Reflection, Leaving It At The Door, and Fish

One of the things that I still haven't mastered in the last year is the concept of 'leaving it at the door'. I consider it one of the best things I aspire to do because I think it does a lot of good to create a really good focus on what is at hand. But I still struggle with it. I consider myself to be a very optimistic person and I don't let a lot of things get to me. This is normally considered a good thing but since I don't have a lot of practice in managing lots of little issues that come up its very hard to leave it at the door when these big problems pop up. I've sat down about five times tonight to write this blog but I keep opening new tabs and Googling solutions to the numerous car problems I discovered tonight. I'll probably return to that quest when I'm done with this post but right now I'm pledging the next few minutes to this and only this. Little steps lead to great lengths!
We went around and shared what we were most looking forward to this upcoming semester(s) and I'd like to add 'having the opportunity to focus on the smaller details' to my answer. These details are the little things that I neglected when focusing on the big picture last year. Now I have the basics down and its time to focus on learning the little things that will make the student's first semester the best introduction to Iowa State they could receive. Looking back at the fall semester I see a lot of things I could have done better or could have done without in the lessons and a whole lot of moments I could say 'I wish I knew then what I know now'. I think watching FISH! was a great reminder of what we, as peer mentors, can accomplish when adjusting a few small things on how we approach something. I hope that as a returner I can help everyone else master the big picture sooner so they can focus with me. I'm looking forward to the next semester and beyond. I have a really good feeling about it!