The Tunnel of Oppression. Yeah, it Was Intense.

So, I know this is a little late, considering I experienced the Tunnel before Thanksgiving break. But being caught up in a thousand different things takes a toll on a now-nineteen year old, and so my poor blog fell to the wayside for a week, quite unfortunately. But, moving on to the important stuff!
     The Tunnel was definitely an experience that I urged people to attend after I left. It was very impacting, and it absolutely provoked some very large thoughts in my mind, as well as in the minds of the other girls I went through with.
     My two favorite rooms, without a doubt, were the "Picture Room" as everyone referred to it, which was the room that was covered in pictures of issues that affect girls and women in society today, and the "Glass Ceiling Room" which our very own peer mentor, Casey, worked diligently on (and did a fabulous job, if I may say so myself!). These two rooms were the favorites of everyone in my group I think, but that just might be coincidental, since all the girls in my group were all in this Women in Leadership class with me, and so everything kind of hit us a little harder, and everything held a little more meaning to us. At least in those two rooms.
     Next year, I absolutely plan on being involved in this great project. It is eye-opening, and afterward, Amritha, Bailey and I determined that we are going to change the world, and host world summits to discuss these issues, and find resolutions to these problems. You left the Tunnel feeling empowered. You want to change the world, you want to make a conscious, verbal, and physical effort to be the change you want to see in the world.

Now Do More.

     Alright. So. We're in week eleven. Which is almost crazy for me to think about, because professors are starting to talk about finals week already, and the ending of our very first round of college classes on semesters. I mean... that went really fast, didn't it? I'm not the only one who thinks this, right? My high school friends back home are telling me "Hey, the first quarter is over already," and I'm like "Hah. We're almost halfway through the year here." It's such a contrast, but I love it. Throughout these eleven weeks, I have learned so much, especially about myself as a student, a person, and a woman. My FYS Women in Leadership class has been immensely beneficial for me, and I could not be more grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of this experience.
     Leadership is such a big, important term to me. It always has been. All through high school, I held numerous leadership positions. President of Student Council and our chapter of National Honor Society, captain of the varsity softball team, section and squad leader in concert and marching band, section leader in concert and show choir. These positions were always equally important to me. It was my responsibility to lead those in whatever organization or activity it was, and I felt as though I accomplished that exceptionally well for myself. I worked hard to not be bossy, or condescending. I tried to include everyone in everything an organization was doing, and I tried to trump negative remarks or rumors before they even had the chance to start. The experience I gained in these positions really helped me take this Women in Leadership course to its fullest extent of vitality to me. The prior experience I've had up to this point is what has helped me excel here at Otterbein, both in and out of class.
     We have had some phenomenal speakers. Just tonight, Justice McGee Brown spoke to us about a range of topics that all tied together to give us (or me, at least) one general notion. BE YOURSELF. The best thing she told us tonight was to not worry about the guys right now. Worry about developing yourself as a person, as a woman, as an intellectual person. The guys will come along when they're developing themselves and looking for a woman who knows what she wants, who she is, and what she is going to do in the world. I loved that! I mean, I've always been a very goal-oriented person. And I've always kept my priorities straight. My education, academia, and my work have always come first in my life. Without fail. That still holds true today, and that practice has gotten me pretty far here at Otterbein as a freshman. I mean... as a freshman, I'm holding two jobs on campus, maintaining a high GPA, managing all of my classes wonderfully for myself. I'm taking advantage of so many new opportunities that are coming my way because I know they will push me forward in my career and in my life.
     This Women in Leadership class has continually been reinforcing the knowledge that I am doing exactly what I should be. Am I overwhelmed sometimes? Of course I am, but that doesn't mean I drop everything and break down. I am just made stronger through everything I handle. The morals and standards to which I hold myself are extremely high and valued to me. These speakers who discuss things with us, these sessions every Wednesday night that we have, they make me feel good about how I am carrying myself. I feel more confident every day, because I know that what I'm doing is going to be a good thing for me in the long run. This feeling... it truly is priceless. And I do not believe for a minute that I would have this feeling had I not been a part of this remarkable class filled with women leaders.

Cookies with the President... Yes, it Happened!

