MAC Wk 2-3: Classmate Comment 2

Derek Gualandri

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

week 2 reading

As I sit down to read and embrace the book Art of Possibility, I find it to be very engaging, motivating, and right on queue for me in my life. The first four chapters related to me as if Zander had me in mind while he was writing this book.

It’s All Invented: Most of my life, I tend to worry about what others are saying and how they viewed me instead of painting my own self-portrait. I lived up to others expectations and did not hold myself to my expectations. At times, I am not sure that I expected much from myself. My parent’s expectations were not that unreachable either, and the goals they set for my brothers and myself were not that high. My parents just did not want us to get in trouble whether it was at school or by the cops. WOW ! What a high expectation my parents set. My mother whom was very educated with a degree from Michigan State grew up in a prestigious family where her father was an inventor who graduated from Harvard Business School. My father was an Italian who joins the Army yet was discharged for conduct unbecoming.  My mother was a florist who was great at what she did, the best in whole town. Her shop was named FLOWERS by HELEN.  My Father was a glassier, which often would drink on the job. This would be the demise of his occupation.  So mother worked all the time at the flower shop while raising 3 boys virtually on her own, while father would sit on a stool ordering Miller Lites one after another until he would drink himself to sleep. Most of the time he was asleep by 7 pm. He tried to be a good father yet had no idea what a good father was. His father died at a critical developmental stage of his life when he was only 16. A high school student with no father in the 1950’s in an Italian neighborhood on the outskirts of Chicago was a tough time to grow up without a great role model. No role model to teach him how to be a great father. The great moments fathers and sons have together were often missed because of his absents. For some reason he would drown his sorrows at the local watering hole. So, my mother and fathers expectations for their children were to graduate from high school and don’t get in serious trouble. Furthermore, I believe life happens for many reason! Many of my high school teachers and friends never thought that I would attend college and actually graduate from a four-year institution of learning, University of South Florida, let alone high school. So, I have re-invented myself, and decided to get educated with earning a B.A. degree in Criminology from USF. All my life I have wanted to live a little better then my folks lived. I did not want to struggle like they did. Even though we did not have lots of money we always had everything we need to survive the basic, food, shelter, clothes, and LOVE( a lot more from mother then father). With all that being said, I have re-invented whom I am, and I strive to be ME. Who am I, just ME? I am a fun, funny, caring, passionate, sensitive individual who just wants serenity while riding a soft tail down route 66 from Chicago to California.

no know copyrights restrictions the cubs are stepping in to the universe of possibilities.  they have not won a world series since 1908

Stepping into a Universe of Possibility: I totally agree with Zander about how we view things can lead to greater possibilities. I try to convey this to my students everyday. I tell them that we did not get to go to Toys R Us and pick our parents because our parents brought us in to this world. Our parents are usually the biggest influence in our lives. They model what they have learned and we as their child mimic the lessons they are teaching. So, I tell my students that you do not have to be limited to what your parents have taught you. You have a whole world of possibilities available to you with in your grasp, yet you have to reach for them. Zander states in the video Professor Bustillios had us view about success are accomplished with shinning eyes. Parents need to look in to the eyes of their children and see if they are projecting the right lessons to live by.  Many parents do not realize that their misery is producing misery for their children. My point is that if you want great thing to happen, you have to create great thing. Even though your parents were negative, doesn’t mean you have to be that way. Start to view the African natives without shoes as the possibility to introduce them to new ideas. Like the one salesmen sought the great possibility to sell them all shoes. The glass is half full instead of half empty, optimism at its best.

I, myself, stepped out over the forbidden edge with attempting to earn a Masters degree at an online Institution know as Full Sail University. Only 6 % of Americans have earned their masters and I will soon be part of that elite group. When I first started at Full Sail in 2008, I got through the first course with an A only to drop out of the second course because I did not have the knowledge, drive, or discipline to dredge through the horrible challenge that faced me. Also, the professor did not give us an A when we started which made me feel that I was not successful. Just a little Pun joke. Now I have had a tremendous journey through this elite program. I have been thoroughly engaged in each and every course. I owe a big thank you to a fellow student named Cassie Conners, who has inspired me to be better then I have ever imagined. She has been my rock through most of my EMDT experience. I thank her from the bottom of my heart. Thank you Cassie!

Giving an A: Giving Yourself an A. Before I attended Full Sail University, I have never ever really saw myself earning A’s in a masters program. I am one that gets frustrated if you do not engage me right away and I have to produce busy work projects that teach me nothing. I usually earned B’s and C’s in my course in college!  As I move through this journey and move closer and closer to the edge, I strive to be the best I can be. I deserve those A’s. I want to make a difference in the world. I want to be a better teacher. I comprehend the possibilities we have if we don’t get stuck inside the little box. Through most of my journey, I felt that my goals  to make it to month 11 were going to be filled with tremendous obstacles, yet I consistently saw the big picture. The end result. A Masters Diploma hanging on my office wall surrounded by a cherry frame. What a beautiful accomplishment hanging on My Wall of Fame. I kept telling myself that I could make it like the little train that could.  I just have to learn to manage my time correctly while  take one step at a time and everything else would work itself out. When I needed a boost, I would lean on my dear friend Cassie.  I love what Zander expressed to us about how you are viewed when you are given an A compared to having to be pressure to earn the A. How much more important we are as professional and how we view our self-portrait when we are told we will have an A.

Being a Contribution: I feel like I try to make a difference in my students and friends life everyday. I try to teach life’s little lesson to them in a way they understand. At school, I talk honestly to my students and tell them the truth about things as how I view them. I try not to sugar coat the situation or the lesson. I tell them honestly my opinions. I refer back to what I heard on the Oprah Winfrey show one day , She said, ”If you help enough people get what they need, you will get what you need.” I love that statement and try to live by that as well. I also tell them, "It takes a life time to build a reputation, and 5 minutes to blow it all up.”  I let them know on how to deal with people effectively is all in how you say thing yet not what you say. I feel like some of my little darling students are getting the point or message I am trying to convey to them. Some of my students over the years have told me that I should be a motivation speaker and will you please share some more life’s lessons with us. Many have said that I inspire them to be a better person to themselves their family, and their teachers. My goal is that one-day that I can inspire many young people to see the big picture and guide them to be a great contributor in their community and their world.