How are we to prevent this world and our environment from falling apart if we can’t even keep ourselves from falling apart. I have been thinking so much lately about the three OSU students who took their lives due to the added stress of school and life in this confusing and chaotic time. It has been so strange, difficult and confusing for so many people, but has especially taken a toll on students and school faculty. This has reminded me of the importance of listening to other people and checking in on people. I love Enneagram types and have studied mine quite a bit. As a type 9, my main goal is to keep the peace and make others happy. I have found this to be so true when I’m in class and engaging in discussions. I can’t say that I enjoy my name being called out, if I feel like I have something extremely important to share I will most likely share it. Otherwise, I often keep to myself and let my mind wander. Gathering thoughts is usually pretty easy for me, my mind just runs wild: putting these thoughts into words is what I struggle with. You can often hear me saying things like “How do I want to word this?” or How do I say this?” because I can often struggle with putting all of my crazy thoughts into a well gathered thought. This week I was placed in a group and decided to take a little bit more initiative. I was the first to introduce myself and quickly started up the conversation. I have been trying a lot lately to push myself out of my comfort zone and to not let my Enneagram stereotype define how I interact. While I was the one to start the conversation I was sure to ask what everyone else thought and took time to listen to what they had to say. I wish I could say that there was more that I had to add to the discussion but oftentimes it’ll just be me letting my mind run and thinking to myself; this is how I learn and understand best. 

This week’s discussion about Easter Island stood out to me the most. I couldn’t help but compare the constant warfare and unrest to the US today. While we have not yet resorted to cannibalism (insert winky face), our country is extremely divided. On top of the division that is overwhelming the people in this country, we are not taking care of our environment. While these things are making a difference and impact little bits at a time, or not so much at an overwhelming rate, they are still things that we need to focus on and worry more about. My immediate thought when reading about Easter Island was the upcoming presidential election. While politics are not really my forte, I do know that it enhances the division in our country. I mentioned in class that if people are constantly butting heads they will never get anything done. Division always ends in chaos, when you are all working for the same thing it is easy to get things done. This week has challenged me to focus more on being sustainable. Whether it is something so simple like using a reusable cup or something bigger in the future like buying an older house and fixing it up instead of clearing out trees to build my own. There is no need to treat our world the way we have been and it’ll be a process to help fix it but I think it is possible.