Blanton ODB

Visiting the Blanton Art Museum was one of my favorite places we have visited in this class. I found many interesting paintings and sculptures that I learned a lot from. I learned about leadership through the artists who created the objects, as well, I was able to relate many of the actual paintings and sculptures to the leadership qualities I hope to attain. This concept illustrates the main purpose of this class, unity. I was able to unify things in an art museum created many years ago to our lives in the present and future.

The first artist I came across while walking around the Blanton was Albert Durer, a German painter and mathematician. He was born and died in Nuremberg, Germany, and one of his greatest accomplishments is being known as one of the greatest creators of old master prints. He would often create his prints in series. Some of his works include the Crucifixion, shown to the left, and St. Jerome, shown to the right. His hard work and determination paid off as his reputation across Europe became well known while he was still in his twenties. Durer is also known for being the greatest artist of the Renaissance in Northern Europe. He did a great job conveying the mood of the time in his work, especially in a time of famine, plague, and social and religious conflict. This shows how he relates to his audience and the common folk by showing his empathy for them through his works. Great leaders must also do a good job at relating to their audience and seeing things their followers’ perspective in order to be successful in accomplishing their goals.

Another artist I was able to witness the works of was Antonio Berni. He was a neofigurative artist, which is described as an expressionist revival in modern form of figurative art, from Argentina. Berni was a painter, an illustrator, and an engraver. When learning about Berni, a great characteristic that stood out to me was his creativity. He did not just look at the style of the time and paint similar styles to what others were painting. Instead he took influence from others such as Giogio de Chirico and Rene Magritte but created his own idea out of these influences. This is also an extremely important skill for leaders to acquire. Leaders must be able to be creative and take a risk to make something new and different to keep their followers with them. They also must use the skill Berni did of combining many ideas together. When leaders are leading a group and everyone does not have the same opinion, the leader must be able to find a medium and make compromises. Some of Antonio Berni’s works include Ramona, to the left, and Curtain, to the right.

One last artist also featured in the Blanton that stood out as a leader to me was Cildo Meireles, a Brazilian artist and sculptor. I loved his sculpture titled Missão, how to build cathedrals. This work was created in 1987 with 600,000 coins, 800 communion wafers, 2000 cattle bones, 80 paving stones, and black cloth. This creation is not only very interesting to look at but is very symbolic. He makes references to missions in South America as an attempt to convert the citizens to Catholicism. Meireles also establishes the relationship between wealth, religion, and agricultural exploitation. The tower of communion wafers represents religion connecting the lands and the heavens. I found this work to be intriguing because, again, it captures an aspect that is extremely important to the common person. He expresses the feelings of the people on the missions, and anyone can relate in the present day as well because religion is a popular subject. Meireles demonstrates his willingness to take a risk. This sculpture is not something you would commonly see in a museum, but he decided to take a risk and put himself out there and it paid off. His works gained him a widely accredited reputation across the world. The ability to take risks is also a great leadership quality. You won’t always know the outcomes, but taking risks occasionally is a necessity.

As you can see, from visiting the Blanton Art Museum, I learned many things from various works and the artists. I learned important leadership qualities such as relating to your followers, being creative, and having the ability to take risks.

Texas Natural Science Center

I observed many exhibits that focused on creatures that are “Texan” dating back millions of years. It was interesting learning all about the history and creatures all the way back to the beginning of existence. I also learned more about what it means to be a Texan while observing the exhibits. I also found it very interesting to expand our view of leadership not only to people, but to all past living creatures that inhabited Texas.

The first exhibit that stood out to me was the Texas Pterosaur, the largest flying creature ever discovered. It was found in 1971 by Doug Lawson and lived in what is now the Big Bend National Park in West Texas about 65 million years ago. The Texas Pterosaur’s wingspan was about 40 feet. The discovery of the Texas Pterosaur is one of the most famous finding in the history of paleontology. The findings of the Texas Pterosaur show how the creature was a prominent figure in Texas back in history. I believe this defines what it is to be a Texan. Speaking for myself, I hope to be a prominent figure who influences others and has a successful life. I believe this is a common ideal throughout our great state of Texas.


There was another exhibit about Texas Critters, things that exist in our everyday lives. There are about 30,000 species of insects in Texas including beetles, butterflies, and moths. The majority of these insect species is harmless and forms a natural part of our environment. The insects are the most diverse terrestrial animals on Earth. Insects are also very multifunctional. They pollinate crops, produce honey and many other important substances, serve as laboratory animals, and teach us many things about our environment. I also visited an exhibit on the fourth floor of the science museum that focused on the variety of fish species that exist in Texas. Different fish types lived in West Texas, Central Texas, East Texas, and the Gulf Coast. The wide array of types and roles of insects and fish illustrates another important aspect of what it means to me to be a Texan. Texas has a huge population and a wide variety of diversity. Texans also perform a wide variety of jobs that help our society continue to thrive.

On the fourth floor of the science museum, there were many exhibits that displayed many other creatures in Texas. For instance, Ringtails are close relatives of the raccoon and are excellent climbers due to the fact that their hind feet can be rotated outward 180 degrees. The Muskrat is a large aquatic rodent with partially webbed hind feet. They live in marshy areas where they build dome-shaped houses out of vegetation. Raccoons are other creatures prominent in Texas that live statewide, especially in wooded areas near water. Raccoons spend their time in their dens, made in a variety of places. Northern River Otter s are sociable carnivores that inhabit aquatic habitats in the pine forests of East Texas and coastal prairies and marshes. They hunt along river banks or underwater at night for fish, crayfish, mollusks, amphibians, and other small animals. All these animals have specific characteristics and utilize their characteristics to do the best they can in society. They use their characteristics to succeed in what they are best at and to find food to survive. This determination and creativity is another factor that makes up what it means to be a Texan and a leader. In order to succeed as individuals in Texas, we need to make the best of the resources given to us. We must have the determination and creativity to accomplish what we want with the limited resources we have. This is a process leaders must partake in as well.

In conclusion, I learned many things during our visit to the Texas Natural Science Center. Not only was I able to learn about the history of creatures in our state, but many things about these creatures that demonstrate what it means to be a Texan and a leader in the lone star state.

