Man oh man...
Today was quite a day. On the hard front, there was some relational conflict that came up today that is going to take quite a bit of undoing. *sigh* I wish it was easy to assign blame in this, but the reality is that it's just hard and somehow we have to get through it and find peace and unity on the other side. These are the times when I am acutely aware of how broken we are as people, you know?
Thankfully, I was scheduled to attend a seminar today on conflict resolution. It was one of the best two hours I've ever spent. As I have begun to suspect, the key component that everyone brought out was LOVE. Entering into confrontation or conflict can be healthy when it's undertaken in love, and for the greater good of the relationship/institution. I'm clinging to that hope in the above situation.
But, there was a great point today too. I got to my conference section late this afternoon and when I walked in there was only about 2/3 of the students and no professor. When I came in, they exclaimed (not quite yelling, but more than just saying): "Ramón!"
Now, this may seem small, but it was kind of big for me for a couple reasons. First, they knew my name, which I'm sad to say I don't know all of theirs. There was never a formal introduction. Second, they proceeded to ask me to lead the discussion based on the themes that the professor had left on the board for everyone to discuss. Now, some of that was because nobody wanted the job, I'm sure, but there's some respect in that, right? Anyway, I semi-led the discussion and at the end some of the students were saying they felt like we got more done than when Lena (our professor) is leading the discussion. And believe me, I have yet to hear a Reed student stroke someone else's ego, so it was most likely genuine.
After today, I don't so much feel like a 25 year-old misfit in a freshman class (especially since one of the guys said today that he's a transfer student! He must be at least 19 years-old!). It sounds adolescent to say so, but I finally (in some small way) feel like I belong at Reed. Crazy...
Thankfully, I was scheduled to attend a seminar today on conflict resolution. It was one of the best two hours I've ever spent. As I have begun to suspect, the key component that everyone brought out was LOVE. Entering into confrontation or conflict can be healthy when it's undertaken in love, and for the greater good of the relationship/institution. I'm clinging to that hope in the above situation.
But, there was a great point today too. I got to my conference section late this afternoon and when I walked in there was only about 2/3 of the students and no professor. When I came in, they exclaimed (not quite yelling, but more than just saying): "Ramón!"
Now, this may seem small, but it was kind of big for me for a couple reasons. First, they knew my name, which I'm sad to say I don't know all of theirs. There was never a formal introduction. Second, they proceeded to ask me to lead the discussion based on the themes that the professor had left on the board for everyone to discuss. Now, some of that was because nobody wanted the job, I'm sure, but there's some respect in that, right? Anyway, I semi-led the discussion and at the end some of the students were saying they felt like we got more done than when Lena (our professor) is leading the discussion. And believe me, I have yet to hear a Reed student stroke someone else's ego, so it was most likely genuine.
After today, I don't so much feel like a 25 year-old misfit in a freshman class (especially since one of the guys said today that he's a transfer student! He must be at least 19 years-old!). It sounds adolescent to say so, but I finally (in some small way) feel like I belong at Reed. Crazy...