Being a part of this class this past semester has taught me to pay closer attention to the way I act as a member of society. I always thought that I could easily recognize a good citizen, but I do not think that before this class that I put too much thought into what it really meant to be a good citizen. A good citizen in my mind was someone who minded their own business, helped others, and was generally pleasant. Now I think that this was more of a passive citizen. A good citizen does more than just be a pleasant person, they are active in society to make it better. The example of citizenship that I learned most from this semester is the example from the inhabitants of Casa Artom. Throughout the semester, we learned from each other what a good citizen and bad citizen is simply by living together. The weekly Monday afternoon meetings and Monday dinners were the only times where all twenty of us would be in the same room at the same time and we learned a lot about each other from these events.
I think that the Monday meetings and dinners were the most important interactions of the house. During the Monday meetings, we were encouraged to express our concerns and opinions which usually concerned the cleanliness of the house. The bad citizens would leave their dishes in the sink and the good citizens would clean them or remind the culprit to please clean their stuff. Not just the dishes, but other concerns would be expressed in these meetings where all citizens of the house would discuss ways to make the entirety of the house a better society for its inhabitants; in this way we were all good citizens.
Living in a house with twenty people for a whole semester has taught me even more tolerance of other peoples’ habits. I like to think I am an easy person to live with, but that does not always mean that I can tolerate everything that is thrown at me. It takes work to be able to live comfortably with so many different people. This experience caused me to reevaluate the way I react to certain things, being more patient and using kind words to get to a solution. I can take this lessons home with me both to my house in Massachusetts and to Wake. My sister and I do not always get along, especially when it comes to sharing space in the house and sharing the car, and although I have lived with her my whole life and I could have learned this lesson years ago, I think that this experience with so many different people has taught me that everyone, even irritating sisters, need to be heard and respected. I also know that if something does happen that bothers me, it will be more productive to discuss kindly rather than accusatorily. I can also take this back to Wake because of the uncertainty of my housing situation for next semester. As of now, I have no idea where I will be living, or with whom. It comforts me to know that I lived with so many people this semester, that I know how to tolerate and be the best citizen I can for my new roommate who I might not know.
The values and ideas that we discussed in class led us to examine ourselves and what kind of citizen we are. I realize that I am not a good citizen because of my passive nature and now that I know this, I can work toward being a more active citizen. I have begun to familiarize myself with news in the US and become informed where I am not. I know that I need to be a more active participant in the things that happen in the world, instead of hiding behind the fact that it might not directly relate to me. This semester abroad has shown me the vastness of the world and that everyone in it needs to contribute to its future. As much of a challenge as this will be for me, it’s important and necessary to be involved, just like it was during the meetings of the house and the Monday night dinners.
I think that the Monday meetings and dinners were the most important interactions of the house. During the Monday meetings, we were encouraged to express our concerns and opinions which usually concerned the cleanliness of the house. The bad citizens would leave their dishes in the sink and the good citizens would clean them or remind the culprit to please clean their stuff. Not just the dishes, but other concerns would be expressed in these meetings where all citizens of the house would discuss ways to make the entirety of the house a better society for its inhabitants; in this way we were all good citizens.
Living in a house with twenty people for a whole semester has taught me even more tolerance of other peoples’ habits. I like to think I am an easy person to live with, but that does not always mean that I can tolerate everything that is thrown at me. It takes work to be able to live comfortably with so many different people. This experience caused me to reevaluate the way I react to certain things, being more patient and using kind words to get to a solution. I can take this lessons home with me both to my house in Massachusetts and to Wake. My sister and I do not always get along, especially when it comes to sharing space in the house and sharing the car, and although I have lived with her my whole life and I could have learned this lesson years ago, I think that this experience with so many different people has taught me that everyone, even irritating sisters, need to be heard and respected. I also know that if something does happen that bothers me, it will be more productive to discuss kindly rather than accusatorily. I can also take this back to Wake because of the uncertainty of my housing situation for next semester. As of now, I have no idea where I will be living, or with whom. It comforts me to know that I lived with so many people this semester, that I know how to tolerate and be the best citizen I can for my new roommate who I might not know.
The values and ideas that we discussed in class led us to examine ourselves and what kind of citizen we are. I realize that I am not a good citizen because of my passive nature and now that I know this, I can work toward being a more active citizen. I have begun to familiarize myself with news in the US and become informed where I am not. I know that I need to be a more active participant in the things that happen in the world, instead of hiding behind the fact that it might not directly relate to me. This semester abroad has shown me the vastness of the world and that everyone in it needs to contribute to its future. As much of a challenge as this will be for me, it’s important and necessary to be involved, just like it was during the meetings of the house and the Monday night dinners.