Final Blog Posting. May 14, 2009

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Final Blog Posting: May 14, 2009

This year has been tumultuous and great all at once. It has been awhile, but my senior exhibit presentation went really well. I am fairly certain I rocked the presentation portion of the assignment. I left with one of the greatest feeling of accomplishment and relief as I have never had before. I knew that I had truly passed a great milestone in my senior year.
The rehearsal was pretty stressful for me, just being in front of the teachers. I was really worked up about it. It was extremely hot in the conference room on that particular day, and it didn’t help with my nerves. I got through it, and I must commend Mr. Eckerson for changing the overall format of the rehearsal/final exhibit process. I had great feedback from the teachers about what I could do better in my final presentation, and I seemed to get out all my nerves in the rehearsal. A week later, I blew the lid off of my final. It ran as smooth as butter, and I got a really good grade on it. I could not have had a better final presentation. It was downhill from there!! Or was it… not all my work was done quite yet.
I still had to contend with my final application and written document. I had been slowly compiling my written document of a “sustainable framework” for future leadership camps. My application took place by meeting with Fred Daniel, our newly elected SG president. I was, again, slightly nervous that Fred would take a look at my written document and just start croaking with confusion. My application of explaining his role and what he must do to make sure leadership camp gets off the ground went off without a hitch. He told me it was clear and concise, and it gave him a clear picture of exactly must be done in order to get the ball rolling on leadership camp. The only remaining hurdle is turning in my final written document, which I will, relieved, turn in tomorrow.
The senior exhibit has accomplished everything for me that people talk about. It made me a better person. My learning activity and research process taught me so much; My final application and more so my learning document leaves me with a great sense of accomplishment and definite evidence of giving back to the school. This senior year, as advertised, has been the greatest year of my high school career. Strangely enough, it flew by. I feel like just yesterday I was sitting down for my first SG meeting, going to cross country practice back in August. I am truly going to miss everything about this school and what opportunities it has given me to truly succeed and make an impact in my life and in the FA community.
I don’t know where the road leads ahead at this point, but all I know is that I am ready for the journey. My time here at FA has made me ready for this journey in many ways. I am anxious to start the rest of my life, but ready and able. What I year it has been. Cant wait for the perch on Sunday/ Monday! Until next time, thanks for reading. Enjoy this random selction of images that made up alot of my senior exhibit process. It has been an honor.

William Raleigh Hazel
Proud Member of the class of 2009

Series of "7 Habit" blog posts. through March and April

Habit 3: Put First Things First, the will and won’t power. March 15, 2009.

Essentially, this habit discusses how important it is to prioritize what you are doing effectively. Covey made sense to me when he said that in the previous habit, we decided what these first thing were, but in this habit, we are actually putting them first in our life. He also discusses simply that this ties in with “will power” –the strength to say yes to important things and the “won’t” power, or the power to say no to things that are unimportant or peer pressure. This direct quote I think makes the most sense, “ Habit 1 says ‘you are the driver, not the passenger’. Habit 2 says, ‘ Decide where you want to go and draw up a map to get you there’ and habit 3 says ‘ get there! Dont let roadblocks knock you off course’.” (pg 106). Again, this chapter does not fail to deliver the occasional corny lines and stupidity, but it does have those golden moments where I think to myself “this totally applies to everything that I do/am doing.” The highlight of this chapter was this box that described what kind of person you really are. There are 4 types of people, in this box, there are 1) procrastinators, 2) prioritizes 3) The “yes man” and 4) the slacker. It goes on to describe what kind of traits these 4 groups of people exhibit. It really applied to me because when I look at myself, I realize that I posses many traits of all three of the less admired traits (procrastination, yes man, and slacker). All I could think to myself is aw crap. Certainly, I know what I am, and where I can improve my status.



Habit 4: Think Win/Win. March 20, 2009.

My first thought was that this habit would mirror the third. In many ways, it does.
Knowing how to prioritize is key in life, as well as keeping a positive attitude. It says something so simple, and that is that everyone is equal in life, no one is inferior or superior, and thus everyone is viewed with the same amount of respect.

He again, helpfully characterizes a few different people.
Win Lose- Are those who make themselves get positive gains, and get others around them to lose. Win lose- people are full of pride, and competition. They use people in order to get ahead, they spread rumors, they always insist on getting their way, and they become jealous and envious when something good happens to someone close to you.
Lose Win- He even calls this person the doormat right in the first few sentences. They are walked on, and will hold things in, allowing other people around them to win. Non assertive, but weak and maybe considered pushovers.
Lose Lose- Want to drag people down into their misery.
Win Win- Self explanatory. People want to win themselves, but also help others achieve. The most difficut, and the best scenario. It always creates more oppourtunites and fosters stronger relationships.