*first picture: the Texas Pterosaur, Texas Natural Science Center
*second picture: variety of insects in Texas, Texas Natural Science Center
*third picture: exhibit on the fish in Texas, Texas Natural Science Center
*fourth picture: Halls of Texas Wildlife fourth floor, Texas Natural Science Center

Unity

Unity is a theme that relates to each of our lives and across the world. Unity is what brings all of us together and connects each phase of our lives. Even though many people have a wide array of opinions and perspectives, we must stick together and work together to accomplish many things in our society. We must depend on others, and others must depend on us. This unity is what brings us all together to be successful. I think this theme of unity that defines P3 as well as the curriculum of our class is an extremely important concept. The theme of our class we have heard many times is “hammer your thoughts into unity” (762). Bringing thoughts and people together is how we accomplish goals and move forward in life. We learn things from previous experiences and mistakes and take them with us to improve on the next attempt. Composition is defined as “to put together parts or elements so as to make up a whole” (127). Unity and composition have been two of the main forces helping me while completing P3.

While reading these articles about unity, I found many common themes that I am using while writing P3. For instance, in “The World is Your Body,” Alan Watts explains that “all features of the world hold their boundaries in common with the areas that surround them – that the outline of the figure is also the inline of the background” (770). I thought this was an interesting perspective that really shows how everything is connected to something else. Watts uses the example of drawing a circle on the blackboard, which can also be seen as a wall with a hole in it. This shows how there are two different perspectives that are connected by the same drawing. One perspective is seeing the illustration as a circle and the other perspective is seeing it as a wall with a hole in it. These two perspectives are joined by the common boundary of the circle drawn on the board. I am using this concept in the process of P3 because I am using two different perspectives to compose one thing. I will use the perspectives from P1, which focuses on the leadership qualities and the skills of reading and writing of my role model, and P2, which focuses on my experience of using Second Life and how it affected my motivation, to create a unified final project for P3 that connects the ideas from P1 and P2.

Rico’s “Two Modes of Knowing, Writing the Natural Way” describes how to move toward “gaining originality and freedom of expression” as understanding “the two-sided nature of your mental makeup: one thinks in terms of the connectedness of things and events, the other thinks in terms of parts and sequences” (202). Understanding how these different thought processes work and using them together is how we can create the best possible unified work. I must use these two modes of thinking in order to successfully create a unified P3. I will use the side that thinks in parts to make sure each sentence makes sense and is grammatically correct. On the other hand, I will use the side that thinks in connections to make sure all my thoughts flow and connect to each other.

Using unity to create P3 also reminds me of a particular discussion board previous in the semester about connecting the right and left sides of our brain. The left side of our brain controls our logical and analytical thinking processes, while the right side controls our artistic and creative thinking. We have used the connection of both sides of our brain in each assignment this semester. In each writing and project, we have used a combination of text as well as visual evidence to support our argument. This is using unity to combine several ideas into one common proposal. I plan to use this aspect of unity in completing P3 as well because I will use pictures as well as text to support my thesis.

P3 has proven to be a great challenge to me. I have not completely finished it yet, but as I continue to work on it, it seems to be a task I am capable of completing. I will use the many things I have learned in class throughout the semester as well as the things I have read about in these articles to accomplish a sense of unity throughout my paper. I will not use unity only on this assignment of P3, but I will use what I have learned in many situations in my future as well.

*The first picture illustrates unity across our world.

*The second picture is a unity medallion.

*The third picture is a unity candle, which is used at weddings.

*The fourth picture symbolizes unity of people.

Question of Color

Attending the seminar called “A Question of Color” hosted by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement was a great eye opener to me. I found it very interesting to watch the film and participate in the discussion. Many view points were bought up that introduced the many things of racism many people face on a daily basis.

When the topic of racism comes up, we automatically think of prejudice across races; however, very rarely do we see the effects of internalized racism within races. During the event, we first watched a film called “A Question of Color” that demonstrated these view points. The movie began with a woman who felt judged by the guy she was dating. He wouldn’t take her to meet his mother because she was too dark-skinned. This made her feel lousy. Racism is something that needs to be addressed because it affects the way we see our community as well as how we relate to each other. The video stated that every black person is at one time challenged about their color. There is much tension sometimes between light skinned blacks and darker skinned blacks. Also, it was brought up that many people say they don’t have any problem with color, but things creep into their conversations and actions.

Tuskegee University is a prominently black college, and Booker T. Washington was its first president. Throughout the history of this university, there were mainly light skinned presidents that led the college. When a well qualified man became the first dark skinned president, there was a public outcry. As the movie states, “People wanted tall, light, and handsome instead of tall, dark, and qualified.” Many blacks feel they need to not only overcome white discrimination but color and class discrimination in the black community as well. In the black community, the wealthiest families tended to be light skinned rather than dark skinned. We see a problem when people feel they are not good enough to succeed and not good enough for others’ standards because the way they are born.

One instance in which we can see the discrimination within the black community is with two friends, one light skinned, the other dark skinned. People around them prefer the light skinned friend more because of his lighter skin and better hair texture. These friends both see the effects but do not talk about discrimination with each other. They feel they are friends for who they are, not because of their color. When a racial comment is made in a conversation, many people go along with the comment and laugh because they don’t want to stick out, even if they disagree with the racism.

In the movie, many newspaper ads were shown that advertised ways to have lighter skin. It is amazing to see what lengths people will go to change their appearance to feel like they fit in. Many women feel there are many conflicts between black women of different skin color because of the competition of beauty. Some blacks feel discriminated against because they feel others think they are not supposed to excel and not supposed to have anything. One woman of lighter black skin catches discrimination from the black community. People ask her where she is from and tell her she can’t be black because she looks too much like a white person. Many lighter blacks feel this same way that they get hostility from the black community.

In 1977, another incident of racism within the black community occurred. Essence, a black magazine, called a mother and daughter to be on the cover. The mother was dark skinned while the daughter was light skinned and looked more white. Many readers were angry and asked the publishers why they were putting a white woman on the cover of a black magazine. The name “skillet blond” is used to call people who are very dark and have very strong African American features. Many children in the black community get the impression they are bad kids because they are told they have bad hair, bad lips, and a bad nose. These people felt many things inhibited them, told them they weren’t beautiful. The environment you grow up in has a great effect on who you become.

