peer leaders '09

I thought today was going to be just another ordinary field trip, but believe me it wasn't. As a Peer Leader I was required to partake in this "learning experience" which I thought was going to be a fun and carefree day. But, to my surprise it was a complete aberration which I had not foresaw. As my friends and I gathered together, we walked across the street from Pascack Valley to the church, since we were supposed to meet in its basement to listen to a well-known life coach, Robert Pruitt. Everyone walked in at a chary pace, since no one knew what this speaker was going to talk to us about. As we all began to flood the once capacious room, everyone became at ease since the life coach, Mr. Pruitt, began to play music that we all were quite familiar with. He then turned off the music once everyone had taken a seat and began his intense speech about how we are responsible for the choices we make in life and how we shouldn't let anyone influence or mislead us from the goals that we strive for. His presentation was the farthest thing from desultory due to the fact that he used a great scenario to depict the lesson he was trying to teach us, which had the audience in hysterics. He explained how the first time he went on the ride, Kingda Ka, a man told him that it was a crazy attraction that he should think about before deciding to ride it. Mr. Pruitt explained that he would not let this stranger's opinion influence his own, and proceeded to decide to walk up the endless flight of stairs to the ride. He then emulated how he rode the ride with his hands straight up in the air, rather than halfway in the air, because he explained how he was going to have the best experience possible. It was a great way to start the presentation, but I slowly began to notice a gradual crescendo of the intensity of the life lessons he continued to present to us.

Mr. Pruitt then began his presentation on trust. He asked all of us to stand up if we considered ourselves to have issues trusting people. It took a while for people to take the initiative to stand up, but once they did, it created a "domino effect" and other people started standing including myself. I have always been a person who does not trust people easily because I feel as though it is so hard to find people that I can depend on besides my own family. He then asked the people who decided to stand if a couple of them would like to challenge and overcome their issues with trusting people in front of everyone today. I was not one of the people who decided to do the activity, but observing it impacted me just the same. The activity that Mr. Pruitt had decided to do made the peer leaders who were not involved make two lines across from one another so that each person was facing someone else, which would be their partner. Each pair of partners held a dowel, and the people doing the activity had to be blindfolded and climb across the dowels that everyone was holding, by crawling across on their hands and knees and only listening to the guidance of their peers to get them across. As the people were being blindfolded and prepared to cross the sea of suspended dowels, I noticed a complete change in their demeanor. They were overcome with tears because this was not just an activity, but rather an emotional and internal journey for them to relinquish their inability to trust others and learn to have faith in themselves. It was an incredible sight to see these strong people, who were my friends, overcome this fear in front of everyone who were all cheering for them to keep on going and supporting them until they got to the end. Once the exercise was over, we all were able to reflect on what just happened. I took this opportunity to find the courage to stand up in front of everyone and explain the small self-discovery I had undergone while watching all of this take place. But, as I began to speak I went through a paroxysm of crying and it was hard for me to express what I wanted, since I had been so emotionally touched. I had finally commandeered my emotions with the help of Mr. Pruitt telling me to breathe and focus which proved to be quite difficult. Basically what I had said was how I admired the people who had participated in the activity because they had revealed their vulnerability, which I am not one to do. I also said that it made me realize that it is okay for people to see me as being weak sometimes, because I know that I have too much pride and feel I have to be in control of everything I do. But, I came to the realization that I am not going to be able to do everything on my own in life, and that people are going to be there to help me along the way. Also, I need to let my peers have an opportunity to see me as a more emotional individual since that is how I can develop deeper relationships with people by opening up a window for them to peek into my life every now and then. Once I had expressed myself to my fellow peer leaders, Mr. Pruitt said, "Do you realize that you just showed your vulnerability to everyone just now?". And once I saw his warm smile I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders and that I had taken the first step towards discovering who I am as a person on a deeper level than ever before.

After the day had come to a close, I was so thankful for being given the opportunity to be inspired by such an eminent speaker who will change my perspective on myself and my decisions in life for years to come. :)

food gets me through life.

When September begins and summer ends, someone presses the fast-forward button on my life's remote control. But, as I struggle through the horrific weather that fall and winter brings, I find myself reminiscing about my favorite aspects of the summer that is now far behind me. During the summer I am such an epicure, since I love to enjoy different types of food since my family goes out to eat more frequently in the summer than during the school year. We would always take leisurely trips into the city for pleasure, and try all sorts of various cuisines. One of the cafes we went to was Au Bon Pain, which is an exquisite place for croissants and pastries, and they also can whip up an incredible roast beef sandwich. One of my favorites was the fondue restaurant (whose name escapes me) which we went to for my parent's anniversary. The ambiance of the restaurant transported my family and I to the tranquil French countryside. I could see the landscape vividly because the restaurant's paintings conveyed the talent of meticulous artists who paid close attention to the detail that made France so beautiful. When the first course was brought to our table, its fragrance was so omnipotent that my senses seemed to be overtaken by this gorgeous smell. Once I was able to see the fondue in front of my, I could not wait to dive my French bread into that sea of cheesy goodness. After we were finished, our waiter came back to our table and I told him with much brio, "This fondue is heavenly! It tastes as though it has been made by an Olympian god!" He was so flattered my my compliment that he brought out a chocolate fondue with cubes of cheesecake, strawberries, grapes, and bananas for us to indulge in. I was absolutely stuffed by the time the meal was over, and had to walk off all the calories I had gained by walking about twenty blocks to where my dad had parked our car. It was a great night... :)

But, I now have to move forward and accept the below freezing temperatures that ensue. At least I can look forward to turkey, cranberries, and egg nog! =]

my infatuation with the human mind.

The human mind is an endless labyrinth of thoughts, ideas, and feelings which will never cease to amaze me. It is incredible to me how a brain can provoke so many different feelings ranging from exuberance to depression. My infatuation with the dynamics of the human mind first started last year in my Spanish class. We had been assigned a Mexican artist to research, and my artist was Frida Kahlo. I was a little uninterested at first because I felt as though it was just going to be another typical research assignment. But, as I began to investigate Kahlo’s life, I had discovered how her state of mind had driven her to create such incredible paintings. Kahlo had gotten into a terrible bus collision which resulted in her inability to have children. Through her paintings she was able to convey her pain which sometimes came across as abstract and enigmatic. I was bewildered by how Kahlo used various symbols to express her state of infertility and how her works could imbue her emotions into my soul. It was so strange that this eccentric artist turned out to be culpable for motivating me to aspire to be a psychologist in the future. I now want to be able to understand what goes through the minds of human beings and how emotions are created and why people feel love and hatred and sadness. I want to be the one to help someone someday so they can feel as though they can understand themselves and not by destroyed by their internal thoughts.