Under Pressure like Queen

   In my ongoing studies of business, this semester I have come to learn that innovation is a product of pressure and competition. Upon reflection of this concept, I have found that this not only applies to business processes but scholarship as well. In my own personal academic career it has become evident to me that the courses in which I have attained the most knowledge have been those that posed the most strenuous challenges. This has most certainly been the case for my BIS course.

Not being the most technologically apt individual, I knew coming into BIS that I would have to work at great lengths to meet the requirements necessary to attain the grades I strive for. I dreaded the idea of having a purely technology based course, but nonetheless I came in willing to work hard, with a “can do” attitude. It was this attitude that served me well as I struggled to learn how to operate Share Point and Microsoft Access. It was not by simply reading about these systems but rather through meticulously struggling to use the hands-on application features in which I really learned.

These endeavors not only gave me new skills but also a great sense of accomplishment. I can now honestly say that BIS is one of the most valuable classes that I have ever taken, not only in respect to my future career but to life in general. Not because it was easy, but because it challenged me to learn. This has been the case for almost all of my most profound learning experiences. I entered scared; I worked hard to grasp complex, foreign concepts and challenges; and I emerged a wiser, stronger, and more confident being. Truly, the evolution of one’s self is the result of pressure. 

   

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.” - Peter Marshall

ROFL (Rolling On the Floor Laughing)

          According to John Vorhaus, author of The Comic Toolbox everyone has a sense of humor and can be funny themselves.  In support of this statement the other day in class my Lit & Civ II professor asked my peers and I to "think of some of the most serious people you know"and then asked us "Can they be funny?" Sadly, when asked of one of the most serious people I know I almost immediately thought of my self.  I do have a sense of humor and can make others laugh or smile. But as I have grown with age, assuming more responsibilities it has become a rarer occasion that I "laugh uncontrollably".  However, one of these unique moments arrived just the other evening.

      On Monday night my family and I went out to dinner, as it was the last night id be home till Thanksgiving.  That evening we were lucky enough to also be accompanied by my bratty six year old cousin Austin, whom we were baby sitting.  After our meal as we waited for the check to arrive my mom asked me to take Austin to the bathroom.  After taking literally about ten minutes he emerged and we med the trek across the restaurant, back to our table.  Upon which Austin and I came to find my whole family starring at Austin and laughing historically. Only then did Austin and I notice that he had come back with a tail of toilet paper tucked out of his rear end.  We both joined in the banter of laughs as he found it quite comical himself exclaiming "I have a white tail!", as he jumped up and down.

      As if this was not comical enough for one evening, another hysterical event immediately followed suit. As we stood up and departed I found my little sister Emily and Mom chuckling.  I inquired as to what the pair was laughing about so my little sister pulled me down and whispered into my ear "Samantha (my older sister) forgot her purse on the table so I ran back and am hiding it in my shirt. Mommy and I want to see how long it takes her to notice".  By the time we were in the car and only blocks away from my house Sam had still not realized that she was missing her beloved purse.  So my whole family jokingly begun to tease her asking her questions that regarded content she kept in her purse.  It wasn't until we were pulling into our drive way that Sam finally realized she was missing her purse and freaked out. We played along acting surprised and worried until Emily finally pulled the purse out of her shirt, as she sarcastically begun lecturing Sam as to how a twenty three year old must be so irresponsible while the rest of us went on laughing.

      In a matter of minutes, two unexpected events made our evening quite memorable.  Laughter is a contagious virus the infects the sole.  It draws out the best of us, creating lasting memories and chipper spirits, from even the most serious of individuals.

Mad Rocks

          On Wednesday evening, October 23^rd, Mad and I went rock climbing at the TCU Rec Center wall.   Having both just returned to school from a rejuvenating five day Fall Break the previous night, we were eager to get together and exchange stories.    Mad had gone on an adventure in Austin while I traveled to Lake Tahoe, California.    His days in Austin were spent, as he would say “living the good life,” indicating he had gone sightseeing in the day and to clubs at night.    Mad finds drinking and partying extremely exhilarating because to him it’s a foreign concept. Alcohol and its consumption are outlawed in Saudi Arabia.   In fact, the very first time his lips ever touched alcohol was on American soil six months ago.   While admittedly he had the time of his life on his adventure, he came back low on funds and quite tired.    He laughed as he said he embarrassingly that he had to call his mom to ask her to send a few hundred dollars to tied him over until his next scholarship program check.

           

            We made our way over the rock wall together after the exchange of stories and he poignantly reminded me that this was the location we first met last year.  I introduced him to my co-workers who were on shift and then we began to ascend and descend the climbing wall.   I explained to him how we manage the rock wall and how sport climbing works.    He found this intriguing because back home the only two sports commonly engaged in are weight lifting and soccer.  To him the concept of American football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, volleyball etc. are all very foreign. 

