So today I was dreading my first homework assignment. Let me just tell you I was not prepared for classes to start at all! My mind is just not in it. It looks like Tuesday/Thursday classes will be fun and eventful and then Mon./Weds/Fri. classes will be boring and not fun at all! But we are just going to focus on the positive for now. So I was dreading my first homework assignment because it was to read 50 pages. However, when I started reading I was surprised to find out that the book I have to read is soooo good! So it's for my Business Communications class and its called "How to Win Friends and Influence People". In just the first 50 pages I have learned so much. Not only practical advice to my future career, but also lessons that can be applied to my every day life. The first part talked about how in today's society a common way to go about things is by critizing and condemning others. He had countless stories and examples about this and his main point was how much better your life and others will be if we stop focusing on critizing other people and be encouraging and build others up instead. Instead of condemning people and critizing them we should take a moment and stop and try our best to understand them. We have no right to speak ill of someone and instead of wasting our time and energy critizing someone we should be focusing on improving ourselves first. I know my time would be way better spent if instead of critizing others, whether out loud or to myself, if I would focus my time and energy on understanding them and putting myself in their shoes. I wish it wasn't so easy for us as humans to be so quick to judge or condemn others and I would like to say that it isn't something I do often, but I do it more then I would care to admit. It is so easy to look down on others and focus on their faults instead of our own. So anway...who would have thought that a class book could teach me so much in one night. There is a lot more good stuff in it and I would highly recommend it!
And on a random note...I talked to Jake today through Skype and it pretty much made my day!! He is doing well and is moved into his apartment and adjusting to Chinese life I guess you could say.