Monday, November 26, 2012

Thanksgiving! Time to express gratitude!



It’s been 3 months of studying and adapting to new environment in the University of Illinois as a freshman. Thanksgiving break gives us students a perfect stop to take a rest and reflect on something important before and after the break. Other than that, let’s not forget the original meaning of the “thanksgiving”. This is a time to express our appreciations to the givers.
The first givers that I can think of are my family, especially parents. Parents are givers of my life. Beside this simple yet powerful reason, they also support me to grow up to who I am now. The first step I made, the first words I spoke, the first character I wrote… All of these are impossible without their adequate care and patience. Moreover, as elderlies, they guide me to a right path when I am faced with challenges that I have never expected. They tell me how to react with their experiences and provisions. Yet more thankfully, because of the fact that their experiences and lives are unfortunately very limited so that I have to walk my path alone sooner or later, they choose to mitigate their teaching (or control) of me at the right time. That’s one of the reasons I’m here studying abroad in a brand new community here in U of I. I’ve learned quite a lot about dealing new problems alone since I found my way to campus from the airport (which marks the beginning of my life in the States).
The second givers that I think of are friends (if I can include teacher in this category). Friends are people that I can really rely on when I leave my parents. They understand me well (often from a different perspective than parents’) and share similar interests. For most of time, friends are supporters. They can give me ideas when I need them, give me a hand when I’m in trouble, etc. But sometimes, friends also stand out to point out my mistakes justly. They are against me just because they don’t hope to see me on a wrong path. This is in fact another kind of support if thinking this way. Actually, true friends are those who dare to point out my mistakes in front of me. The reason I include teachers here in the friend category is that, I think, I always learn something from my friends, no matter the younger friends or elderly friends. There is always something that my friend is good at but I’m not. Thus friends, unconsciously or consciously, give me lessons like teachers. Teachers, as a profession, are just consciously giving me lessons for most of the time. So, I view teachers as friends. After all, if I have the chance to keep in touch with teachers after I leave school, teachers and I will be friends in the end if you think about it.
Third but not the least, leaders can be givers as well. There are cases when I personally get something from leaders like leader’s courage, leader’s guide, etc. But I think as a leader, the biggest contribution should be done to the team as a whole. Leaders listen to their team attentively, think deeply and finally based on that, make the bright decision best benefiting the whole team. The team as a whole has the power to get things done, but it is leaders who make the most important move, for example, decide what each one of the team does so that the efficiency is maximized.

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