Some of these people who are taught to hate their appearance will do things to try to change their appearance. Black women try to look like white women because they too want to be seen as beautiful. The movie explained how many people have had cosmetic surgery to look more like the white European image. Blacks were having surgery to change the appearance of their nose, and some Asians were having surgery on the shape of their eyes. The 1960s was touched by a movement known as the Black Consciousness Movement, which rocked old traditions and prejudices of racism. This was a movement encouraging people to embrace their past rather than deny it. The 1960s was an exciting time for blacks. One step is the first black reporter appeared on the news. She wanted to wear her natural hair but was taken off the air because she refused to straighten her hair. After a public outcry, however, she was reinstated. Another example of internalized racism is that light skinned blacks felt they had to prove themselves worthy to go into the black student union. While we have made great steps away from racism, many contradictions still linger. For example, many rappers are seen singing to light skinned women with good hair.

Racism has taught many blacks to be ashamed of how they look. The movie declares it necessary to honestly and openly discuss color consciousness in an effort to overcome shame and heal ourselves as a community. While this movie focused on the black community, internalized racism extends to all color communities, and this is an issue that needs to be addressed and corrected.

After watching the movie, there was an open discussion among the large group. Many different perspectives were shared. One young man shared that he identified with trying to prove yourself as light skinned because he was part of a light skinned family in a predominantly dark skinned community. Another topic that was brought up is how people feel more comfortable with people that look like them. This is one reason why some companies are less diverse. People want people who will fit in and allow the company to continue operating efficiently. One girl in the meeting explained how she felt her natural hair was not accepted among those around her. There is another movie called “New Growth” that discusses this issue of hair and how people are judged about it. The tension between light skinned and dark skinned African Americans is not widely known to everyone. I, for one, did not realize this was such a large issue among the black community. Another participant discussed how this issue is extended into the Latino community. Latinos are discriminated about whether or not they speak Spanish and whether or not they grew up in Mexico.

After seeing this interesting video and listening to the discussion, I feel I learned a lot about different perspectives people were coming from. Everyone wants an identity of where they feel they fit in. We as a community need to overcome this issue of internalized racism because it is something that affects every one of us every day. People make many judgments, but we must be careful to not judge others by their appearance or race. It is important to look at why we do what we do and why we think what we think about others.

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

During our visit to the Bob Bullock Museum, I learned many things about Texas and various leaders who contributed to the history of this great state. I had learned facts in history class and read about some of these leaders, but visiting the museum allowed me the opportunity to increase my knowledge of the great state of Texas. The museum was very interesting, and I now have a greater understanding of our leaders' impact on our state. Many of these leaders’ accomplishments are taught in history classes, but today I got to know the character and qualities of these leaders. I witnessed many different qualities that made each leader great in their own way.

Many various groups and leaders displayed great ambition through the exploration of new land which is now Texas. The Aztecs and Incas were Mexican ethnic groups that showed their ambition by sending ships filled with gold and silver back to Spain. They were persistant conquerors of the new land and were loyal to their home nation by sending back the riches they found. In the 1500s, ambitious Spanish explorers traveled to the area what is now Texas and led numerous expeditions to this precious land throughout the 16th century. Many Native Americans inhabited the nation and the area that is Texas. The coastal Indians, located on the coast of Texas, discovered the survivors of the Panfilo de Narvaez expedition. These survivors were the first Europeans to set foot in present day Texas near Galveston Island in 1528. Thousands of native people lived here for 11,000 years before Europeans arrived in Texas. Many different groups co-existed in this area with a variety of languages, customs, and beliefs. This diversity epitomizes the cultural melting pot and freedom that is the symbol of America. Spaniards entered Texas in 1528 in hopes of conquering land. The Karankawa Indians were another group of Native Americans that inhabited the territory and lived along the bay shores. They were very ambitious in the way they adapted to a way of life for survival. These Indians traveled in groups of 40 to 50 to take advantage of seasonal foods. They ate fish and shellfish in the fall and winter, searched for pear fruits and mesquite beans in the spring and summer, and hunted buffalo whenever possible.

Other prominent leaders in Texas history demonstrated great courage that led Texas to where it is today. LaSalle traveled across the Atlantic in 1684 to 1685 and led a small fleet that stopped in the Caribbean. Several men deserted here to settle the land. The Caddo and Europeans each courageously believed they would dominate the Texas territory for centuries; however, both were wrong. Stephen F. Austin prevailed as a leader after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. He worked tirelessly to survey and map thousands of acres to benefit what is now our great state. He showed great courage as he helped develop and fought for our state. By 1836, the year he died for Texas, Austin had administered 4 grants and approximately 1,000 families had settled in Texas. The first battle of Adobe Walls, which occurred in 1864, resulted from attacks on white settlers and was one of the largest battles between US soldiers and Indians. This battle marked the beginning of the end of the plains tribes because of the leaders’ courage and bravery. Many other battles and events along the timeline of Texas history display great leadership and the courage to fight for the independence and freedom of our state. Some of these include the Treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867, the attack on Salt Creek Prairies in 1871, the Red River War, the second battle of Adobe Walls in 1874, and the Battle of Palo Duro Canyon in 1874. Many leaders demonstrated great courage, persistence, and bravery throughout these events.

The movie “Star of Destiny” gave me further insight into the leaders of Texas’ history. Many courageous and daring leaders like William Travis were pointed out as symbols of the Texas spirit. Sam Houston was general of the Texas army and a great leader in the fight for Texas' independence from Mexico. Many leaders attempting to conquer land such as De Vaca, Coronado, and La Salle all had great perseverance to gain the land they wanted. The movie explained how in many battles, brave men stood up even against almost impossible odds to fight for our great state of Texas. We are so fortunate to have the land, freedom, and opportunity for which our pioneers fought. Today, we live in a place with the advantages of a civilized and free country, and much of this was gained through great hardship and sacrifices by our leaders. The cowboys were another group to prevail in Texas. They epitomized great qualities of leaders through their persistence in settling and did not even think about quitting or giving up. When a great storm destroyed the city of Galveston and many were killed, instead of abandoning the city, the citizens worked together to rebuild the city and built a wall 12 feet high to prevent future water damage. In the twentieth century, Texans began to take the lead in industry, arts, politics, and science. Many leaders in Houston were able to put the first man on the moon. "Star of Destiny" enforced “the Texas spirit belongs to everyone.” I agree with this quote and believe we need to take full advantage of it.


Experiencing the Bob Bullock museum and watching the movie “Star of Destiny” gave me a greater understanding about the place we live today and the many leaders who contributed to the history of Texas. I hope to one day have the ambition, courage, bravery, and persistence that all these leaders humbly exemplified through their great accomplishments. As “Star of Destiny” states, “The Texas adventure is now our adventure,” so we must rise to the challenge to influence our society in a positive way such that all these leaders did for us. We are the future of our great state of Texas.



