I was a camp counselor last summer and this ted talk was actually sent a couple of days ago in my counselor group chat. This talk also relates to the “Impossible” reading that we read for homework. Specifically, this talk is about how we are leaders in our everyday lives. Similar to the Impossible reading, Drew talks about how we have glorified leadership to where we think that leadership is beyond us. He tells a story about a girl coming up to him on his graduation day and telling him how much he changed her life through a simple action that Drew does not even remember doing. I liked this talk because if we think abut our daily lives, we are truly all leaders to someone in some way.

As a mentioned, this talk was sent in my camp group chat. All of the counselors were rather close so after we all watched it, we started sharing stories about times where we were unknowingly leaders. This is my story that I told. Being an overnight camp counselor is incredibly exhausting because you are surrounded by and living with children 24/7. Therefore, the only time you really have to be by yourself or with friends is very late at night. As a result, by the end of the week, all of the counselors were completely exhausted and delirious. I remember one night, my camper was very upset because she was missing a friend of hers who had passed away. She was very shy and never wanted to talk much, so it was hard to help her. But she woke me up at 3 am and my delirious and exhausted self remembers almost no part of my interaction with her in that moment. However, she came up to me on the last day of camp and told me how no one ever just sat with her and talked to her about her feelings and how much that moment meant to her. Furthermore, a lot of the other counselors shared similar stories about how they changed campers’ lives just by doing simple things; a game of soccer, surprise birthday parties, or meaningful activities.

I really would not have considered myself a leader when I was a camp counselor; I saw my time as a counselor as just a job where I could have fun with the kids and my fellow co-counselors. But when I watched this talk, it really validated what I read in the “Impossible” reading. Anyone, and frankly everyone, is a leader in some way. We can all make a difference to someone through our time and our actions. I know it sounds cliche, but I never would have imagined that I could have such an impact on someone, especially in a moment where I had no idea how much I was helping and influencing someone. It is important to understand our glorification of leadership so that we can try and “bring it down.” Everyone needs to acknowledge that they can make such a difference and truly be a leader even if it may not seem like it (again, I know this sounds cliche but it is true). Then, we can inspire further action and understand how to be the best leaders we can from this.

Coronavirus Warning

The Political Paralysis chapter by Goska discussed the importance of individuals embracing the power people have to make an impact in another person’s life through small favors and actions.  In reading it, I thought about our current situation with the coronavirus pandemic.  As of recent,  our society has been recognizing the individuals who have been delivering groceries and working in essential stores as well as the medical professionals who are on the front lines as the “heroes”.  I’ve been reading articles centered around this, and their looming question is whether these occupations and individuals working the jobs will be as admired after we return to whatever “normal” will be.  Reading the first chapter brought those questions to mind, because the “normal” before the pandemic often overlooked these individuals and their necessity.  I imagine this pandemic will be transformative for many people, but I wonder if individuals will be more reflective of their actions and the influences we can make through small favors for others.

Additionally, I was drawn to the last chapter titled “Despair Is a Lie We Tell Ourselves”, as it calls on each of us to “maintain our world by changing the world”.  Kushner relates this to being politically active, which I believe is important to establish a democratic society.  However, I continued to wonder about the actions on the individual level.  Being an active voice in important at the national level, but it should not neglect the actions of the individual on a community.  This chapter was a good conclusion, as it left me feeling optimistic about the possibilities for change and togetherness.  I think there is some truth to claiming tragedy brings people together – this period of isolation and social distancing has only changed people’s view of how to spend time with others, and I find that to be a positive in all the uncertainty.

I tend to be more of a pessimist at heart, but in a way that fits with this reading. Just because I understand that there are more powerful forces than me at play won’t stop me from trying my hardest to accomplish something. In that way, I prefer to see myself as a realist, not a pessimist. Doing something is always better than doing nothing, so even if you’re not accomplishing 100% of what you want to accomplish, getting that 50% done is better than giving up.

One thing the reading didn’t touch on that I thought fit well was the impact of perspective on expectations. I think it’s important to have realistic expectations. That does not necessarily mean optimistic or pessimistic, but rather a more frank acknowledgement of both the circumstances and our ability to change them. It is possible to understand that the situation is dire and also know that we have the agency to improve it. Having expectations from that perspective, rather than blindly optimistic or pessimistic, empowers us to work more productively towards our goals.

