Things I Learn From My Communication Research Methods Class

Communication Research Methods. It's a class. It's really hard. I'm going to fail. Ha! Okay. That's not completely accurate. I think I'll do fine, however, my brain exploded when I found out I had to take this class. The first day, I sit down and I'm in sheer panic. I don't know what to expect from this class, but all I know is it's going to be really hard. Truth be know, it wasn't as horrifying as I made it out to be. Instead, I actually learned something. My professor started talking about a wall she encountered as she was going to grad school. She called it the Statistics Wall. She said that as she took more and more statistics classes she felt like eventually she would hit a wall. She imagined the wall being 20 feet high, all completely cement with barbwire on the top. She kept taking classes and kept acing them and wasn't hitting any kind of wall. Even though she totally hated statistics. When she decided to finally graduate...(she's one of those crazy teachers that LOVES school and was in school for like 25 years...) she went to talk to her statistics professor about taking another statistics class and she ended up telling him about her imaginary wall. He looked at her and said "It's not a wall, it's a door." She explained that, that statement changed her life and that instead of thinking that she'll eventually hit the wall and become a statistics puddle, that she flows freely door to door, picking up every kind of information she can possibly get. MY MIND WAS BLOWN. And I began thinking about how I could apply that in my life. Instead of believing that I'll eventually fail and become a "statistics puddle", I should believe that every opportunity is just a door. It opens and closes and I have to make the choice to open the door, whether I fail or not. I won't hit a wall. I just close a door. I don't fail at something. I just close a door. I don't get rejected. I just close a door. And it's not like I won't ever be able to open a particular door again because I've already got the key that unlocks it. Life shouldn't be about hitting walls. It should be about opening doors.

A Nightly Spiel....

I've been thinking a lot about my bravery lately. I am not a naturally brave person. I don't take risks. I don't feel like it's necessary. I'm very content in my sweet cocoon of a comfort zone, thank you very much. I've often wondered why that is. Why do I have this wall of incapability that makes me fear risk? What am I really afraid of? I think I'm afraid of what people will think. I'm afraid of how I will affect people by my "20 seconds of insane courage". I was talking to my roommate the other day about this guy she has started dating recently. I asked how she was able to start dating him because she was the one that made all the moves, as in, she went to his apartment all the time, she talked to him, she basically led their relationship to where they are now. When I was asking her how this all came about she replied, "I was very brave. I wasn't myself." Now, she wasn't saying she wasn't being herself when she was being brave, she just meant that she broke out of her comfort zone.  She was brave. She felt like it was necessary to take a risk. So, let's think here for a sec...let's say I take a risk and I fall flat on my face? Someone ends up hating my guts or I don't get the reaction that I want or I put all of my effort and bravery into a cause and it doesn't work out? What now? What then? My soul becomes bruised and scarred and I just put up more walls.  Is this productive? Does bravery and taking risks create opportunities? Everyone tells me so, but it has yet to happen to me.  I guess this is just a little spiel...but what do you guys think? Where has being brave helped you?