*first picture: Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum
*second picture: Native Americans that populated the territory
*third picture: LaSalle
*fourth picture: Stephen F. Austin
*fifth picture: Battle of the Alamo
*sixth picture: Sam Houston
*seventh picture: first man on the moon
*eigth picture: state of Texas

Alice and College Life

After reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, I have found many aspects of these stories that relate to my experiences in college. The story begins where Alice was sitting with her sister and was getting “very tired of having nothing to do” (11). She felt comfortable in the presence of her sister, but was looking for more excitement. This is exactly how I felt before coming to college. I was comfortable in my hometown, Plano, TX, where I was surrounded by my friends and family and knew my way around the safe environment. Towards the end of high school, however, I got very anxious to go to college to begin a new journey of my life and was looking for new excitement in my life just like Alice.

Alice then proceeds to follow a rabbit and goes down a long, dark rabbit hole. She feels scared and doesn’t know how far the fall is or what to expect at the bottom of the hole. I felt dazed and confused much like Alice when I first arrived at the campus of the University of Texas. The campus felt so big and there were so many people. I didn’t know how I was going to find my way around the massive campus, and I didn’t know many people coming to UT. In Dodgson’s Oxford, Dougill states, “in the early stages of her time in Wonderland Alice is distraught and disoriented: she feels lonely, longs for her cat” (781). I feel many college students, including myself, feel this way at the beginning of college. I felt lonely in such a large campus, and at times I miss my friends and family back home.

When Alice keeps changing sizes, she feels very frustrated. I feel the same way at different times throughout my college experience so far. It is such a different lifestyle that we must adjust to. In Alice in Wonderland, Alice finally turns to a caterpillar for advice because she feels like she doesn’t know who she is anymore. The caterpillar gave Alice advice on how to change her side by eating the mushroom he was sitting on. The caterpillar told Alice, “One side will make you grow taller, and the other side will make you grow shorter” (53). After struggling in one of my classes, I learned how important it is to ask others for help. While we are on our own and have much freedom, there are so many people around us on campus who are there to help us. They will not reach out to us, but it is our responsibility to reach out to someone when we need help. I was struggling in my economics class, and I went to my professor several times during her office hours. She went over my test with me and gave me suggestions on how to improve my study habits to perform better on the next test. I felt much better going into the next test, and I felt like a learned an important lesson that will help me in the future, not only in college but for the rest of my life. There will be people willing to help, you just have to reach out and find who will help and ask them.

Another relation I made from Alice in Wonderland to my college experiences is the concept of finding your identity. As explained in Dodgson’s Oxford, “Alice shows an obsession with identity-‘Who in the world am I?’ the young girl wonders” (780). As we have mentioned many times in this class, college is a time to find your own identity of who you want to be and what you want to accomplish in your life. Through searching for role models and learning from others around us, we are searching out the characteristics we want to embrace. College is a time for us to prepare for our future in the real world and we must make the most of each opportunity granted to us in our time at college.

One thing that I could relate to in “Through the Looking Glass” also stood out to me as a relation to my college life. Alice encounters many different people with very different attitudes and characteristics. For instance, along her journey, she finds Humpty Dumpty who “was sitting, with his legs crossed like a Turk” and “didn’t take the least notice of her” (207). Alice also runs into Tweedledum and Tweedledee as they “were standing under a tree, each with an arm round the other’s neck” (180). These and the many other people Alice meets reminds me of the many people I have met in college. I have gotten the opportunity to meet various people with different backgrounds and different views. I think it is a very good experience to be able to learn many things from the many people around me from professors to students.

Just by looking at the name of the story, “Alice in Wonderland,” I can see how this story relates to my college experience. Alice is forced to go through a long journey with many obstacles and “wonders” because she does not know what is ahead of her. My college experience has already been filled with many ups and downs, but I am doing my best to learn from each experience. I do not know for sure what lies ahead in my future, but I hope to have a good idea of my future when my college years are over.

*first picture: Alice in Wonderland

*second picture: Alcie goes down the rabbit hole

*third picture: Alice gets advice from the caterpillar

*fourth picture: Alice meets Humpty Dumpty

*fifth picture: Alice meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee

LBJ Library

As I was going through the LBJ library admiring many leaders, one trait really stuck out in my mind that all these leaders possessed. This trait is perseverance. I learned so many interesting facts about all these leaders. They all had a vision and worked hard to achieve their goals. More importantly, they never gave up. This is one trait I hope to get better at. I want to be able to work as hard as these leaders and have their determination. This was a great unifying theme to me of many leaders throughout the LBJ library.

One leader I learned about was Roosevelt, shown to the left. He was a great president to our country as he demonstrated great American interest and strength. He dispatched the Great White Fleet in order to show that American navy had great strength that could operate globally. Another leader that I admire for his perseverance is Thomas Edison. He had great impact on the nation with his inventions of the phonograph and incandescent lamp with carbon filament. He was a pioneer in motion pictures and developed the forerunner of talking films. His hard work and determination improved technology in one of many steps to get our media to what it is today. Charles Lindbergh, a pioneer aviator, succeeded in making the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris, which symbolizes the courageous spirit of a restless and daring time. His bravery is what helped contribute to great accomplishments in our aviation world. Ernest Hemingway, pictured on the right, is another great leader who is known for his writing about his generation in a crisp, muscular style. Through his hard work, he made an impact on our society and is known to many as a brilliant new novelist in a bountiful period of American literature. George Herman “Babe” Ruth was a great leader on the baseball diamond. He is known as New York Yankees’ “Sultan of Swat” because he captivated the American public with his attitude and ability on the diamond. He set many records such as hitting 60 home runs in a single season and 714 during his career. Through his great perseverance, he is a role model and leader to many people even still today. Herbert Hoover was another president of our country in 1928. One of his great accomplishments was directing a program to feed the impoverished post war Europe. This shows his great compassion for others, even globally. Lady Bird Johnson proved to be a great leader when she ran the Congressional office while LBJ was in service. She worked hard while her husband was serving. Lady Bird's home is displayed to the left. Dwight Eisenhower was another leader in the library that stuck out to me for his perseverance as a WWII leader as well as the president of America during the 1950s. Dr. Jonas Salk was a very influential doctor during these years. He developed a polio vaccine that brought an end to the rampant polio that swept the nation. Salk’s perseverance helped improve the quality of life for millions by preventing this terrible disease. Rosa Parks is another leader during this time because she was a great step to overcoming racial segregation. She protested the city’s segregation policy by refusing to give her bus seat to a white passenger. I admire Rosa Parks for her perseverance to stand up for what she believes in. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a dominant figure in breaking the segregation barrier. He also persevered for something he believed in even though society was against it. He was a leader to the black citizens and launched a bus boycott. A picture of Martin Luther King Jr. is displayed on the right.