I thought that the first short essay was the most compelling. I think that a lot of times, people have good intentions but may not know the best way to direct those intentions. I read a book called Half the Sky for one of my other classes and it said that oftentimes people coming into a community do not know the best ways to help that community. They may assume that sending money will solve the problem when there is something deeper than just an issue of money. I went to one of the entrepreneurship lectures before spring break and the woman who spoke talked about starting a program that reads to children. Not only does this help the children emotionally and intellectually, but it also helped them stay in school. It got them excited about reading and learning which fostered their love for school.

This also reminded me about the doing good better discussion that we had earlier in the semester. It is sometimes hard to figure out what the best way to do good is. It takes work, and you have to actually try and figure out what the community really needs. Throwing money at a problem is not always the best way to fix it. We talked about the seesaw pumps that were a huge failure. People came in and thought they knew how to solve the problem when they were really just creating more problems in the long term. Though people often have good intentions, there is more effort that needs to be put in than just inserting yourself into an issue and assuming you know best.

I really enjoyed this reading and found it to be especially relevant to my own life and the current state in the world. I took a lot away from the Goska and Zinn chapters but did not particularly like the Kushner chapter. In the Goska and Zinn chapters, my main takeaways were that being a virtuous person or being in a position of power can be very differently defined by society versus the individual, and that to feel truly virtuous or powerful, it is essential for people to define it in their own terms instead of society’s definition.

In the Goska chapter, she discusses how people largely associate virtue in artificial/material senses: assuming that if someone has earned a high position, has expensive material possessions or worked for causes that have a large outreach and are commonly known, they are virtuous. While this can be true, the issue with this perception is that it minimizes the effects small deeds can bring for both parties and that often times, these little acts are the ones that can mean the most to people. I personally found this very relatable; in the past, I have done a lot of volunteer work that typically impresses people when I have been asked about it, however, I have often felt more virtuous in doing random acts of kindness that go unnoticed. I also thought the Zinn chapter on power dynamics was really interesting. I had never considered the vulnerability of power within leaders, but the way Zinn put it made a lot of sense. I agree with Zinn that followship is essential in establishing power, and that individuals have a lot of power in choosing who to follow. I also agree with Zinn that individuals do not need to agree with their leaders to be powerful. Looking at a lot of social movements throughout the past century, many norms today in our society are due to movements created by people who disagreed with their leaders at the time, and legislation was later passed to support these movements. I thought these chapters were very uplifting given the current state of the world and I’m glad our class got to read them.

The “Impossible” reading was an interesting read. It was very compelling and relatable especially with what is going on in our world right now. Something that stuck with me was when he said, “The problem is not that we have so little power. The problem is that we don’t use the power that we have.” This quote reminded me a lot of Nelson’s Mandela’s quote: ” Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” These sayings to me implies that we are able to do a great deal but we are afraid to take the responsibilities. It’s easier not to be responsible. This is because most of our society is set up to reward conformity. This reading made me reflect on how I think about what I can do to make a change in the world even if it is on a small scale and even about change in general on a global scale as well as how huge of an impact activism can have.

This reading was very inspirational, especially the one about people using the power they have. I think sometimes people feel that they are too small of a person to impact change, and this stops them from trying all together. Goska explained how important it is to stop wishing that we had more power and actually use the power that we have. Her stories were about little acts that had real effects in the lives of people. I love the idea power is not about big sweeping acts, but rather small acts of kindness. What may seem like a small favor may mean so much more to the person receiving it. I thought it was particularly interesting that she said she envies selfishness. This is not something that I had ever thought about. To go about one’s life without worry about helping others or fixing problems certainly seems easier. However, I do not think the world would be better off if everyone was like this. It is more important that they embrace the small powers they have, because this sis the kindness that defines humanity.

Zinn’s reading told similarly inspiring stories. It is nice to think that there are good, caring people exist everywhere. And, what’s more, these are the people that need to come together to create massive change. What he says about overcoming “crumbling of institutions” is obviously extremely relevant to the world today. It is hard to not be short sighted and easy to be pessimistic, but this is exactly what Zinn warns against. Focusing only on the bad things would create a world much worse than the one we believe we deserve. This ties to what Kushner says about facing the end of the world. We want to be able to end knowing that we have created the best version of what we can be, knowing that we have done all we can to improve ourselves. I think striving for this perfection is the reason society progresses as it does. This part of the reading was extremely poetic. As a whole, the reading was helpful to remembering how and why to stay optimistic and kind during situations as grave as this one seems.

