sfl 210 2nd essay rough draft

I think that ‘an unexpected development’ should be added to the definition of a life changing experience. All of my life changing experiences did not go as expected, and most of them are entirely unexpected. When I joined the High School Track Team I day dreamed about my ideal developing experience and joining Native American Hoop dance team felt like something a magician would pull out of their black top hat; but were a life changing experience or better yet both were an unexpected development.
High School Track
It was a good thing I was wearing a long sleeve shirt the first time I tripped over a hurdle while running. The second time I was not so lucky, and by the fourth and fifth time I had perfected running into hurdles with no improvement in actually getting over them. To my ever embracement I actually raced the hurdles in High School; if you can call what I did racing. I tried hurdles because I came in last at every other track event and it seemed like hurdles were a good excuse to run slowly. With a new respect for people who can run in circles I carried my duffle bag and spiked shoes to practice every day, and I ran expecting that through all of this dedication I could one day be the underdog and take home my gold medal. There was never a significant improvement in my times. I never came in any place but last, and I yet I was better for it.
Physical
This experience influenced my the most obvious my physical dominion because track helped me realize the importance of cardio in an exercise schedule. Currently I maintain my cardio so I can enjoy such things as “pick-up” soccer games, flag football, and even hiking more. I also no longer drink carbonation, even at parties. The coaches asked us not to drink carbonation while in training. Shortly after the track season was completely over I guzzled an entire root-beer soda-can and within a few minutes found myself sprawled on the bathroom rug in pain. After that experience I did not want to ever drink carbonation again and I have avoided it ever sense. I also learned that healthily eating habits means more than just burning off the ‘bad’ calories. One night (during track season) I drank a milkshake that was probably about half a gallon of ice cream. I felt like my organs had turned to giant rocks that were smashing together at practice the next day. It taught me that exercise and eating habits are intertwined and before I gorge myself I remember healthy living involves food as well as exercise. Not only did I gain physical strength while in track, but I learned exercise that I use today. Reggie Time was what the track team called our daily half an hour series of abdominal, upper body, and leg exercises. When I go to the gym today I find myself doing exercises that I learned in Reggie Time years ago. Today, although I can not workout in the same extreme amount as I did while on the high school track team I consider myself physically fit. My motivation to stay physically active developed from the exercises, physical discipline, and motivation I learned in track.
Cultural
I learned the culture of athletics (individual and team) is more than just showing up for the game. It is important for a team member to be motivational. I did a lot of cheering from the sidelines in track. Every runner has what they call their weak bend, or better the place on the track that they feel they slow down the most at. People asked me all the time to cheer them on at their weak bend. When I cheer someone on today I realize how important it is to cheer an individual on at their weak bend because culturally that it is appropriate cheering. The fans are important in sports but track also helped me to realize how dedicated athletes are. Before I started to run I thought the track team just went around in circles. Then I tried it. Even when I watch golf I find an appreciation for the hours of dedication put into performances that can last minutes or even seconds. Track helped me to identify with dedicated athletes because I learned the importance of knowing the lingo in a sport: splits, PR, and scratched. I find myself using these words all of the time while talking to people about their marathon training, routines, or high school glory days. The more that I learned to appreciate athletes while doing track the more I realized that not all athletes are in the media spotlight. My high school track team had several runners who in the top hundred in the nation but the local newspaper never once put the track team on the front cover. When I watch the sports report I realize there are hundreds of talented athletes not televised. There is a special culture to athletics and because I was involved in track I learned how to respect and identify with that culture.