LBJ is the prominent leader displayed throughout the library, and I learned many things about his accomplishments and character. I saw perseverance of LBJ in his campaign for the United States Senate. He first ran in 1941 but was unsuccessful in winning. However, he did not give up. He ran again in 1948 and introduced a new form of campaign, the helicopter. LBJ was successful in the US Senate as well as the president of the United States. One of LBJ’s accomplishments includes his initiatives to make the US and USSR have a closer relationship than any time since the end of WWII. He also implemented many other successful measures such as programs to encourage third world countries to form common markets and regional partnerships and efforts to build bridges to nations of Eastern Europe. As well as encouraging good relationships internationally, LBJ promoted unity and success within our nation. After such a tragic time of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Johnson was motivated to create something constructive out of the country’s trauma and grief and address the rage and frustration he saw fueling the riots. LBJ showed to be a strong leader throughout his time in the Senate and presidency, and I hope to have perseverance and determination like he did. Above to the left is a picture of a memorial of LBJ in the library. To the right is a picture of the LBJ fountain.

Going to the LBJ library was such a great experience for me. I learned so much not only about history but about leadership traits as well. It was interesting to learn about various different leaders in our history and how their perseverance is what guided our nation to where it is today. I admire their hard work and perseverance and hope to possess these skills to have a successful future.

The Tower Garden

With the fast-paced, extremely busy lives we all live in today, everyone needs some place to relax and retreat. We all need to be able to take the time to sit back and relax every once in a while. Nature, like gardens, can provide this great place to retreat from our lives for a few moments. As our course anthology says, I truly believe that “walking into a setting shaped by a landscape architect has such a powerful effect…a gratifying sensation” (638).

Since I have been in college, my life seems to be filled with much class, studying, meetings, and various other responsibilities. It seems I am always busy, but it is very nice to be able to visit a peaceful place like Turtle Pond by the tower to relax and forget reality for a little while. It was very interesting to me to read about the history of such a calming place on our campus. I walk by this pond going to class amongst the thousands of students hurrying to their next class, but I have never realized how great of a history it has. I thought it was interesting to learn that this pond is a memorial dedicated to the victims of a shooting on campus. “Landscape architect Eleanor McKinney and visual artist Jill Bedgood combined to produce the redesign of the Tower Garden, a tree-covered grassy area north of the university’s landmark tower” (642). To learn about the great thought and emotion put into such a seeming simple place was incredible to me. That is one of the great things about nature to me. As we rush through our busy lives, everything seems so structured and organized and planned. However, when we are able to take the chance to retreat to a place of nature like a garden, it is so calming and soothing because of its lack of structure. Everything seems to fit with each other in a random manner. Another great thing about places like Turtle Pond is that everyone has a different perspective. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and has different stresses at the time. So, when visiting a garden, different aspects may stick out more or relate to a person. Landscape architecture can have such symbolic meanings that mean different things to different people. For instance, the Turtle Pond has symbolism. On the north side of the pond the objects are represented by the words violence, chaos, and loss to illustrate “the tragedy and loss that one experiences with an even like the Tower shootings. As healing occurs, one moves to reflection, solace, and hope, the objects on the south side of the pond” (642). Everyone experiences pain and tragedy in their lives, but these mean different things to people. Reflection and hope can mean different things as well.
A reflection of the Tower Garden

Gardening has been a hobby in my mother’s life that she has passed to me. Gardening as well as visiting gardens can allow a person soothing relaxation. I remember many times throughout my childhood where my family spent Sunday afternoons working in the yard. While my dad and brother would mow the lawn, my mom and I would be busy in the garden. Planting flowers was such a fun experience for me. It was hard work, but it brings back great memories. It was a time for everything else in the world to go away and a chance for my mom and I to talk and grow close. She taught me many things in our garden, not only about gardening but things to apply to my life. I always loved the reward of planting bright colorful flowers in our garden. I feel landscaping like this gives such a homey feeling to our house and brightens up our yard.

These flowers remind me of the many times I planted flowers with my mom in our garden at home.

Gardens may seem like simple areas in our world that grow various plants, fruits, or vegetables, but they really are so much more. Gardens are a place to relax and enjoy. Gardens can provide a small way to escape from reality even for a few seconds. It provides a way for me to put my thoughts into perspective and re-energize to have an influence and be successful. I want my college years to be a time to reflect on my life and truly think about what I want to accomplish in life. Taking the time to step out of my typical, college student life into a relaxing place like the Turtle Pond gives me the chance to do this.

College Expectations

Since I can remember, I have always known that I wanted to go to college. More than that, I knew I wanted to go to The University of Texas at Austin. The Longhorn tradition runs in my family. Both my parents graduated from UT and met there. I also have 4 aunts, 2 uncles, and 2 cousins that went to UT. I was born and raised a Longhorn fan. I grew up wearing burnt orange and watching games and cheering on the Longhorn football team to victory with my dad. My parents always encouraged me to do my best in high school to be able to make the decision of where I wanted to go to college. While I had much fun sharing the Longhorn tradition with my family as I was growing up, they never wanted me to go to a college just because it was where they had gone. They wanted me to go where I wanted to go and where was best for me.

I spent a lot of time watching UT football games and cheering on the Longhorns with my family.

As I began my search for the college of my dreams, I kept an open mind. I visited many campuses and looked into many colleges. Nowhere other than The University of Texas, however, felt like home, felt like the place I needed to be. Just like that explained in Jude the Obscure, “It had been the yearning of his heart to find something to anchor on, to cling to – for some place which he could call it admirable” (817). I was searching for a place where I belonged, and I had found it. I just knew it; UT was the best option for me. I do believe I made the choice on my own, based on my conscious effort. However, I also believe there were unconscious things that affected my decision as well. “The contents of the personal unconscious are available through hypnosis, guided imagery, and especially dreams” (180). As described by Carl Jung in the Ancestral Voices of the Collective Unconscious as Inspiration, “it is also possible that education, career, or clothing style has been influenced by a great deal of unconscious material: parents’ preferences, childhood experiences, even movies you have seen but about which you do not think when you make choices or decisions” (180).

