Episcopal Church of America; Professor of History Emeritus and Deacon, Dr. Tom Osborne

"I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy."

 

- Rabindranath Tagore

 

 

"When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves."

 

- Buddha

 

 

"Grief can take care if itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."

 

- Mark Twain

 

 

Joy

       I don't think that I fully understand Dr. Osborne's definition of joy. I know that there is a difference between joy, happiness, and fulfillment, but Dr. Osborne seems to do the work he does out of reluctant obligation. The only solution that I can think of is that he does what he does reluctantly out of obligation, but then finds joy after-the-fact...? He said at one point that there is a natural reluctance to serves, but, "just like an actor with stage fright, you can overcome it." This doesn't help me understand the joy part. I don't know. Maybe I just didn't listen well enough.

       Dr. Osborne ended his lecture by saying "the ultimate reason for engagement in society is not the specific help you're going to give; its the acquiring of joy." I'm still befuddled by Dr. Osborne's correlation between joy and reluctance but I did love what he said right before this statement: "the most effective healer is the wounded." Someone who has "been there" is so helpful to those in the same situation.

      The thing that stuck out the most to me about Dr. Osborne was his voice; it was a mixture of John Malkovich and Kevin Spacey. It really caught my attention for some reason.

       Kairos was interesting to hear about. First of all, I think that it is interesting that the Greek had two words for time and that kairos is, from what I understood, the time of epiphany. I think that it would be interesting to do this type of service but I think that if I went into a prison, I would be too distracted in the observation of the behaviors and psychological aspects of the prisoners and would not be much help. I think kairos is a fascinating program.

Florence Rotary Club; President John Rusevlyan

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change."

 

- Stephen Hawking

 

 

 

"Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live."

 

- Marcus Aurelius

 

 

"A true champion can adapt to anything."

 

- Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

 

 

Adaptation

 

       Dr. John Rusevlyan spoke about adaptation and "being good." His Four Way Test sounds like something my dad has taught me: to follow my morals, whatever I decide them to be and if what I do is what I fully and truly believe to be good and that I do my utmost to stick to the standard that I put in place for myself, then I should be okay.

 

       Adaptation is fundamental to success. No matter how much the American society values individualism, we all must adapt to something in some way or another at some point in of lives; if not, then it is a constant recurrence in each of our everyday lives. I think that an open-mind can be valuable for just about every situation. Understanding several perspectives of the same thing takes wisdom, patience, and tolerance. It can be difficult but it is valuable.

 

      The hard thing about sticking to one's own morals and keeping an open mind is that it can be hard to balance the two sometimes. This is one of the points in life in which one must adapt. It can be difficult and adaptation is often the harder choice, but sometimes it is necessary.

 

       Dr. Rusevlyan also spoke about networking. There's that word again! My sister is only a couple of years older than I am and has just had a baby :) but her hubby is about to be sent off to serve, so she is going stir crazy in her house watching the baby and is in a town that is new to her. She called me the other day telling me about how she didn't know anyone and that she couldn't think of anything else to do at home so I suggested volunteering.

 

       On a side note, the UNA Model United Nations did well in Atlanta last weekend and we're hoping to attend another conference soon and win some more awards!!

 

Red Cross

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

 

 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

- Edmund Burke

 

 

"One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something."

 

- Henry David Thoreau

 

 

Volunteerism

       I realize that there is a lot that I didn't know about the Red Cross. I didn't even know that they had more than one symbol. I'm glad to know that such a helpful organization is conscious of the various needs of different groups and that they are not blind to the values of everyone they help.

       After this forum, I researched a bit into this organization just because I was a little embarrassed by how little I knew. Some basic facts are that it was founded by Clara Barton, it is celebrated in March every year (thanks to FDR), and it supplies about 45% of the nation's blood supply.

      We talked about severl things that the Red Cross teaches its volunteers, but here are a few of them: babysitter training. CPR, AED (automated external defibrillator)  awareness, how to make an emergency kit, swimming safety, and even flu education. A goal of the Red Cross is having one person per American household trained in CPR and first aid.

      This forum also reiterated the fact that volunteerism can be very difficult to maintain and balance and that it is a necessary and lovely thing in the community, but it is not an easy thing and that we have to keep up that motivation and perspective.

Billy Reid, Inc; Creative director Bradley Dean

"In every community, there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart, there is the power to do it."

 

- Marianne Williamson

 

 

"Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together."

 

- Paul Ryan

 

 

 

"For too long in this society, we have celebrated unrestrained individualism over common community."

