So my Interpersonal Communication class ended very interestingly today. Our teacher gave us this sheet of paper with a bunch of personal questions on it. What we had to do was get in our groups and answer each of the questions one by one but we did not have to answer if we did not want to. My group chose to answer all of the questions as honestly as we could. It was a bit nerve racking for me because I was the first one to go so that means I was the first one to just lay everything out on the table and I didn't know if everyone else was going to do the same. Eventually they did and it ended up being an absolutely amazing experience! I learned so much about them that I never would have thought. I did have my first impressions and what I assumed about them (as most people do), but I was proven wrong. I know that one of my flaws is that I judge people based on my first impressions of them and I am working to change that. I want to give everyone every opportunity to prove who they are before I try to think I know who they are. This was a mind opening experience and I got to bond with people that I didn't think I had all that much in common with. I am truly thankful that I got to take part in this experience because I absolutely love connecting with people and learning who they are. I think it was a great bonding experience for my group because now we pretty much have no secrets between us. It reminds me of a speech I had to give back in my high school comm class: We had to give a speech on three things that people didn't know about us. Back then it was really hard for me because I had just come to accept and admit to myself what I had shared, let alone a class full of strangers. It was the first speech we had to give and I was 100% honest with the class when I did mine. By the end of it, I was crying and shaking but I did it and afterwards the teacher gave me a hug and told me how proud she was of me. I had to go to the bathroom to calm down but when I returned there was a stack of notes on my desk--one from every person in the class-- telling me how well I did and that they were there if I ever needed any support. It's just beautiful what people will do for you if you just let them. To those people who believe that people are evil, I always want to look at them and tell them that they are wrong, because I have found love from the most unsuspecting people, and that makes me believe that all people have the ability to love and be loved. Stay beautiful!
XOXO Ericka Rae
XOXO Ericka Rae