Preserving Humanity

This past Friday was the first day of real classes. For these classes, we have a team of 9 people, all different nationalities :)

Before that we spent a lot of time going through interviewing skills, how to look for the next job you want, how to create a list of companies, etc. We also spent a decent amount of time going through communication classes - where we had to either deliver live or record a speech everyday for a total of 8 speeches.

It was eye opening to listen to all the different stories from my peers - some talked about their childhood as a asylum, some suffering diseases, some battling their inner voice, and others urging school to purchase additional coffee machines or build a new gym. There were different types of speeches that required a different structure: a Logos speech where you would use rational reasoning to convince other people, an Ethos speech where the speaker has credibility due to their previous experiences, and Pathos speech where you influence with strong emotions. I got to convince my team about using menstrual cups, practicing gratitude, going to Space Camp, remembering my grandpa, importance of learning a new language at a young age. The worst part was watching recordings of my own delivery, identifying all the sways and tongue clicking I do unconciously. But hey, that’s how I’ll improve.

There are many people in the MBA program passionate about sustainability. From someone who use to work in the energy sector, her comment was along the lines of all our efforts right now is not about saving the planet, but more about preserving humanity. Because the planet will stay, but if we don’t act right now, humanities might perish. We hear a lot about how we’re recycling or taking action because we wanted to make earth a better place (or make earth deteriorate in a slower pace), but at the bottom of this all is our desire to stay alive in this world.

On a more light-hearted side - I got to play padel for thr first time this past weekend. This is a sport that is very similar to tennis, but with a smaller court and with rules that also allows the use of walls.

Until next week :)