This is a picture of the high school I graduated from, Plano Senior High School.

Through my high school years, I had to work very hard to achieve my dream of getting into The University of Texas. I knew where I wanted to go; all I needed to do was get in. My high school was very large and very competitive. I graduated in a class of 1300 graduating seniors. I was very involved in high school in many organizations such as an officer in Student Congress, National Honor Society, a spirit organization, Fashion Club, and a competitive dance team, Plano Dance Force. I was very busy, and I also needed to work hard in school to keep my grades up in order to get into college. I became very good at time management and developed good study habits. I am very thankful I learned those skills then because they have been imperative in college already. When I got my letter in the mail, I could not be more excited that I was accepted into The University of Texas. I felt a calling just like Elizabeth’s Ghosts “The University of Texas called to her: the massive sprawling campus, filled with students with lives totally unlike her own, and people who would not know the girl she was before, or expect her to always be the same” (834).

The UT tower, a significant part of the UT campus.

I had many expectations of college before coming to Austin. Just like Elizabeth, I “wanted scholarship, new experiences, and freedom from her past self” (834). My expectations of college contained a mix of emotions. I was excited for all the freedom and opportunities given to me. I have gotten the opportunity to be exposed to many different people and experiences. Also, I have the freedom to do what I want. I was also scared about all the responsibility that now lays in my hands. With freedom comes much responsibility. I have to decide when to do what and stay on top of all my schoolwork. I was also nervous about finding my place I would fit in the massive campus. I had many questions when coming to college. Would I “find that place in this city if he could get there?” (817) The campus is filled with so many people, it is easy to feel lost sometimes. I am still looking to find exactly where I fit in. I feel I “suddenly grew older” (817). I am still the same person; I have the same dreams, values, and morals. While I am still the same, I feel that college is such a pivotal point in my life. It is a time for me to become the person I will be for the rest of my life and a time to prepare to be on my own in the outside world.

So far, my college experience has been great. I have met many new people, done well in my classes, gotten involved on campus, and had many other great experiences. I can’t believe how fast the first semester of college is flying by. I am looking forward to spend the next four years at The University of Texas learning from the people around me and growing as a person.

Motivation from Second Life

Participating in Second Life was an interesting experience which gave me many new opportunities. Being able to play the role of my mom was exciting for me because I was able to learn much about her. The experience of project one was vastly different than that of project two. By participating in the program, Second Life, I learned many things through reading and writing, discovery learning, leadership, and sympathetic imagination. The two projects were very different because the use of Second Life was the driving source of project two. The many differences of the projects greatly affected my motivation in many aspects.


At the computer while participating in Second Life conversations.

I learned many things about the skills of reading and writing in completing both of these projects. However, the things I learned from the experience of each project were greatly different because of the different approaches to each project. The things I learned about these important skills changed my motivation to write each project. In the first project, a lot of what I learned about reading and writing was how these skills influenced my mother becoming the successful person she is today. Excelling at these skills helped my mom do well in school and college in order to attain a good career. These skills also aided my mother in being successful raising her children, which she feels is her greatest accomplishment. After participating in Second Life, I realized much more about the skills of reading and writing. These skills not only affect ourselves but the people around us as well. Reading is extremely important to understand others’ ideas. During the conversations in Second Life, I learned that it was important to sometimes stop typing and read what others were saying. This made it easier to feed off each other’s ideas to keep the conversation flowing. Additionally, writing is an extremely important skill in order to express your ideas. When having conversations on Second Life, those with the best writing skills had the easiest time expressing their ideas and contributing to the conversation. Many times, we express our ideas using direct language. With the growing use of technology in today’s world, writing is becoming even more important. When writing, as opposed to speaking, no one can see your use of nonverbal language, such as facial expressions and tone of voice. You must be excellent at writing in order to make sure the reader gets the message you are trying to convey. Previous to this assignment, I thought of reading and writing as skills that just involved one person. As I reflect on our society’s lifestyle, I realize how much we interact with others through reading and writing. In the growing world of technology, we use emails, text messages, websites, and many other sources in which reading and writing are necessary skills to understand and interact with others. Just as in the use of Second Life, our skills of reading and writing affected others’ understanding of our beliefs and also what we all were interpreting the conversation to be. Reading and writing are skills that essentially affect every aspect of our lives. What I learned about reading and writing had an effect on my motivation to write projects one and two. For writing project one, I did not have as great motivation because I felt I already knew much of what my mother had taught me about the skills. On the other hand, when writing project two, I felt I had learned a different side of these skills and was more motivated to express these ideas.

I am in the back left, working on Second Life.

This is a picture of my avatar of my role model, my mother.

The use of discovery learning also had an effect on my motivation to complete the assignments. Project one did not require the use of discovery learning. I knew I had to think about the quality traits of my mother which made her my role model. Then, I interviewed her, reflected on past experiences, and researched for quotes that were fitting to her character. These skills are similar to those I have used on many assignments in the past. I was not as motivated to write project one because, even after my preparation, I did not feel like I learned much about the topic or approach. Project two was immensely different however. Using Second Life was a brand new concept. From creating my avatar to conversing with classmates on this computer game, I had never done anything like it. The role of discovery learning played a big role on motivating me to do project two. I had many feelings throughout this project. At first, I was excited to get to work with and explore a new program for a new approach. I was also a little anxious because I am not that good with new techniques on computers. As I began working on Second Life, I felt frustrated. As I was trying to make my avatar look as close to my mom as I could, it was very frustrating when I knew what I wanted to do, but couldn’t do it. After exploring the program and getting accustomed to working with it, I felt accomplished when I finished creating my avatar. The same type of emotions ran through me when participating in conversation. At first, the conversation seemed to go a little slow because no one really knew what they were doing. The conversation on Second Life was much different than a normal conversation. It was a little confusing at first because everyone was typing at the same time, but then we got the hang of it. I thought it was great that we could see everyone’s role model avatar while conversing, as compared to emails or text messages, because you were able to put a face to each other’s names. By the end of the class, it seemed everyone was comfortable and the conversation flew by quickly. The whole experience overall was enjoyable and satisfying. After succeeding in participating in Second Life, I felt very motivated to complete project two because I had already accomplished a major step of the project.

