iExamen 2
I chose to do my iExamen 2 on Monday October 22. I knew that this assignment would be a challenge to me, because all day I would have to pay extremely close attention to what I was saying and not just say however I felt at that time. I’m a very sarcastic person, and throughout the day I’m constantly saying/calling/texting friends and family extremely useless things, or joking and making fun of them, or saying whatever it was I was thinking in that moment. This assignment was a challenge for me but it showed me just how much effort it takes to only say what is useful, kind, and true.
Monday morning I woke up for class reminding myself to stick with my assignment and say only what is kind, useful, and true. Normally in the mornings I’ll say little comments to my roommate of how tired I am or how I hate Mondays, but I thought to myself “well this isn’t very useful, or nice,” so instead I remained quiet while getting ready and let my roommate do the talking, which I didn’t mind too much since I was so tired. During my French class I chatted with a friend remembering to be fully aware of what I was saying. She asked what a few words meant and I helped her look up the definition, not wanting to say anything that was not true, which sometimes I would do when just guessing what the words meant and shrugging my shoulders. On my way back from class I was texting friends, of course they were saying sarcastic comments and little jokes here and there making fun of me, playing around in our usual manner. However I found myself struggling with replies, it was almost hard to think of something that would meet all three criteria’s of being kind, useful, and true. I realized how even in the smallest conversations so many things can be taken as unkind, useless, and even untruthful when not meant in a literal sense. Although I very much consider myself to be a kind, useful, and truthful person, I noticed how much the assignment limited and hindered me. Although from the beginning I knew it would be a challenge, I didn’t realize how much of a challenge it would be.
As the day continued I found myself thinking even more of the assignment and almost being puzzled by it. I found it strange that it seemed to hinder me so much. Although I think of myself to be a kind, useful, and truthful person I realized maybe the way I communicated could appear rude, useless, or untrue, which sarcastic language so often does. When I returned to my dorm my roommate was there as well. When I walked in she began to tell me of how stressed she was with all of the homework she had due that week. I tried to comfort her by letting her know that it would all get done and not to stress about it, and before she knew it, it would be the weekend again and she would get a break from the craziness of her classes. After our short talk I thought to myself, “hey, that was all kind, useful, and true,” without even realizing. I love helping people, I love being there to cheer someone up, or brighten there day. I found this so comforting that the one moment of the day I had stopped being fully aware, I met all three criteria’s without even trying. I realized that although I am a very sarcastic person, and tease my friends in good-fun, I still am a kind, useful, and truthful person in my means of communicating, and whether I realize it or not, I do it more often than I think.
This second iExamen was definitely a challenge for me, but it was an extremely insightful challenge. It opened up my eyes to how I express myself through communicating and the words I say and how I say them. Before this assignment I had never thought to only say what is kind, useful, and true for an entire day, but it definitely broadened my horizons of the language and tone that I use. Although I couldn’t just say the first thing I felt, it was a great experience to pay close attention to means of communicating and learn that much more about myself, that I had never before noticed.
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