     Who else can honestly tell their friends "Oh, yeah by the way, I've had cookies at the president's house?" I mean, really? I have friends at Bowling Green State University, the University of Toledo, and The Ohio State University, and NONE of them have even come close do doing something like that with their president, let alone as freshmen. I am one lucky duck. Rather, I am one extremely blessed individual, being able to have experiences exactly like this one as a freshman here at Otterbein. Just one more reason that confirms my knowledge that being at this university is absolutely the best place I could possibly be in order to receive a collegiate education.
     The entire FYS class really did meet at President Krendl's home for cookies and cider last week for our session. There was a fireplace and big, comfy white chairs and everything in the living room where we were all gathered for a majority of the evening. The panel who came to chat with us was great as well, and they fit right in with all of us. The discussion that evening was diversity - dealing with it, accepting it, loving it, being proud of it, and embracing it all day, every day, in every situation, with every single person around you. It was such a fun discussion! Definitely the most fun discussion that we've had as a class since the FYS experience has started at the beginning of the semester. The three speakers (for the life of me, I cannot remember their names, which is very disappointing. I could look at the syllabus, but it is 3:12am... and that is an explanation in itself) were stellar. They were loud, energetic, happy, and they connected really well with all of us in that room last week. I really think they helped all of us - every single one of us - connect with ourselves as individuals, as well as with each other as women, as students, as "foot soldiers" as we were called. As with a couple other sessions, we left class last Wednesday feeling energized, and empowered as a collective group, and as individuals. It was absolutely a memorable experience... a night that I will never forget.
     Although... that might just be because President Krendl bakes really outrageously delicious chocolate chip cookies, and iced brownies. [Insert winky face here...haha]

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Super Woman.

     It is 1:04 a.m., and I have finally settled into my room after my very first production night as a new copy editor of the Tan and Cardinal newspaper.  Today was a VERY busy day, to say the least, but I conquered it with flying colors.  I am very proud of myself, and I feel that should be blog-worthy!
      The real reason I find this blog-worthy, is because throughout my entire day filled with chaos - from waking up at 6:30, to mentoring eighth grade girls, to my classes, and to two jobs, one of which lasted from 4 p.m. to just about now, I felt so powerful. As a young woman who has a lot on her plate, I know that sometimes (many times) I can feel overwhelmed or stressed out with everything I have to do in one day. Today, however, was very different. I was running around campus all day to get everything done, and I just felt invigorated. I loved it! Why can't I feel that way every day, when my schedule is packed to the margins in my organizer? I was pondering this exact thought on my walk to the Comm building for my T&C production night. And that's when something else sparked my interest.
     The book that I am reading for my FYS book review - Dee Dee Myers' "Why Women Should Rule the World" - discusses similar situations. Dee Dee talks about being the first female press secretary to the president. In this role, she has numerous tasks to accomplish in a day. Reading everything she had to do in a single day, from the press releases to the notes, to dealing with the media... it was great to read. I felt like, okay, here is a woman who has done it, and who is still doing it. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of other women in the country and across the globe who are juggling twenty-six thousand tasks at one time in a day. Women today... I mean, we're awesome! I know that isn't the most formal way to describe us, ladies, but this is a blog so informality is just fine by me. We are awesome, truly. And today, I really felt like that. Just purely awesome.

Finances, Situational Leadership... A Very Potter Party :)

     Why hello again!  It's been a couple of weeks since my last post (at least I think it's been a couple of weeks... I know I didn't post anything over Fall Break...), but I have happily jumped right back into the swing of our leadership class (despite my slight sleep deprivation that seems to be compiling by the the night).
     The topics of tonight's session differed greatly from each other, I believe.  We had a panel of three women come in and speak to us about managing our finances in business, starting our own businesses, and what it's like to run a business, whether or not you founded or own it yourself.  It was interesting, don't get me wrong.  But the second part of class is when I really started interacting.  I didn't feel that the financial panel helped me out too much.  The stories of success were inspiring as always, but - and I explained this to Dr. Krendl when the question was posed - I didn't know what types of questions I was supposed to be asking during such a panel, because... well I didn't know why either.  Regardless... I digress to the second half of class.
     We discussed the concept of situational leadership, and I really enjoyed the content on which we spoke.  I was able to draw personal connections from the case study we talked about, dealing with different shift atmospheres of a company.  These connections came from Phonathon, waitressing at JC's, and I even pulled my dad's job into the mix as well.  I find situational leadership to be extremely useful, and definitely something I can recognize in the different class environments I find myself in on a daily basis.  Different approaches are taken - say from my ASC 0900 math class, as opposed to my Essay Writing Across Genres class, all the way to our very Women in Leadership FYS class.  The three professors I sit in front of every week, they all have different teaching styles, as well as different ways of leading.  After the discussion we had in class today, I'm definitely going to be taking much more notice to these differentiating trends... and I think I'll give my dad a call tomorrow afternoon, to let him know I talked about him in class... he'll get a kick out of that! :)
     Thanks to Dr. Krendl, we all got to leave class a little early tonight.  The occasion you may ask?  Oh... just A Very Potter Party, hosted by Sigma Tau Delta in the Philomathean Room in Towers!  Katy and I went, and we were only there for a half hour or so (academic responsibility beckoned), but it was a lot of fun nonetheless!  Hannah was decked out in a robe, hat and tie I think?  And lots of the other guests were dressed similarly.  It was so cool to see.  Dr. Krendl even made an appearance as our headmistress!  It was a fabulous time, Sigma Tau Delta did a great job organizing everything.  I can't wait to be officially a part of that group... so I can help host events like that next year!  Overall, the night was well spent.  Definitely a highlight of my week. :)

"Give Yourself A Break" ...Someone Teach Me How?

