideal" day meaning its my fantasy. Im satisfied with however my day goes, i may not always have a good day but im not going to be unhappy or dissatisfied with it my life just because something went wrong out of one day of my life. I try to live everyday to the fullest.


2. I would say the elemnts that are opitonal,would be hanging out with my friends after dinner. On school nights my mother dosen't really let me hangout with friends even though im in college, hanging out with friends on a school night is very desireable!


3. Shopping, hanging out with friends and having a full course breakfeast. I would love to go shopping for hours on a school day and not worry about time at all. Hanging out with friends also isn't a need that i need to have, they can always wait until the weekend,and my full course breakfeast of pancakes, eggs and bacon is always a fantasty that I would love to wake up to.


4. My day would be GREAT! Everything that could possibly go the way i want it would, i dont think anyone would ask for anything different.


5. I wake up everday, and have lunch with my friends at least one day out the week.


6. WHAT: my full course breakfeast, money to go on my shopping spree,and constant good weather in Chicago.WHERE:none WHO: my parents in a good enough mood for me to say "yes" when i ask to hang out with my friends on a school night.


7. I would say reality. Fantasy's rarely come true. I would also have to save alot of money to do the kind of shopping that I would want to. I would have to wake up without any complaint to have enough time in the morning to eat my full course breakfeast, and i would have to be very disciplined to complete my homework right after a nap especially if it wasn't due the following day.

What Do You Love?

My Mother:
Step 2
1.During the first 5 years of my life i cried alot, for nothing my mother told me. She said thai would come to here out of nowhere and say that I felt like crying, and then i would cry. When i was finished crying i would go to her and say that i was done. I kept mostly to myself. I was very jealous of my older sister (even though i believe it was the other way around). All in all she said that i was a good child and never asked for trouble and didnt bother anyone.
2.I loved changing clothes,and often changed abiout five times throughout the day. my favorite game was to play "house". I also loved riding in my barbie car and playing with my doll house. She said the one unique thing about myself was that i took good care of myself as a child.
3.She said she wasn't to sure what i would become. She thought maybe a doctor or a model,but she said that whatever i did decide to be she knew i would be great at it.

My Father:
1. During the first five years of my life, i loved to play with my older brother. I followed him all the time and loved to do everything that he would. M father also said that i was a happy child and didn't cause any trouble as a child. i kept to myself, and minded my own buisness, i also wasn't really friendly.
2.I loved chicken nuggets,and loved to play house. I didn't like people touching me (in an approriate way of course). He said the most unique part of me was my huge eyes He said people always used to comment on them and how beautiful they are.
3. My father said he always saw me as a model and still does to this day, but speaking realistically he sees me in the medical field.
Step 3
Friend #1:
You're a really good listener, you always take the time out to listen to my problems as well as others. You're always there when i need you,especially at that very important time this past summer. I would say that you're greatest gift is giving, and you're fun to be around.
Friend #2
You are very independent, i would say that is a strength of yours. You don't depend on anyone and thats what i like about you. When i need you the most you're always there for me and you know how to keep me rolling all day everyday. A gift that i would say you have is having no tolerance for people. Even though alot of people think thats a bad thing and that you're just mean, i think its a good thing to have because that shows you don't take anything from people.
Friend#3
You're very harworking,a leader and you stay committed to whatever it is that you get into. You being driven would be a gift that i think you have. its like no matter what gets in your way you still don't let it stop you from doing what you really want.
Friend#4
One of you're gifts would definetly have to be your sense of humor. I don't know where you come up with the things you say or do, but it always puts a smile on my face. One fo you're strengths would be strength, when it seems like all of us are falling apart your the one who seems to keep us all together.
Friend # 5
You are a very free spirted person. You don't take crap from no one and thats what i like about you, you know how to handle yourself. Whenever i need someone to talk to you're always there. Even though i think you're very strong and can handle yourself, i think you need to sometimes open up a little more instead of holding everything inside, you like to take things on by yourself,and while sometimes that can be a good thing,it can also get very overwhelming at times.
Step #5
This past summer i was working as a camp counselor and made alot of money doing it. This weekend i recieved my last paycheck and it was a pretty fat one. One of the things that i really love to do is helping my family out and also taking them out to eat. So i decided to take my mother and sister out to dinner at the cheesecake factory. Gave both of brothers some money and helped my dad out, by getting my mothers car fixed for her. many wouldn't think that this is a fun thing to do,but to me it really is. I do agree that money can't buy happiness,but i also believe that it can make alot of things easier. Seeing how i can make the bills easier for my parents or give my siblings something that my parents refuse to get them always gives me a great feeling inside, a feeling that i cant really describe.

Who Do You Think You Are?

I decided to take leadership for a change, because it was recommended my cousin who told me that this class would help me decide what I really want to do with my life and guide me in the direction I should take into it. I hope to gain leadership qualities and a solid understanding of what I wish to do with my life. The one thig I can say that fascinated me as a child would be acting like a grown up. just seeing my parents drive,go to work, cook, and do "grown up" things was always fascinating to me. I remember playing house for hours at a time acting like I was parents.I believe that out of all my senses I loved taste the most. As a little kid I believe I was always the one excited for dinner or snacks at school. If eating were a hobby I would always win first place. As I explained earlier I loved to play house when I was a little kid,and whenever it came time for me to go to work, I would switch of between a teacher and a doctor. my older siblings used to think that it was weird playing and talking to myself for hours,but I never let them get to me and continued playing "house". The only secret I can think of when I was younger was that I honeslty believed that Mariah Carey and Usher were secretly my real parents. I think maybe I believed that because at the time they were my favorite musical artists. I'm not sure what these ealy interests and dreams point to now,but I do know that I still have an interest in being a doctor and a teacher, I guess now I really have to decided what occupation is right for me as well as which one would I really be committed to.