Vulnerability

Vulnerability is a huge part of life because it influences our decisions.  How many times have you been in a position to make someones day by saying something nice, or talking seriously with a loved one but been to scared of being vulnerable.  It can be detrimental when these moments pass us by because of our fear of vulnerability.  I will be honest I have done it as well.

In my life I have avoided serious talks with my close friends because I didn't want to be embarrassed or feel vulnerable.  I feel now a days and with all that i am learning about leadership that feeling vulnerable is a temporary feeling that should be feared but embraced.  Now, I am less afraid to tell people how they affect me or how they are influencing me.  It is important for people to know that because then they become aware of their actions and make a bigger impact.

I believe that people fear vulnerability because it is either too embarrassing or that they are afraid of getting hurt.  These are very understandable because if one person were to put themselves out there and the they got a response from the other person that they did not expect they could be hurt and discouraged to make themselves out there again.  This is a huge disadvantage to making yourself vulnerable, being hurt.  But, without putting yourself out there then you can never reap the benefits and become closer with people.

Values

My values are very important to how I am and how I act.  Everyday in my life I think about how I can be kind, honest, and responsible.  These values guide my actions and make sure that I am going in the positive direction.  These values are important to me because if these were violated, then I feel terrible and unfulfilled.

Sometimes things come up where you have to act in violation of these values or there is a lapse in judgement and one of these values was violated.  For, example there was this time where I made a mistake in acting to a fellow buckeye.  I was rude and dishonest.  This was poor acting and i immediately realized this and apologized.  This was clearly not enough because I was not authentic as well as i felt terrible on the inside.  I thought about this after it had happened and it had reassured me to never violate these values again.

To be authentic you have to be real in the world.  You have to take your values and live by them in the world because this is the main way that authenticity is projected to others. To be authentic is to be good to human kind of all types and despite all differences.  This is what is inherently good and moral in nature.  To be authentic is to moral.

The Power of the Introvert

This Ted talk with Susan Cain is very interesting because of my inexperience with introverts.  When I was in elementary school the class layout was exactly as she described it; desks in groups and constant group work with academic subjects that do not warrant working with others.  Now, don't get me wrong this did not bother me because of my extroverted nature but actually in retrospect I could see how that bothered the kids who were not like me.  I think that introverts are encouraged to act like extroverts because it is worrisome to a teacher when a child is always by himself or herself and doesn't seem to have friends as they could be a trouble case or have some other problem mainly because they are young and they "should" be making friends.

In a group of extroverts and introverts there is more equality so to speak.  For example, in my fraternity when we have discussions it benefits us when the extroverts and introverts are suggesting ideas because of the different sides and qualities each bring.  They give us a more complete view to the problem or issue because of their different view points.  It is important for these people to express their ideas to the group so that they can get better representation in the outcome, even though that is the opposite of what is comfortable for an introvert.

So sticking with the same example, if the extroverts were only present in a discussion of lets say programming an event for the fraternity then that event is only going to please the extroverts, but when the introvert is allowed to help in deciding the programming then that event now is pleasurable to all types of people.  That small committee can now go back to the larger chapter and express an idea that has been equally represented by both sides and hopefully everyone is happy.

In relating to Tuckman's developmental stages model, I believe that if any member of a group is suppressed then they cannot accomplish or be classified under the performing stage.  They are formed, brain storming, and norming, but they cant successfully perform because certain members of the group are suppressed or not being heard.  Ultimately this group is doomed to not be successful because of this.

Lastly I think that we should stop labeling people on this criteria not everyone is an extrovert or an introvert but some blend of the two.  And I think Susan expressed this well.

O' Captain my Captain

The movie Dead Poets Society is an incredibly powerful movie for me personally.  In the film there is a scene where Robin Williams character, John Keating, has a powerful message to the young men in his English class, "...And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."

This quote is very powerful because as I am studying the "noble pursuits necessary to sustain life" but when I am not doing this I like to embrace the qualities of which we stay alive for.  It was perfectly put that even though there are these subjects that have to be studied it is up to the individual to embrace the important things to make life worth it.

Lastly, this movie showed me what it meant to have guts and have courage.  Courage is having the ability to stand up for what you believe in and demand that others respect what you believe.  I think that the character Neil Perry showed incredible courage to go out and follow the arts and act in a play despite his father making him quit.  Unfortunately it did not work out as he had taken his own life but I  believe this was the films way of showing us how much he cared about what he thought was the pursuits to make him live for like Keating's quote explained.