     Class last night was nothing short of interesting, just as it is every week.  The speakers that we got to listen to were absolutely wonderful.  Driven, determined; similar to the other speakers we've had the privilege to hear presentations from.  However, by the time the class reached its halfway point, once all of the speakers had done their piece and had gone, I sat in that leather chair, at that huge board table with twenty three other girls, and the feeling that washed over me was one of pure stress, tension, and brewing fear.  Since last night's class, I have composed myself a lot better, but the those feelings are still there... they're just a little hidden.
     After class, I was texting my mom - the person whose opinion means a TON to me, and always has.  I explained to her that I was feeling stressed out, and she asked me why.  I then proceeded to tell her in a long rush of a message, the following: "We listen to all of these leaders who are all so successful.  And they give us all this advice about staying ahead all the time and knowing a plan for your future NOW.  Up to this point I've felt really ahead of the curve, staying on top of my assignments in my classes, trying to get involved in extracurriculars and other campus activities.  I've got a job on campus, I'm enjoying my classes, I've got so many new friends who I love.  But every now and then I find myself feeling guilty when I'm just hanging out or being social, because I feel like I should be doing something more productive academically."  By the time I'd finished this message, I was climbing up the stairs to the fourth floor of Mayne in my heels.  Tired, with a headache, and stressed.  I was not a happy camper, to say the least.  However, my mom assured me that I'm right where I should be, and I need the social things to level out everything else.  She told me that everything will fall into place, and that I needed to quit stressing out, because I'm only in my fifth week of my freshman year of college.  Now that made perfect sense to me, and I agreed with her.  By no means am I Hannah - getting ready to graduate and head off to graduate school, working diligently on a senior thesis.  I'm not Casey, either, or Kayleigh or Sarah, all of whom are working ridiculously hard in everything they're doing.  I mean, I'm a really busy person naturally.  However, I'm a freshman.  I don't have that kind of experience yet that our peer mentors do.  Yet still, I'm starting to feel overwhelmed by the immense pressure that seems to be put on me, simply by my own expectations.
     What else can I be doing?  What else SHOULD I be doing?  I hate feeling behind, it bothers me to absolutely no end.  As I've said, up to now I've felt really good about what I've been involved in and what I've made my habits out to be.  Am I stressing out over nothing?  Probably.  Still, one of the speakers last night said it was important to "give yourself a break."  ...I struggle with that sometimes.

Networking... Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave.

     Well, I will admit that I preferred last week's class as opposed to this week's, but that doesn't mean that this week's session was any less interesting.  Maybe because the speakers we listened to tonight discussed networking, and on Saturday, I volunteered at the Women's Conference - where I sat in on a session purely about networking.  So, I think this week I was less riveted just because I'd already heard a lot of the similar concepts and ideas on the practice of networking itself.
     Dr. Krendl introduced a panel of three women who all own or work for prestigious institutions or businesses, and they are all in top positions in those businesses.  The three of them (one of whom was the mediator for the session I observed on Saturday) all spoke about how they network, how they made personal connections with the new people they meet, and how they suggested we start out (the mention of finding a mentor has been severely stressed the passed two weeks).  All the advice they gave us was helpful and very informative, and I plan on putting it to good use in the very near future.
     The activity I really enjoyed, was following the speakers, when we broke up into smaller groups to discuss the case studies that were included in our readings.  I was able to sit with Katie and Bailey and talk with them about what ended up being the most acceptable leadership scenario in our chapter.  It was a great conversation, and I always love being able to discuss with my classmates, and listen to their justified opinions on the  matters that the class is revolving around as a whole.  I can relate to everybody, as I've stated in other posts.  However, I just keep remembering that it's such a good feeling to be in this class.  So rewarding!

Inspiration [is starting to, possibly] Hit Me.

