Thursday, October 25, 2012

iExamen Take Two…And Rolling


Frances Amodeo
Understanding Literature
Dr. Ellis
10-25-12

iExamen Take Two…And Rolling
Seeing that our last iExamen was about a month ago, I was super pumped to give myself another healthy dose of self-observation.  I decided to take this challenge on Tuesday, October 24th, my roommate Katie’s twentieth birthday! When thinking about this exercise, I realized that it would probably be even more of a challenge because in my last iExamen I just cut myself off from technology completely, and now I had to be conscious of my every word.
I started my day off with a big old “HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE” and thought to myself, well that was kind, useful and true, I’m off to a good start!  I felt like King Kong, ready to take on the world.  As you may have noticed, I’m pretty outgoing and friendly, always making conversation with those around me, but throughout the day I found myself on a little bit more of the reserved side because I so badly wanted to succeed.  When I found myself asking family and friends what was new and how their day was, I genuinely wanted to know and while talking with them I paid especially close attention to my responses.  I found this very difficult when talking with my mother, because she’s the one who always asks those hard hitting questions like “how much sleep did you get last night?”  I found myself most challenged though while watching the third and final political debate.  I have always had a great interest in politics but this election year especially, maybe because this is the first time I can vote, I have found that I have become very passionate during these debates.  It’s difficult not to yell at the TV here and there, but on Tuesday I successfully managed to just sit and “watch” the debate and take it all in.  And to be completely honest, because I had all my attention focused on the screen and I wasn’t commenting on what I believed I was able to learn that much more.         
            That night while I was taking a shower I decided to process my day, because everyone knows that your best thinking (and singing) happens while in the shower.  I concluded that for me it’s not about how much you say, it’s about what you say and how you say it.  I have a couple of really wonderfully genuine friends who tend to be on the quiet side and I realized on Tuesday, that even though they don’t say a whole lot, when they do say something people listen because it’s heartfelt and has a great deal of meaning. This day of self-observation also reminded me of one of Father Murray's homily from a few weeks ago that resonated with me and I remind myself of it every day. While reminding us to be our best and most authentic selves he said, “It’s not about doing more, it's about being more.”  I believe this is quite meaningful and ties in very well with our iExamen because it reminded me to stay passionate and true to everyone and everything I do, every day. That night when I went to sleep I thanked God for a great day of self-observation and discovery, and I meant every bit of it!

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