The first conversation in Second Life about leadership with Edwin Dorn, Beverly Kelly, and Shakespeare. My role, Beverly Kelly, is the avatar in the middle in the purple shirt.

I learned many things about leadership throughout the course of both project one and two. In project one, what I learned about leadership came primarily from my own role model, my mother. In project two, I learned various aspects of leadership through conversing with others’ role models. During our first discussion, the conversation was focused on leadership. My group discussed the definition of leadership as well as important traits of leadership. We decided the qualities that make a good leader depend upon the situation and the people they are leading. Shakespeare states, “Greatness comes from how the people see you.” Different people view leaders in different ways. Another aspect we discussed in detail was the factors that determine great leadership skills. While playing the role of my mother, I asked, “Do you believe leadership skills are based more on genetics or your environment?” After much debating and discussing, our group determined that leadership skills are predominantly based upon one’s environment because “leaders are not born great,” as Edwin Dorn states. After the first conversation wrapped up, I moved on to a different group and discussed the relationship between leadership and diversity. In this conversation, I was in a group with Catherine Crier and Benjamin Franklin. Catherine Crier stated in our discussion that “there are different kinds of leaders in the world because of the diversity.” Since everyone is different in their values and beliefs, there are many different kinds of leaders and followers. We discussed that leaders must adapt to the situation they are dealing with and the different people they are leading. Also, followers must adapt to the style of their leader. We also discussed how leadership has an effect on diversity in our society. Leaders can understand diversity and promote diversity in our world. By bringing people together, new, diverse ideas are encouraged. All of these conversations in Second Life that we participated in were great instances of leadership. We all acted as leaders in our groups because we played the role of a significant leader in our own lives. We were the leaders in the conversation. The general topic was given to us, but it was up to the members in the group to help facilitate and keep the conversation going in the right direction. I felt each member in the conversations played a leadership role by bringing up new topics. By feeding off each others’ ideas, we were able to learn more about others’ views of leadership. I also felt that each of us learned more about our own role model and ourselves. The conversations in Second Life were a great way to converse with others’ role models in order to learn much about leadership in our diverse world. The many aspects of leadership I learned affected my motivation to write project two. I was more motivated to complete this assignment because I felt I had learned much about myself, my role model, my classmates, and my classmates’ role models. I thought this was a fun, new approach.

The second conversation in Second Life about leadership and diversity with Beverly Kelly, Catherine Crier, and Benjamin Franklin. My avatar is the one on the left.

Sympathetic imagination is defined as “the ability of a person to penetrate the barrier which space puts between him and his object, and, by actually entering into the object, so to speak, to secure a momentary but complete identification with it” in our course website. This concept is directly related to our experience with Second Life and avatar conversations. By playing this role and participating in sympathetic imagination, I felt I was able to ignore any preconceived notions. I was open to listening to everyone’s ideas and almost forgot that it was actually classmates because everyone was playing their role model. By seeing on the computer screen the avatars of members in our group, I was able to picture the role model and get a feel of their beliefs. For the most part, I was very successful in becoming my mother as my role model. The most successful point was in talking about the qualities of great leadership skills and what makes a good leader. I felt successful at this point of the conversation because my mom has really expressed to me what she feels about this topic. I was least successful in accurately playing my mother in a section of the diversity and leadership discussion. When my group was discussing the relationship between leadership and diversity, Catherine Crier and Benjamin Franklin were able to draw on past leadership experiences to explain how they promoted diversity. It was difficult for me to imagine what my mother’s views on this were because her leadership experiences in my perspective do not directly pertain to this subject matter. After really thinking about her role as a leader in diversity, I was finally able to imagine her views on the subject, but at first, it was a little difficult. Through playing the role of my mom through sympathetic imagination, I was able to learn so much about my mom and myself. I was able to learn the true qualities of my mom that I admire. My mom’s leadership views show how she is such a great leader in her family as well as outside of the family. I continue to strive to be more like the caring, honest, loving leader my mom is today. Through the use of sympathetic imagination, I was able to learn about Shakespeare, Edwin Dorn, Benjamin Franklin, and Catherine Crier. I learned about their leadership views and how they became successful leaders in their time. Another interesting fact to me about sympathetic imagination was that different role models came from all different time periods. It was very intriguing to learn how differences in leadership changed from the 1600s of Shakespeare’s time to the 1700s of Franklin’s time to the 1900s of Crier’s and my mother’s times. After using Second Life and sympathetic imagination, I felt I gained much insight from different perspectives. Because I participated in these conversations and learned so much, I was more motivated to share my thoughts in writing project two.

I am in the middle of this picture with the class and Professor Bump.

Motivation comes from many sources and is important when trying to complete any task. My motivation to complete project one was very different from project two because of the widely different approaches. During project one, my only motivation was the typical academic motivation I have to get good grades. Project two, on the other hand, came from different motivation. Because we used a new and different approach, I was more enthusiastic to participate and complete project two, in addition to my typical academic motivation. I felt the use of Second Life was very beneficial in gaining new insight on leadership through interaction with our role models.

This shows the entire class working on computers on Second Life. I am in the top right corner.

Word Count (without quotes): 1,976

All photos are taken from second life and in class.

A Reflection of my Role Model

Role models can teach us so much about ourselves and what we want to achieve in life. Throughout my life I have had the opportunity to have many great positive influences in my life and many great role models I aspire to be like. My mom, Beverly Kelly, is the one person who stands out most in my life as a great role model. Edwin H. Friedman once said, “Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future.” [1] My mother is a great role model to me because she demonstrates great passion and leadership that I strive to attain. She teaches me so much through her passion for family, leadership qualities, and vision in religion.