Thinking win win I can certainly see as extremely powerful advice. You cannot be a doormat, but u cannot be a over-bearing pig either. I want to have this habit applied to the members of the SG, and all student leaders for that matter



Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. March 22, 2009

This chapter of the book starts out by saying “Before I can walk in another’s shoes, I must first remove my own”. This quote explains what I believe is the most important aspect of good communication. You must understand and hear what the person in the conversation is saying to you. You should understand their ideas and opinions before you try and force yours upon them. For example, what if you were enthralled in a conversation about what a failure to society the people of a particular neighborhood are, without knowing you are in fact speaking to someone from the very same neighborhood. The result is a loss of respect for you, and hurting other’s feelings. It is unnecessary and stupid. I know in my life, although not in this particular example, I do tend to try and just answer everyone’s questions and problems without listening to what they are saying. In order to be an effective communicator, perhaps the most vital aspect to achieving that is listening first and talking second. Who knows what you may discover. As I have begun to discover with all of these habits, when they are applied correctly, it is practically limitless to what one can accomplish. The result is always a positive effect. Whether in deep discussions with your parents, or with your friends, by listening first and speaking second, you will always leave a positive impact and a more effective understanding of what is going on around you. This book makes one of the most powerful points that I think has been made throughout the entire book. “The deepest need of the human heart is to be understood.” Understanding someone. Wow, as simple as that. I thought about this for a minute and thought what it was like when I wasn’t understood. Misunderstood about my feelings or my intentions, it is rough and really frustrating. It hurts. Adversely, when one has a complex feeling or intention and it is understood, it makes one feel like a million bucks. It goes over poor listen ting styles such as zoning out, pretend listening, selective listening, word listening, self centered listening, and judging. All of these descriptions are self explanatory, and shouldn’t be characterized as “listening” at all. The most important message to understand is that if you understand the person you are communicating with, they will also return the courtesy of understanding you. Fulfilling a deep need of the human heart.


Habit 6: Synergize. March 28, 2009


Again, this chapter opens up with a powerful quotation “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much” by Helen Keller. Powerful powerful meaning. I must confess that when I look at the word “synergize” I struggle to come up with what it actually means. Luckily, as always, this book exists with the purpose of helping me. Synergize: achieved when two or more people work together to create a better solution than either could alone. It’s not your way or my way but a better way, a higher way. As always, I took this habit and applied to my own life. When have I tried to do things by myself and been greeted with defeat? When have I worked together with people, and in addition people work better with me for the greater good and a more powerful solution? In my junior year on the swim team, our Medley Relay was struggling to make the state qualifying time. I was swimming freestyle, my best and fastest stroke, and the anchor of the relay. Time and time again though, we could not make the state cut. When our coach made the decision to switch me to breaststroke, and Andrew Hansen to Freestyle, we gained our state time immediately. This switch, even if it was a switch I would not have liked individually, led to a result that created a “better solution” for our whole team. We went to states and performed admirably. This is a perfect example of how cooperation can and will lead to more powerful and more effective results. It is so important, especially as I get older, to learn how to embrace those who think and act differently from you. I need to take their differences and view them as an advantage, how their different viewpoints can lead to both of us achieving a higher goal. In addition, this chapter reinforces that communication is key when trying to meet goals. Nothing kills the flow of creative thinking like criticism, so when you are brainstorming, avoid it. I know that many times I have been a conversation killer when I begin to criticize my peers ideas. To achieve “synergy” you must 1) define the problem, 2) See it their way, 3) see it your way, 4) Brainstorm, 5) achieve the “High way”. What an informative chapter.


Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw. April 1st, 2009

This last chapter “sharpen the saw” is not really what I expected. The chapter essentially states that you must sit back and relax in order for all of these habits to truly be “effective”, you must sit back and relax every once in awhile. If you don’t, you could wind up crazy, ineffective, angry, or just plain depressed and overwhelmed. It says that if you keep healthy habits, things like good communication, staying proactive, goal setting, will fall into place. I could certainly agree with that in my life. I would say that for whatever reason, whenever I am in a sports season I am always doing my most effective work. I am staying physically active, I am getting good sleep because of the sport, and I manage my time most effectively. I work well with others because I am on a team, and I know how to prioritize well because the truth is I have a lot going on. At the same time, during the year I know when it is time to sit back and watch the flowers grow. I don’t hesitate to spend a weekend really not doing anything, just spending chill time with my family. It keeps me in check, keeps my mind stable. You cant be running on all cylinders all the time, and cant always be applying these habits to the best of your abilities. The point is, you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of everything else. This means your body, mind, heart, and soul. Stimulate your body with fitness, your mind with reading, your heart with relationships, and your soul with what you want to do (keep a journal, watch the sunset). Help yourself, and the rest will follow.


Reading this book has, in a way, been a culmination in “sharpening my own saw”. I read it when I was overworked, or when I probably should have been focusing my attention onto something else. Without a doubt, I never thought I would gain so much knowledge and helpful insight and advice from using a self help book like this. I don’t care if people think it’s cheesy, what I know is that this research process throughout my senior exhibit has made me a more effective person, and a better person. It is my hope that with this knowledge that I will be able to impart it to our Student Leaders at leadership Camp.