Hiatus

Obviously, Cheap Pizza doesn't see too much action anymore. Part of that is because the stresses of college aren't constantly forcing me to re-evaluate life lessons, therefore the constant need to record my findings isn't as significant. Part of that is because I just don't have time.

Cheap Pizza is still the place where my profound "young-professional-slash-student" discoveries will be recorded. However, my home is my other blog, Midwestern Gold.

So, for the summer, Cheap Pizza is on hiatus. That is, unless I experience some random epiphany that I feel I need to record here. If that's the case, I'll type up some randomly emotionally-charged post and publish it here.

Happy summer everyone! And if you still want to catch my musings, rants, opinions, observations, and quirks, check me out on Midwestern Gold.

A Constant State of Transition

I've written blog posts about transition before on here. They're nothing new or special. But there's a reason that change is a running trend on here; this stage in our lives, this late-teen-and-twenty-something era, is designed for us to learn through change. Nothing stays the same, and I'm constantly reminded of that as I settle back home for the summer.

There's a lot of change going on around me right now. I just moved from school back home. I'm switching from my campus job to my summer job back home. I said goodbye to my roommate today. She's from Sweden, and I don't know if I'll ever see her again. On top of that, my parents are selling the house I'm sitting in right now. This is the only home I've ever known, so that is a big change.

We can't fight it, or stop it. It's a natural thing. Not all change happens according to our plans. In fact, most change is unexpected, and in many cases is unwanted. After spending a decent amount of the day crying over farewells with my various European friends (I hung out with a lot of international students this year), I spent the evening forgetting the whole situation. I'm awful at goodbyes. It wasn't until 12:18 a.m. that I hopped onto Facebook one last time to see my roommate's status.

"There's no such place as home.. but where the hell is home? Going back to normal has never been as painful. Cheers to new experiences and new friends!"

It's simple, but it's exquisite. She said it well. At this point in our lives, is there really such as thing as "back to normal?" I mean, come on. In the last two years of my life, more has changed about me than the 18 prior. She's going back to a culture and a country that she's all but trained herself away from. She's facing a change that goes deeper than geography or time zone. I am proud of her for seeing the bright side in the situation, which I can't always do. Even if this wonderful girl and I never speak again, if we lose touch and forget we slept in the same set of bunk beds, at least she left me with one final, lasting lesson.

Change happens, and it can be the best thing to happen to you. It can open doors and bring some unexpected form of prosperity, despite all the negatives it could bear. She hated America at first. She almost went back. Not long ago, she thanked me for convincing her to stay for the duration of the year. The change that had seemed so difficult to start, was suddenly the best thing to happen to her. And now, going back is difficult...but I'm sure it comes with a rewarding feeling.

I don't have to like everything that happens to me during this pivotal point in my life. I don't like that I had the wonderful experience of living with someone for nine months, only to wonder whether or not the friendship will endure. I don't like that my childhood home could become someone else's home in less than a year.

I can't really fight it, and I definitely can't change either fact. But it's a learning experience in the purest form. Tonight, I am tired. I'm emotionally fried for many reasons, and probably a little too mentally wired to sleep well. I have a huge day tomorrow, but I have a feeling that tomorrow night I'll still be saying, "I have a huge day tomorrow." Every day is a huge day, just like no day is really normal.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, change can be hard. It can be downright rotten. "Normal" is just another word for the constant state of transition that people in positions such as mine face. This constant state of transition is scary and hard and can test the strongest person to their limits. That's what makes it great, though. That's what we learn from.

In between wild weekends, stressful finals, and ripping your hair out over the next internship or interview, we do something amazing. In between classes and projects, we learn. We grow up. If that isn't a change worth taking note of, I don't know what is.

The Ever-Dreaded Group Work

During my various internships and volunteer experiences, I've worked with people that I really enjoy. Across different ages, professions, and outlooks, people often have a tendency to come together for something important. However, this isn't always the case.

Over the last week or so, I've found myself in two distinctly different group work scenarios. In one group, we talked about what each member had a knack for and divided work up based on our specific talents and skill sets. It's worked out swimmingly. Everyone is happy and we have a great end-product. We worked together on the things that required a bit more diversity and understood how to complement each other's talents.

It's been an unlikely success story for a college group project.

In another class, I'm facing the opposite situation. The group doesn't communicate well outside of class, and when we are in contact with each other, there isn't much productivity. Group members are trying to micro-manage each other, and tensions have gotten pretty high at points. When nasty e-mails started flying (when we should have calmly talked out these problems during class) I realized how far out of hand things had gotten. We needed to reorganize and cooperate.

A lot of things had to happen for the group to get back on track:

1. We had to put our egos in check. All of us. Myself included. When you get four (or, in many cases, more) people trying to be right all the time, tempers can get high. Working well in a group requires everyone to admit their limitations and own up to the fact that you're generally equals.
2. We had to acknowledge each other's skills. In this particular group, we need to use Adobe programs to make a finished product. I'm the only person with any experience with PhotoShop, which means my contribution has become fairly focused into that area of the project. The other girls in our group have talents spread across writing, organization, planning...not everyone can do everything in the project, but everyone has something to contribute.
3. We had to figure out how to spread the work evenly (as best we could). No one likes to feel excluded, and no one likes to feel like they're doing all of the work. You can't always evenly split it, since everyone's abilities apply to each project differently. However, being shy to responsibility or being a work hog can reflect on you poorly in the end.
4. We had to remind ourselves to smile. We are all stressed out right now. Finals start on Monday and week ten on a trimester schedule is always stressful. I have three large projects due between Friday and Tuesday, and the next few days are going to be very touch-and-go as far as my stress levels are concerned. One of the things I needed to remind myself about was that all of the people I am working with are in the same boat. We are all stressed out right now. So, sometimes the best thing to do is blow off some steam. Laugh, smile, don't be afraid to have fun while you work together. A happy individual generally equals a happy group member. Don't forget that.

Overall, I was reminded of some valuable lessons today about cooperation. Not everyone understands good group dynamics. Most college students don't have the professional and volunteer experiences I have when it comes to cooperation and working together. In fact, I feel very blessed to have these experiences under my belt. In the long run, they'll help me.

Next time you're faced with the task of working with others (especially ones you may not know or haven't worked with before), think about the mindset with which you step into the project. Respect, cooperation, and trust can go a long way. And please, please, please do not resort to sending snobby e-mails rather than sorting out problems in person. That's a wonderful first step towards an unhappy group.