We interrupt your regular programming to bring you...India!

I’m leaving for India in the morning…naturally that means I’m going to bed and getting a good night’s sleep…oooor typing a blog entry. I’m kinda sad (cause I had to leave St. Louis on Christmas and drive back to Fayetteville…WITHOUT Gigi (who is staying with my parents while I’m gone)), but I’m also super excited. Honestly, I feel kinda like tonight is Christmas Eve, rather than last night. I always get this way the night before I leave on a trip - no matter how packed I am or how many lists I’ve made or how sure I am that everything is done, I sit up for a few extra hours going over everything that I could have forgotten…crap! Rent! Hang on…

Okay, rent is paid…and internet…that would have been bad. Anyway, so I’m leaving for India tomorrow! I’ll be there for three weeks doing all sorts of fun things. Wanna know specifically what I’m up to? You do? Thought so. You should follow my India blog while I’m gone! Go here:

chaiforchristmas.blogspot.com

I’m also blogging for the Study Abroad office, but it’ll be the same entries, so if you wanna read the updates twice, you can go there, too.

We’ll return to normal programming (i.e. updates HERE on school and internshipy stuff) after the trip. I’ll be back in January! ‘Til then!

It's not Christmas until...

Confession: I'm a creature of habit. I like routine, tradition, consistency. Every year, as Christmas time rolls around, several things have to happen for it to really be "Christmas."

First, I don't listen to Christmas music until I have seen Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Then, for it to really be Christmas, there are four songs I need to hear:

1) O Holy Night ~ Josh Groban

2) Baby, It's Cold Outside ~ Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone

3) Believe ~ Josh Groban

4) Emmanuel ~ Amy Grant

Next, my mother and I do most of our Christmas shopping on Black Friday. After dinner, we sit down, go through ads, and develop a plan of attack with the same fervor and precision as an army general. Then, the next morning, list in hand and coffee in tow, we leave the house (usually before dawn), brave the lines and crowds, collect gifts, and convene for coffee and breakfast all by about 10 am.

Once I'm "home" for Christmas, the traditions continue:

First, we set up the tree (last minute, usually...which we make up for by leaving it up til Valentine's Day) and put on several key ornaments: a golden firetruck (for my grandfather), a few painted eggs (made by my Mom's best friend from high school who was taken from us by breast cancer), a singing teddy bear (from Mom & Dad's first Christmas) and a rocking horse (from my first Christmas).

We wrap presents (again, usually last minute...normally because Mom's forgotten where she's hidden them) and pile them around the tree...if we can get the cat to give up her self-appointed post long enough to arrange them.

We have Christmas Eve dinner and we open ONE gift. It's ALWAYS pajamas...always. But, we're always "surprised" to get them. Mom started this tradition years ago so that we would look "cute" for pictures the next day.

Then, we curl up on the couch, clad in our new Christmas pajamas, and watch The Santa Clause (the one with Tim Allen) before heading to bed.

Over the years, the traditions have changed a little, some things have been added and some have been lost, but it's the same general set. I love it - I love the regularity, the way I can depend on it every year, right down to the last minute wrapping and scrambling. It's my family and it's beautiful.

This year was a bit different. We opened ALL of our gifts on Christmas Eve (I have to leave early Christmas morning to make it back to Fayetteville for my flight to India). Also, my little brother couldn't make it home due to work obligations. But, despite the physical distance, he was able to Skype in and we still got to unwrap presents as a family. Thanks, technology!

So now, I'm curled up on the couch, with my puppy snuggled in my lap, sipping hot cocoa and watching The Santa Clause with Daddy. I hope you and your families have similarly happy traditions and that you are warm and cozy tonight. Merry Christmas, dear readers! Best Wishes to you and yours - enjoy every minute!

Procrastination Post!

I'm posting this so that I'm no longer tempted to sit here and tell you about my week. I have my one and only final tomorrow, and I'm supposed to be studying...but blogging just sounds so much more appealing.

Latenight-studyoverloadinduced-crazyperson-logic: if I post something short, I won't feel tempted by the option of blogging anymore

...this makes perfect sense!

So, yeah, that's it. Must go study accounting...

All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

For our last assignment in our Leadership class, we had to write out our "leadership philosophy" - basically what we believe leadership is, entails, and looks like. Now, if you can't tell from my blog, I'm a bit of a creative writer (technical stuff bores me). I like adding a spin or a bit of sarcasm or even some "cheesyness" to what I write. It (I hope) makes it more fun to read (sure does make it more fun to write).

So, for this leadership paper, I decided to approach it from a "different" angle. Here's what I submitted:

My leadership philosophy comes from an unconventional place. As an undergrad, I worked part time teaching two-year-olds (yes, voluntarily) at a Montessori school. My job was not to “teach,” but to guide and motivate these children through developmental stages to that they could “move up.” During my two years there, I learned more about leadership than I have anywhere else. Don’t believe me? Think about it. If you can “lead” a group of two-year-olds – lead, not command – you can lead anyone.  

The thought process behind my leadership philosophy is summed up quite well by a poem called “All I need to know I learned in Kindergarten” (by Robert Fulgham). Over time, I’ve added bits and pieces from my own personal experiences, and I have found the following to hold true in almost every aspect of my life.

• Share everything – responsibility, power, credit, and blame.
• Play fair – playing favorites does not foster team cohesion.
• Don't hit people. Use your words, instead – they’re much more powerful.
• Put things back where you found them – organization makes everything easier.
• Clean up your own mess – take responsibility for your actions and mistakes.
• Don't take things that aren't yours – don’t take responsibility for others’ ideas.
• Keep your promises – follow through, with both rewards and consequences.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody – fostering and maintaining relationships is a key part of being a good leader.
• Wash your hands before you eat – habits are hard to break. Form good ones.
• Flush – common courtesy goes a long way.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you – treat yourself every now and then.
• Live a balanced life – learn and think, draw and paint, sing and dance, and play and work at least some every day.
• Take a nap every afternoon – just stop and be still for a little while each day.
• Do unto others as you would have them do to you – they’ll return the favor.
• Make friends with the smart kids – then, if you don’t know how to do something, you know someone who does.
• If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all – praise goes a long way.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together – support, protect, and look out for your team members.
• God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak – listen to your people. How else will you know how to lead them?
• Be aware of wonder – never cease to be curious and never stop learning.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice - they all die. So do we – no one is invincible. Loss and failure are a part of life. It’s how we handle adversity it that shows who we are.
• Remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all , SEE – Get out of your office, look around you, and be aware of what is happening. How else can you help your team get to where they need to be?

I got an A, by the way :) Now, off to pour over survey responses and figure out what my data is telling me (thanks to y'all who took the survey!). Happy Thursday!