Socially
I developed socially because I the people who liked me on the track team liked who I was and not my talent at track. My brother was also on the Track Team. He happened to place in the top six in state at multiple events and he still clamed me as his sister. Our relationship grew as I appreciated his talents and he accepted my weaknesses. I am currently writing him while he serves his Latter Day Saints Mission in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Although I had no talent in track I did have friends and they helped me find my strengths. There was one thing was good at in track, stretching. No one commented on how I came in last but they would comment on how well I stretched. It made me feel more comfortable in the group to think that I had something I could do. Today I try to sense if someone is uncomfortable in the group and then I try ask them what they like to do. On of my talents is talking, but track helped me learn how to control my blabbering too. Practice started every day after school and if I wanted to be on time I had to excuse myself from my friends. Today I use the same methods I perfected in High School to tell my friends when I need to go home to study, take a test, or simply go to bed. I never dreaded going to track though because I did have friends. The friends I made on the track team taught me to pick friends not by a test score, how many points they scored, or if they have their Honors Thesis published but by the person they are. Wither it was the hours we spent practicing or the bags of trail mix we shared that sparked our friendships I know that the friends I made in track helped me to learn about relationships.
Native American Hoop Dance
My freshman year of college my roommate Liv came to our apartment smelling like fry bread and holding a flyer about Native American hoop dance practice on campus that night. We both showed up in sweats, expecting free Little Creaser pizza, a brief dance lesson, followed by a short walk home, and then I personally never thought I would think about it again. When we walked into the room they asked us if we were lost. Liv seemed to blend into the group with her black hair, but I looked like a blue eyed deer in the headlights. Everyone in the club knew everyone, and their brothers, and their aunt, and their second cousin twice removed and I felt so overwhelmed. That night I remember curling up to the cinderblock wall next to my bed wishing I could be absorbed in the mortar; I felt like my body was in big-white-blond monster of some sort. In that instant - for only a split second- I had glimpse of what it feels like to look different. I was determined to go to practice the next week, and the next, because I wanted to understand.
Friendship
I began to make life long friends in the dance class. It seemed that all of these friendships were based on patients and forgiveness. The race, cultural, and ethical differences were completely foreign to me that I insulted people out of pure ignorance. Today I do not apologize by simply saying sorry over text, face book, or email because I realize that apart of an apology is learning how you insulted the person. It is probably the most painful but learning how I insulted someone helps me to avoid making the same offense twice. There are lots of things to avoid in a friendship racial and generalization comments are among them. While at practice I heard the insult, “they act white,” tossed around. I know my friends, and they would only say this insult around me because I am no longer what they considered white. When I hear my uncle say “they act black,” it hurts me in the same way that it hurts me when my friends say the same insult. It is probably the strongest message I have taken away from joining the Native American Hoop dance team, but it is important to me that I do not generalize people. There are so many things that we all share in common. I remember thinking I was pretty innovative when I found common grounds with members of the dance team on subjects such as rhythmus, electrical tape, and animal crackers. Now I find it unnatural to find differences when I meet people because there seem to be a surplus of qualities we share. One of the most common human treats is curiosity. There were lots of things that I had no idea how to do in hoop, but I appreciated all of the time that was spent showing me how to dance. Today, I ask my neighbors to explain a concept if I do not understand. It appears to me that the more honest I am about my understanding of the material in class the more honest my classmates are, and when two people are trying to learn from each other it does not take them long to form a friendship. I was not the only one who learned hoop for the first time in the dance class and the ‘old comers’ were more than happy to help us all learn. The people who I call on the weekends, ask advise from, share my apartment, and are my confidants came from the friendships I built in this class.
Cognitive
My cognitive thinking expanded beyond the walls of the classroom while I was a hoopster. Originally my college plan was to transfer to an interior design university in New York but after visiting the Navajo Nations Reservation I realized I enjoy working with children. Currently, I am working towards early childhood education, but I am still working through the fog of how I think that I can chose a career that will use my talents to help children develop. My entire class schedule and academic goals have changed. I have also learned that my academic progression is not based on how well I can recite my notes. While listening to the Native American view of The Trail of Tears I realized how deliberately delicate my text books is. Now when I think about History it feels like a prism with thousands of different colors and perspectives all streaming out of a single point or instance of light. I think of history differently now and I also think of language differently. After getting help on my Spanish homework from my friend who is from Mexico I came to the conclusion that there should to be a class to bridge the gap between classroom Spanish and spoke Spanish. To help me develop cognitively my spoken Spanish I moved to the Foreign Student Language campus housing were I promised along with all of my roommates to only speak Spanish in our apartment. The exposure to language was a development but not as big as the realization the value of my college education. One night the adult group leader gave a lecture on the sacrifices made for us to receive an education. My parents went to college, friends, and siblings all had the opportunity to go to college now when I study I feel an acute awareness that my college education is a gift and that millions of people want the level of education I have. I think beyond my text books now because they no longer seem to be the source of all knowledge but simply pieces of paper mimicking reality.