            Exhausted from an hour of climbing, we made our way over to the Rec lobby couches, where coincidently Game One of the World Series was being televised.  I attempted to explain a few basics of baseball but our conversation was cut short when my co-worker Mackenzie came over to say hello.    Mackenzie a poor, unfortunate soul who is not only allergic to dairy and gluten but is also a Vegan for ethical reasons, was enjoying a hearty meal that consisted of a bowl of vegetables and a banana.   I explained to Mad her dietary restrictions and choices and he found it all very amusing.    Prior to his arrival to the United States, Mad had never heard of anyone being allergic to food, much less ever met a Vegetarian or Vegan.  Mackenzie went on to explain to Mad the basis for her circumstance and choices.

            Being the eventful evening that it was, there also happened to be a volleyball game going on in the Rec.   A constant stream of families were milling in and out of the center to attend the matches.   Seeing them led my mind to thinking of my own family and to wonder how family life in Saudi Arabia is.   So I began a long inquiry of questions.    In Saudi Arabia families are typically much larger than those of the typical American ones.    A Saudi Arabian family usually consists of five to twelve children!   Men can, and often do, have multiple wives and it doesn’t stop there. Households go well beyond the immediate family; as it is common for cousins, godparents, and grandparents to all live together.  Astounded by the extent and importance of families to Saudi Arabians, I begun to wonder how it was even economically possible for males to support all of these wives, grandparents, nieces, nephews, and children.   Fathers take on a heavy financial burden and provide for the whole family until their boys are old enough to work.  Part of the reason males are able to have such extensive families is because they do not usually find a spouse until they are well into their mid to late thirties; for women it is more common to get married in their late teens.   As for parents, they typically retire at fifty years old after which it is expected for their male children to support them.  As we were talking, we saw Jerry, one of our older janitors who works at the Rec.   Mad expressed his disgust for the way the elderly in America elderly often have to work.  He said the American government should take better care of their elders, as they do back home.   “They have worked their entire life and they disserve to be rewarded! They should not have to work!”   And to this I had no response.  He is absolutely right. 

            After hours of climbing and conversation, we called it a night.  As we departed, my mind was left still racing and thinking of the vast differences between our customs, families, and heritage.  It is truly amazing how different our realities can be.

A Mad Trio

            It was October 13^th and I sat manning the front desk of Foster Hall when I received an unexpected call.  It was my friend Mad.   This call came as a pleasant surprise because although we had been texting over the past few weeks, the opportunity to actually meet in person had never come around.   On top of our hectic schedules, Mad was not only preparing for a grueling succession of standardized tests but also fallen ill for an extended time.   As I heard his voice, I suddenly realized that it had been exactly one month since out last face-to-face conversation.

Mad had just finished working-out and with no other immediate obligations that evening, he wondered if I was free.   Unfortunately, yet again the timing wasn’t ideal.  I let him know that although I would love to hangout and talk, I had just started my shift.    I asked him if he minded sitting in the office with me, which he more than happily accepted.

Mad strolled up to the front door of Foster a few minutes following the phone call.    I was truly surprised to learn that despite having been here for two semesters now, this was his first time entering a dorm.   He was clearly very interested and excited about “American university living”.  He asked me a number of questions about my job as a Desk Assistant and how dorm housing at TCU works.    In the middle of explaining what exactly my work entailed, my friend Arianna, who is a Resident Assistant, came in the office with her Gameboy and the new Pokémon game to say hello.  Mad was extremely surprised to see a girl playing a video game, immediately taking a liking to her because of it.  He asked me if it was common for American girls to play video games, which I exclaimed, “not really, the cool ones play them though”.   After introductions, Arianna who had overheard our prior conversation, offered to give Mad a tour, which he happily accepted.  Upon their arrival back it was clear that Mad and Arianna had quickly become comfortably acquainted friends.   Arianna, who found Mad and his experiences in Saudi Arabia very intriguing, decided to stick around.  The pair of us had become a trio.

Coincidently one of the headlines from The Wall Street Journal I had picked up earlier that day was about Iran’s Nuclear Program and the tensions in the Middle East.  Mad noticed the headline and expressed his distain for American media’s tendency to portray the Middle East as a constant, hostile war zone.  Reflecting on his point, Arianna and I found it quite valid.    Like many Americans, we quickly realized that our images of the Middle East are of Islam, Oil, and Hostility.  Mad confirmed that all these stereotypes had a grain of truth but each is immensely exaggerated.  

Mad and his family members are all Muslim, and as such, he has been on his pilgrimage to Mecca and has studies the Quran.  He also is required to follow kosher laws, fast during Ramadan and pray five times a day; things that he complains his mom often nags him about.   He says as a devout Muslim he has found it difficult to practice his religion openly in the United States.

As for oil and wealth in Saudi Arabia, we were surprised to hear that oil is literally as cheap as water.  A typical household on average has at least four cars.  However, ironically women aren’t even allowed to drive.  (This was a point Arianna found unfathomable.)   And although Saudi Arabia is an oil rich wealthy country, that wealth is restricted to the hands of a very select few; thus creating a vast class disparity that perpetuates itself with rampant corruption.

Our time together flew.  An hour and a half later Mad had to depart to go get dinner.   This left Arianna and me deep in thought.  We were intrigued and discussed how interesting his customs, culture and experiences are in light of our own American ones.  On a gloomy, overcast Sunday afternoon, as I faced a long shift at the desk, an unexpected call from a friend left a truly indelible mark.