    So, you know those moments when something happens to you, and the phrase "inspiration struck" is the most acceptable phrase you can possibly think of to describe what just happened?  I had a couple of those moments today.  I'm STILL exhilarated to the point where if I drank any Starbucks tonight, it might kill me via an adrenaline overdose.  Let's begin!
     If Chasity Kuttrus could read my blog right now, I would tell her that she is such an inspiration to me.  She talked to our class tonight about Executive Coaching (I'm not sure if this needs to be capitalized, but it seems important enough to be), and she absolutely stunned me.  She discussed topics such as the advantages of having women in top positions in business, things we need to do in order to be successful and taken seriously (aggressive, not abrasive), and she was just fantastic all around.  That might sound really vague, but those of you reading this... well.. you're in this class with me, so you experienced this all yourself!  I don't know how anybody else felt about Chasity's presentation, but I was really appreciative, and extremely impacted.  Granted, unlike her, I am an English Creative Writing major - totally different from a business major - but everything that she does, and everything that she reflects and stands for is so fascinating and respected by me.  She is exactly the type of person I would want to emulate; someone who knows who they are, what they stand for, and what they are going to do to keep climbing up that ladder to superior success.  She really expressed herself as a leader, and I loved listening to her.
     On a more personal note, I want to touch on the feeling I got from my fellow women leaders tonight.  I talked to Maddy (hope I spelled that right), and told her how fantastic it feels to be in a room with young women who are goal oriented and motivated like I am.  It is refreshing to look around and see the faces of the girls who will be conquering the world after graduation; girls who have high aspirations for themselves the same way I have high standards for myself.  In my high school, it was so difficult to find people who shared my mindset, even in the slightest way.  In this class, I feel that I can relate to everyone somehow, and everyone can relate to me.  And I absolutely love that.
     If I could, I'd like to make a reference to something that doesn't really have anything to do with our Women in Leadership class.  And the only real reason I feel that this topic should be in this post, is because it is yet another thing that inspired me today.  I went to the first meeting of Sigma Tau Delta - the English Honor Society.  First off, I'm so excited to be involved with the society.  I hope I get the honor of being inducted in the spring.  Secondly, one of my classmates, Jaqlyn (still not sure about spelling, I feel so horrible...) was chatting with me and my friends about how our classes were going as Freshmen and everything.  She is a junior, I believe, and she is a Gender and Literature major (Women's Studies).  She asked me if I'd considered taking on the Women's Studies major, or even the minor.  I said I hadn't given that much thought about it right now, but I loved my Women in Leadership class.  She went on to tell me, that from what she can see in me both personally, and on the basis of my writing and discussion in the essay writing class we had together, she thinks the Women's Studies would definitely be something I should look into, because it is something I could really be passionate about, and really good at.  And the more I've thought about it today, the more I really appreciate what she said.  This is an entirely new avenue for me, the Women's Studies option... but I'm kind of drawn to it.  I mean... all I can say is that we'll see what happens... with everything.  Women in Leadership, and everything else I get involved in... all I can do is wait and see what happens.

Today was an Empowered Day.

     Wow... first official blog post for me!  I think that should earn me a few points... I don't know where these points should originate from and I also don't know what they should go toward... but regardless, I believe points are necessary.
     We had a multitude of speakers who visited our FYS Women in Leadership class tonight, and all of them were actually really interesting.  If I was feeling like a high school kid, I would go one by one - introducing all the speakers, and then going into vast detail about their subject matter on which they spoke.  However, I am not a high school student any longer.  Oh, no.  I am a college freshman, and to be honest, I would really rather just write about the speaker who caught most of my attention; the speaker who really got me thinking, and interested in the rest of the semester ahead of me.
     I have to say, I was really intrigued by the information that was given to us by Melissa Gilbert.  She came in and talked to us about the group project we're going to be doing this semester - mentoring!  I'm really excited about some of the programs that we are able to get involved in.  They all sound like fun, helpful programs for teen girls.  That sounds so cliche, I know.  But it's true.  These programs are all designed around girls, and helping them feel comfortable with themselves exactly as they are, while also empowering them to embrace the talents that they have and use them to the highest caliber of their ability... doesn't that sound fantastic?  I think it does... but maybe that's just because I had a fantastic day today, and I felt super confident and empowered myself.  That might be it.
     Thinking about it, I could go into detail about how I have to email certain people about the organizations I want to get involved in, to find a program that would work with my typically chaotic schedule that is my life.  But I think that might just make this sound like one of my stressed out diary entries that I'm about to go write once I finish this post.  So, I think I'll just stop here, and say that I can't wait to start working with the younger girls.  This Women in Leadership class is so much fun, and I'm loving it!  Sure, it's only the first week, but I can't wait to dig in even deeper throughout the semester.
     I wonder how long everyone else in the class is making their posts... hmm...