Because of this movie I have learned to take life a little slower and enjoy myself more.  It is important to keep a balanced life.  I believe that while it is very important to study and do well in school, it is also important to have hobbies that you enjoy and to do things that make you happy, for those things are what makes everything else worth it!

The dangers of a single story was a powerful Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a novelist.  She talked about how incorrect a stereotype can be and she related it back to her life of being a novelist from Africa.

In my life this snap judgment and forming a stereotype of someone is something I experience everyday.  Being in a fraternity here at Ohio State has taught me that not everyone has experienced Greek life and many people have certain beliefs about them whether they are based in fact or not.  I have experienced as well as heard stories from my brothers, that we are viewed in a negative light because of the publicity that fraternities get.  Some of these assumptions include never going to class and partying all the time or even worse, sexism and racism.  In truth, many of these stereotypes are actually false and can be quite damaging to those who are the victims of these stereotypes/prejudices.  

Everyone is guilty of prejudging someone or forming an assumption before they knew them, even me.  In my case, I was guilty of prejudging one of my previous roommates of being a party animal that did terribly poor in school.  When I first moved in a was forming these judgments all I could focus on was how many nights he would go out to bars and drink all the time while sleeping in.  Without any additional information i just assumed that he did not do well in school because of this.  He actually had a very high GPA because when he wasn't going out he was in the library hard at work and just because his classes didn't start early in the morning doesn't mean he did not go to them at all in fact they were in the afternoon and he went to every single one.  None of my previous assumptions were correct and I only made this assumption because of what i was exposed to in the media.  After I got to know him and figured all this out we actually became really good friends, quite the opposite of what i was expecting. So remember, don't form the assumptions before you have all the facts and be impartial.  

My Ideal Leader

In class, we discussed the qualities that a leader possesses.  Qualities such as:  a drive for positive social and ethical change, charismatic, influential, and determination.  My ideal leader that I would enjoy to meet would be John Lennon.

I believe he was a great leader despite the fact that he did not hold a  position with any political power.  He changed the world through his music and the generation that grew up with him.  He firmly believed in peaceful anti-war movements and was firm on the point of nonviolence.  I would love to sit down with John and explore his thoughts on what is currently going on in the world today. I believe that John Lennon was a great leader because of his overarching love of all things.  He never discriminated and would fight for anything worth fighting for without wavering, which I find is an important quality in leadership.  Because of the fact that I am very interested in the 1960s and 1970s as a decade of pop culture and change, I would love to talk with John about his inspiration for his song, Give Peace a Chance. (Video available below).

I once read somewhere that John Lennon was so involved in his anti-war movements that Richard Nixon, the current president, was nervous that it would not get him reelected so his supporters campaigned to have him deported back to England. He ultimately got his green card after that dispute.  

I firmly believe if he were still alive today then he would definitely be involved in the worlds current political situations through music, just as he did some 50 years ago.

About me!

    Hi, my name is Troy Richter and I am a third year at The Ohio State University.  I am studying Behavioral Neuroscience and plan on going to Grad school and eventually researching Alzheimers Disease.  I am very passionate about anything neuroscience and find my self talking to anyone who will listen. It is incredibly interesting because of the complexity of the human brain and everything it encompasses. It is amazing how we have evolved this specific and complex. I get this a lot from people haha:

    I am also very close to my family, especially my brothers.  This past summer my brother, Cole (center) got married!  This is a picture of all of us.  Some say that I (on the right) look incredibly similar to my brother Grant (on the left).  Along with the passion I have for my family I am also passionate about my hometown, Hilliard, Ohio.  I played football and ran track in high school and we are a fairly large high school so I am always running into people I know that go here or have hear of Hilliard.  I hope to one day give back to my hometown because of its impact on me as a person.

I am very passionate about the fraternity i am in as well. I am a brother of Delta Tau Delta, Beta Phi chapter.  My brother actually founded this chapter back in 2004 (Technically bringing it back after leaving campus in 2000). I am always striving for ways to make it a better place for men to call home and to become better leaders of today. I often talk with my brothers about this, trying to get their opinion and then bringing that to the chapter. I am always excited to talk with anyone about the fraternity.  

-Troy Richter