My mother is my role model for many reasons, especially her passion for family. Since I was little, she has expressed such a strong importance and value of family. She has shown me, through her examples, the relationships I want to strive for with my family. She does a great job making our house a home, a safe and comfortable place where we can always express ourselves. She is always there to help anyone in our family and strives for our family to be strong and close. The picture to the right is of my mom and me on my 8th birthday. She gave me a guardian angel that I still have, which illustrates that my mom is always watching and supporting me. She has such an awesome relationship with all of us and keeps our family together, no matter what. I know she is always there for me, and I can call her any time of day or night and she will be there to listen and help me. She shows me through everything she does the fantastic leader and role model she is. She has such a passion for helping others and such strong values that she always sticks to. She spends much of her time taking care of her mother because she can’t do much on her own anymore. I admire this so much because even though it takes time away from my mom’s life, she never complains about it and will help my grandmother with anything she needs. My mom does so much for my family. For instance, she cleans the house, cooks meals, does the laundry, washes the dishes, picks up the house, shops for the things we need, and much more. She chose to end her career when she had children in order to be there and raise us into the individuals we are today. The picture to the left shows my mom taking my brother and me to school. My mom feels that being a mother is her most important job and hopes raising her children is her greatest success. She has put all her time into teaching and raising her children, which can be overwhelming. Oprah Winfrey once said, “The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance – and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning.” [2] My mom follows small steps of raising her children and can see the significance of each small step. She feels that reading and writing were a big part of her achievements. She thinks reading and writing are extremely important for the education of future generations. She wants to pass on her knowledge to her children. When I was younger, I can remember reading books with my mom all the time. My grandma was a special education teacher and believed reading was an extremely important skill. She gave my brother and me numerous books as we were growing up. My parents followed this tradition and read stories to me all the time when I was a child, and they spent so much time teaching and encouraging me to read. My mother also thinks reading is imperative in staying knowledgeable and informed about the world we live in. She also loves to read biographies about successful people with strong family values and how they got to where they are now. A few of the women my mom has read about are Laura Bush, Jackie Kennedy, and Princess Diana. She loves to read about these successful women and strives to attain the qualities she admires in her own role models. My mother believes in strong family values and morals, and I want to follow in her footsteps with the same values when raising my own family.

I also admire my mother as my role model because she exemplifies strong leadership qualities and personality. My mother is such a strong and passionate woman. She is extremely selfless, caring, dependable, honest, responsible, and loving to everyone. The amazing thing about my mother is how much she can do without even showing it. Kenneth Blanchard once said, “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” [3] My mother displays her positive influence through example, but never just says what she wants to teach. Just like the old saying, “actions speak louder than words.” You can say whatever you want to get across, but your behavior is what will get across and stick in peoples’ minds. We learn imitation at a young age and continue this unconscious habit throughout our lives. The link below shows video that demonstrates how much role models influence children’s lives, and my mom has had a tremendous positive impact on my life. I want to follow in my mother’s footsteps to become the passionate leader she is. I can tell how much reading and writing affect the leader she is today. These important skills are the foundation for who she is today. By learning and excelling in reading and writing, she was able to be successful in school. Therefore, she was able to get accepted to a good college and succeed as a college student at the University of Texas. After graduating from the business school, which is also my dream, my mother went on to achieve a successful career in computer programming. Her career influenced her life, including the people she was surrounded by. My mother feels these skills are also extremely important in order to help with the ability of expressing yourself. By being knowledgeable, it allows you to converse with others and be social with others. Reading and writing enabled my mother to learn much about the world and people in our society, which helped her to see what she wanted to accomplish in life. My mother is a very involved leader in her children’s lives. She volunteered as room mother, Girl Scout leader, den leader, Junior Achievement volunteer, library assistant, and cheer coach. These pictures show examples of how involved she is. Without being a good writer, my mother feels she would not have been able to be as involved in her children’s lives and wouldn’t be as successful in life. Another great quality my mother possesses is being supportive. My mother is always encouraging me and wants the best for me. “A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be,” Rosalynn Carter explained. [4] My mom does a great job listening to me, giving me the best advice she has to offer, and supporting me in whatever decisions I choose. My mom illustrates that “gifted leadership occurs where heart and head – feeling and thought – meet.” [5] She thinks hard about her decisions and puts much thought and emotion into leading and helping others. I highly admire my mom’s strong leadership qualities, and I will continue to strive to achieve these same qualities to help my future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpH8GoTgUqo

My mother also exemplifies my passion and leadership vision in religion. She has always emphasized the importance of Christianity in our family. Through much reading, she has taught me so much about the religion of Christianity and why it is so important. She teaches me about living through Christ through her example. She always sets a great example of living as a true Christian. Going to church every Sunday has always been a tradition in our family. My mom encouraged me to grow spiritually through the sacraments of Baptism, First Communion, and Confirmation. She has encouraged me to stay involved in the church and in religion. She shows by example because she was a teacher in religion class. The importance of God and religion has a strong impact on my mother’s life. For instance, my mother can relate to how “the various parts of her life intersected, and how crafting a plan to make this dream a reality could be not only motivating but inspiring.” [6] She has faced many difficult situations throughout her life, and her faith in God has always proved to help her through. For instance, my mother’s brother was murdered when she was in her twenties. He was coming out of work one evening and was jumped and beaten to death. He was only 33 years old and had a wife and three young children. It was such a tragedy that devastated my family. With a strong faith in God, my mother and the rest of my family were able to get through this terrible circumstance. My mother’s faith in God through the good times and bad have helped shape who she is and affected every aspect of her life. My mother believes religion keeps society in control and out of chaos. Religion gives people motivation in their lives to do the right thing. Having strong faith has always been an important part of my life, which is largely from my mother’s influence on me. I hope to continue to grow in my faith and spiritual journey as my mother has. Her value of religion is one thing I greatly admire of her. John Quincy Adams has said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” [7] This quote accurately describes my mom’s influence on me. My mother has inspired me so much to continue to achieve my goals and become a better person. My mom is supportive of my goals, such as my goal of getting into UT, shown to the left. She is such a true leader in my life and such a great role model for me to look up to. My mom is a righteous person and has such strong faith in God, which is one of the many reasons why I admire her as my role model.

My mom’s passion for family, leadership traits, and religious vision greatly reflect the passion and leadership I hope to embody. Role models can be inspirations to us when times get rough, and this can help us as individuals to admire our role model’s character traits. It is so important to have role models for inspiration to keep improving ourselves. My mom has been such a strong influence on my life, and I look up to her and hope to be more like her for so many great reasons.

Word Count: 1,710

1. Friedman, Edwin H. ”Wisdom Quotes” http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_leadership.html
2. Winfrey, Oprah “The Quotations Page” http://www.quotationspage.com/subjects/dreams/
3. Blanchard, Kenneth “Wisdom Quotes” http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_leadership.html
4. Carter, Rosalynn “Wisdom Quotes” http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_leadership.html
5. Goleman, Daniel “Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence” Explore U.T. Course Anthology page 62
6. Goleman, Daniel “Primal Leadership: Making Leaders” Explore U.T. Course Anthology page 66
7. Adams, John Quincy “Wisdom Quotes” http://www.wisdomquotes.com/cat_leadership.html
8. All photos are from the author