ARCHIVE - Brandon's blog

ARCHIVE - EMP

Brandon — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:56:09 -0800

All right, I’ve got a really embarrassing confession for you all so try your best not to laugh at me in class next week… I was in a fraternity. I wasn’t in it for long and I didn’t go through the whole initiation process but nonetheless I lived in and was part of a fraternity for my first semester at college. It should go with out saying that most of the experience was pretty terrible (thus me not continuing to live there) however there were a few positive aspects to be found.

The main thing that sticks out in my mind as being something of worth was the sense of community I had with all the people I lived with. I had a similar experience while attending Boise State University due to the massive football program they had. It seem to give the students a common cause they could all rally around which in turn helped to foster that sense of community I spoke of earlier. During our trip to the EMP I got to experience that same sense of community for the first in my academic career here at Evergreen.

ARCHIVE - Beautiful Day

Brandon — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:58:50 -0800

Step one; sleep in. Step two; hit the gym. Step three; eat authentic fatty French food for breakfast. Step four; procure fine steak, wine, and a set of Bose headphones for the evening. Step five clean house. Step six: enjoy. When I set out to do our “Beautiful Day” activity the first thing I did was to think about all the simple (easily obtained) things in life I enjoy the most. I decided I would make a list of my favorite things / activities and then build my beautiful day around what I came up with.

ARCHIVE - Forgiveness

Brandon — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:13:57 -0800

When I sat down to do this activity I came to two wonderful realizations. The first was that I realized I don’t really hold grudges (which I’d like to think is a good thing). Number two is that I need to start viewing my self as much more fortunate then previously thought, due to the fact that I don’t really have that many people in my life that need forgiving (on the grand scale this assignment seems to be referring to).

As I began to reflect on whom I might want to try this forgiveness exercise out on I found it extremely hard to pick anyone at all. I suppose this means I’ve been really blessed throughout my life. When I tried to think of people that had transgressed upon me in some way or another the types of situation I came up with were so minor that I realized I had gone through this forgiveness process almost instantly.

ARCHIVE - The Resilience Factor

Brandon — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 17:45:40 -0800

When I was in first grade I got into trouble. This wasn’t the typical trouble first graders get into either. I didn’t steal one of my classmate’s markers and then refuse to give it back, I didn’t tease some until they started crying, and I didn’t refuse to wear my coat out when it was cold (why do kids do that?). No, instead I punched my hand through a glass window in my classroom. From what I remember (or what was explained to me) a class mate of my was taunting me with one of “I know you are but what am I” gags kids tend to run on each other when finally I snapped. As far as I know this was the first time I displayed what I now know is my extreme lack of resilience when dealing with life’s typical frustrations.

ARCHIVE - Gratitude Letter

Brandon — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:05:21 -0800

When I was a little kid my favorite person was my grandmother. Hands-down, no questions asked she was one of the coolest grandmas a kid could have. She did all the normal grandma stuff like read to me, she bought me toys, and she would always give me one or two more cookies then I was suppose to have… you know, grandma stuff. She also went above and beyond in a lot of ways. From the moment I heard that we were going to do this assignment in class I knew that my Grandma was the one who should get my letter.

ARCHIVE - Bow-Flex Activity 3: "Three Blessings"

Brandon — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:13:11 -0800

You know those commercials on TV, the ones for the exercise equipment that promises to give to rippling mussels if you work out for just five minutes a day. Whenever I see those commercials I always wonder, “do people actually buy into that?” I suppose some people must. I’m basing this assumption off the fact that every garage sale I have ever been to has had one of these “quick fix” exercise machines available for purchase. Sometimes I worry that a lot of the mood altering techniques we have read about in this class may be viewed by people in the same way as those exercise machine commercials.

ARCHIVE - "Do Unto Others"

Brandon — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:33:25 -0800

Activity 2: “Do Unto Others.”

I am greedy. There I said it. I wouldn’t say that I’m the stingiest person I know but I’m definitely not the first guy in the bar to start buying drinks for people. This has always been a problem for me. I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that when I was growing up my parents always stressed the importance of money. They would tell me, “Sure, follow your dreams we will always support you (emotionally that is). But you have to realize that most musicians are poor, and Brandon coming from two people who know you pretty well, being poor isn’t something we think you’d enjoy.”

ARCHIVE - Elevator Ride

Brandon — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:32:10 -0800

Activity 1: Elevator Ride.

A while ago, I created this weekly morning routine for myself in order to add more structure to the start of my day. You see, I work nights in a restaurant / bar that has fairly late hours. To be specific this means that on average I arrive at work at about 5:00 PM and make it back home around 11:30 PM. By the time I actually get into bed to fall a sleep it’s generally around 2:00AM.

ARCHIVE - Compton Response

Brandon — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 17:30:47 -0800

An In introduction to Positive Psychology was one of the more enjoyable textbooks I have read throughout my college career. William C. Compton choice to format his book in small sub-sections with in the chapters made the information much easier to process and retain. The comprehensive history of positive psychology that Compton provides throughout the book was also a great addition. Having a historical account to reference allowed me to gain a much clearer understanding of what elements of “traditional psychology” lead Seligman and others to create this fairly new field of positive psychology.