The passages chosen out of Paul Loeb’s book really spoke to me, especially in the current state of the world. I think like most people, I found many parts of this reading that I could easily relate to, and found the author explaining phenomena that I grapple with daily in a very simple way. I related to and deeply understood the example given about Global warming and soda cans: it isn’t enough to recycle our cans because we MUST solve Global Warming right now but we can’t so we might as well not recycle. I get caught in this circular train of thought often, I can’t solve this big issue so what can I do? And then I get so caught up in it I don’t really end up doing anything, or I waste so much time that the opportunity has passed. It is the sense of paralysis he speaks about. He also pulls in the idea of envying selfishness, which I do think about sometimes. As someone who overthinks and worries, I do find myself looking at those who can live so in the dark and wonder how peaceful it must be. It goes back to a question Dr. Bezio asked us at the beginning of class it was something like, “would you rather live a life serving others, or a life with self-driven purpose, not coming from others” (I could not find the original question but it was something like that, and both sides has valid reasons.) Although the reading puts a different spin on the two ideas, I see how both, in their simplest forms, are appealing, living for change, and living content (sort of in a personal bubble?). I live constantly thinking:”what am I doing for others”, overly worried about my friends, I often let that be my driving force, it becomes unhealthy. I do understand the envy he describes when I see people living so oblivious to the world and problems around them, so content with what is immediately in front of them. I think there is a middle ground, being able to not overthink allows one to cultivate change. People can be paralyzed by the overwhelming idea that they need to change the world, so finding a balance might be the healthiest mechanism for change. One small step at a time.

COVID-19 Warning

A beautiful idea shared by the author was when he spoke about his morning moments, the times he has to remember the man who gave him a ride in the snow, the kindest of a stranger, activists from around the world. It reminded me that in the current state of the world, with the disease, and struggle, and death, there are many amazing people doing good things, all the healthcare workers giving their all every day, all the grocery store workers cleaning every cart so we can still get food, and especially the many individuals doing good that is unknown to me. I give gratitude to the seen, and unseen good.

He brings up a truth that I have to remind myself of often: “there is a tendency to think that what we see in the present moment will continue,” our history books are centered around the struggle, the bad, our minds see the current state of the world and see that as regular. “The bad things that happen are repetitions of bad things that have always happened- war racism, maltreatment,” even disease. “The good things that happen are unexpected” This key idea fills me with hope, the good things are change, they are human-driven, and often new, never before imagined. During this time, we should remember this is not our new norm, it is temporary, and maybe we can use this time to change something small. It is crucial that we continue those small actions, living that life of change, no matter how small, because one day it might be something huge, or maybe it will be something small, but huge to someone else. Seen or unseen, good is still good and a step forward.

Two of my favorite mantras are “be the change you want to see if the world” and “practice cautious optimism.” Each time I think of these mantras, in the context of what I want to do in my life, I am filled with the desire to do great things. I want to create change in voting rights or environmental activism that will positively impact many people. I want to work in the federal level of politics, helping to elect politicians that help America the way I believe it needs to be helped. I want to do big things but I forget the ways that these mantras can be applied on a smaller scale.

I think that I am worried that scaling down will not make the impact that I hope to make. However, the “Impossible” reading was really inspirational on this aspect, especially the Danusha Veronica Goska chapter. She made me remember that people can make an impact at every level of life because connecting and helping individuals directly can be so much more impactful than trying to make widespread change. While others may perceive you as more virtuous when you have a larger role in an organization, that is not the point in the mantras that pointed out earlier. Working with people directly can make the change that I want to see in the world.

After reading the “Impossible” chapters I was defiantly moved. I think that the messages being relayed through these chapters is exactly what everyone in the world needs to hear right now. I think that a lot of people are feeling hopeless and that their small actions will not do anything to affect change, but this reassures that they are wrong. With COVID-19 I think that it is so important for everyone to realize that even the smallest actions will have a large impact in someone else’s life. For example, when the author was telling the story of how her neighbor drove her home once and how impactful that was; staying home and donating (if you can) to food pantries around your area can have such a positive impact in someone’s life. I think that people are intimidated by what is going on right now, especially because nobody can really tell what is to come next and how long we will be on stay at home orders, but I think that the author is right in saying that it will not change all at once. If everyone bands together then the collective kind actions of everyone will lead to the momentous change, we are all hoping for.

Honestly before reading this I was so discouraged due to COVID-19 but one quote really stuck out to me, “I suspect we all have our three- in- the- morning moments, when all of life seems like a no- exit film noir, where any effort is pointless, where any hope seems to be born only to be dashed, like a fallen nestling on a summer sidewalk” (54). The author describes that when she gets in mindsets like she described she thinks of all of the small good things in her life to get through it. I think that this is a great mindset to have during this pandemic, because we should focus on what good things we have in our lives and be grateful that we have them. I think that this is a perspective that so many people need to realize, because we are all in this together and we will get through it as long as we work together.