Language
The important language skills I learned were based on the principle of word choice and silence. I can not express myself in every in Navajo, and I have to let someone translate for me. Instead of wishing that I could speak every possible language I have developed the more practical approach of gratitude for people who speak multiple languages and are able to translate for me. Although I can not speak Navajo I think that when I build my English vocabulary I increase my ability to give respect to other languages. One time I called someone’s traditional dancing outfit a costume; everyone fell into an eerie silence. I had danced in companies before and assumed that any attire you preformed in was called a costume. The two words outfit and costume do not translate in Navajo culture as meaning the same thing. After being corrected I realized the influence my word choice can have. As important as word choice is silence is a key element in communication. For example I keep quite on many of my questions I have about skin walkers but it is obvious by the needle like tension in the room when the subject is brought up that this is a subject I will probably never fully understand. In this case my silence appears to build the ability to communicate. Subjects are not the only thing that require silence. Some of the students I danced with learned English as a second language and often times they spoke in slow short sentences. I no longer underestimate the universal language of laughter, smiles, and hugs and because of how simple those languages are to communicate I find myself speaking them more and more.
Spiritual
I realized that God believes in the worth of souls. While dancing physical differences came up a lot. The more I thought about my physical body the more I realized that my body was made of the dust of the earth, something that I walk on, and it was not nearly as valuable as my soul. This realization of the worth of my soul has helped me to understand that my soul can use my body to testify of Jesus Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice in the way I walk, laugh, eat, smile, and cry. I feel more prepared to bear my testimony of my Lord at any time partly because I danced my testimony often but mostly because after practice we had a devotional. In every devotional two people were asked to say their testimony on the spot. After being touched by countless testimonies after practice I have believe there is a true power that comes from declaring God’s word. The gospel of Jesus Christ is to be declared to all nations of the earth. Most of the dance members were immigrants to the United States; their families were first generation converts and they stood before me and testified that God loved them and that he loved all of His children. I could see the determination of Christ’s ensign to go to every continent in their faces and I know that the restored Gospel will one day be declared to all nations, kindred, and tongues.
Self
The appreciation of other people’s differences helped me to accept my own. The more I felt safe to explore others differences the more comfortable I explored and became comfortable in my blue eyes, and my white arms because they were apart of my body. Naturally at practice the conversation would turn from appearances to heritage; at first it felt like an obsession but through the discussions I learned to appreciate my own ancestors more. When I saw my friends becoming passionate about their heritage I started to read books about my own heritage: Irish immigrants and fables. With all of this discussion of differences it suddenly became more important to me that I discovered ‘who I am’ rather than label ‘who I am’. I do this by not being afraid to try new things as simple as ice-cream flavors to Majors. Native American dance was something entirely new to me and with hours of practices filled with me hitting myself in the face and tossing my hoop across the room I learned that I can hoop dance. I also began to recognize the feeling of not knowing what my body was doing in comparison to understanding what my body signals and movements. Now that I am more aware of my body signals I have learned how to better communicate with myself. For example I can now tell myself when I am thirsty over hungry, because I recognize the different body signals. At the same time I realized my body language I became aware that I can do things I never thought I could. I never imagined myself attempting to dance Native American hoop, and yet at the end of the class there I was in the middle of an auditorium filled with people eating Navajo Tacos. From now on I expect the unexpected from myself.
My High School Track record and joining the Native American hoop dance club were both unexpected but that is what made them ideal for me to develop in all the ways that I did. If my imagination can anticipate how I will develop I don’t believe that there could be much development in that experience. In my life, for a true life changing experience to happen it has to come up on me unplanned or unexpected because those types of experiences rip me out of myself centeredness and paradigms enough to make me develop new schemas about the world I live in and that new awareness helps me to develop.