 

- Joe Biden

 

 

Community

 

 

      I think that Mr. Dean had a very good grasp on what a community is and the role that an individual of that community plays. He also conveyed his ideas through personal experience, which fortified what he was saying. Like Mr. Tomlinson said, "working in a community is a good way to get to know that community."

 

      I very much enjoyed the "First Follower" video. It really demonstrates that the leaders and those who take chare of everything are not the only ones that make a difference; often, a leader cannot achieve success without their followers, which only come after there is a First Follower.

 

       Mr. Dean also expained to us how a young person can make a difference. First he told us to "make change in the community where you live and work." Next, he tols us about how he became involved with the Heritage Preservation and Historical Board through a project he was doing and questions he had. He pointed out that it is difficult to rise above the elders of a community think is the correct pattern. The opinions of the elders in a community are valuabke, but Mr. Dean tols us that we must learn how to pith an idea in a way that the elders will listen an possible act upon this idea.

 

       I agree with and appreciate that statement that Mr Dean said that "there is a lot to be said about a strong community."

 

Junior League of the Shoals; Ms. Leslie Tomlinson

"Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."

 

- Marcus Aurelius

 

 

"You must look within for value, but must look beyond for perspective."

 

- Denis Waitley

 

 

"A little perspective, like a little humor, goes a long way."

 

- Allen Klein

 

 

Perspective

       "With age comes perspective." I really admired the way in which Ms. Tomlinson presented her lecture. She had a very distinct before-and-after situation with easy-to-follow transition in between. During the first part of her lecture, she spoke about the limited perspective of the Junior Leagues with which she was associated and then how she made her own contribution in helping to widen that perspective and improve their system.

       She said that purpose of the Junior Leagues is "exclusively educational and charitable." In order to include More volunteers, she backed up, found out what her perspective was by setting some goals, and did what she could to reach those goals. One goal she set was to help bring to light the needs of the volunteers. A second goal was to make the Leagues more open and transparent as well as mobile.

       She ended by letting us know about various local events associated with the Junior Leagues and how they have impacted our community. I've never really noticed anyone wearing red tights the first week of November before I heard about Apple Annie Day from Ms. Tomlinson.

       I'm glad to have had the opportunity to gain this new perspective on what Junior Leagues are and what they do!

Mr. Jackie Hendrix; Chair, Shoals Chamber of Commerce & Owner, Party Pros, Inc

"Instead of telling the world what you're eating for breakfast, you can use social networking to do something that's meaningful."

 

- Edward Norton

 

 

"Best results are often achieved well before you need a job, by consistently networking so that when you find yourself job-hunting you have a large network to work with."

 

- Erik Qualman

 

 

"It's all about people. It's about networking and being nice to people and not burning any bridges. Your book is going to impress, but in the end it is people that are going to hire you."

 

- Mike Davidson

 

 

Networking

 

       Florence, Alabama is a great town in which to practice networking. The longer I attend UNA and the more I get to know different people related to different areas that interest me, the more I realize that they are interconnected. Networking is an extremely valuable skill and/or resource that is not required for success, but it does speed up the process and enables you to discover opportunities you may have not otherwise have known about.

 

       A business professor of mine said not too long ago that "in order to be successful in the commercial realm, one either has to be an extrovert, or an introvert that is good at pretending to be an extrovert." The technology of today is concentrating more and more on the idea of interconnection and easy communication. Success today is based upon who can acquired the most information that quickest and networking can be key in this process.

 

       There are several professors at UNA that will help you find opportunities if you are willing to look and work for them. All of the professors seem very dedicated and interested in whatever they are teaching, but the thing that I greatly appreciate about UNA professors is that many of them work so hard to help students in any way that they can, whether its on their own time or not; the thing is, you have to be willing to do your part so its helpful as well as challenging.

 

       I used the name technique that Jackie Hendrix demonstrated to us during Forum at a Model United Nations conference in Atlanta. I can remember the features of a person to an almost supernatural extent but when it comes to names, I always forget to remind myself to remember their names. That is one drawback in networking: you meet so many people that sometimes it is hard to keep up with all of them and how you know them. I heard about a greatly helpful tip in a lecture once that, whenever you receive a business card, don't immediately throw it away but write something on the back of it to remember why you received it in the first place so that you have it available as a resource later. I've practiced this ever since.

       I enjoyed the way in which Mr. Hendrix was able to relate to us and give us helpful tips and encouragement. I actually wasn't aware that the Chamber of Commerce was operated by volunteers.