Halfway Reflection - To Those Who Come After

Competency:         Don’t slack off.  Never think, “oh, I can just do that tomorrow,” when you had it planned for today.  Take hold of your education and learn as much as possible from the course

Attitude:                 I, personally, am terrified at times of talking to professionals and getting feedback from near strangers about an idea.  But, I still did it.  It was scary, however, I learned that people love talking and helping.  And those people you talk to, ask if they know any other people you can talk to.  Nice people can refer you to more nice people, and so on.  Through the experiences and interviews in this course, my own confidence in talking with professionals and older adults has risen.  Yeah, sometimes people might not return your calls or agree to a meeting, however, talking to the willing ones can be incredibly rewarding.

Three Tips:            1. Don’t be afraid.  Pick up the phone and just go for it.  Or get in your car and meet someone.  The first step is the hardest, the rest gets easier

                                2. Don’t slack off.  I’m repeating this from the beginning because it’s important.  When you slack off, not only are you throwing away time you could be learning and creating experiences, you also might hinder the success of your classmates.  By not making posts, you limit the feedback other students can give and it just plain looks irresponsible.  Now, I have failed in this myself, just try not to make it a habit.

                                3. Share your ideas!  If you agree with an aspect of someone’s post, say it.  Even more so, if you disagree, explain why.  Not everything you say has to be a positive, sometimes, someone’s idea may not work.  It’s a disservice to that person to falsely encourage them by saying their bad idea is really a good one.  Pick apart their ideas, but also provide helpful suggestions on how to improve.