IEXAMEN #2 JACOB SABINS

 I observed this iExamen on Saturday, October 23rd. When I first woke up, it was already 12:30, so I headed over to Boulder to get some lunch for the day and in talking with the cafeteria staff, notably saying thank you once I got some food handed to me, I reflected on the principles of the observation, to say what is kind, true and helpful, and what I realized from the start is that it would be rather easy to figure out if what I'm saying is kind and true, however, when talking about helpful, sometimes it is implicit. In the case of the thank you at the lunch line, it is helpful because it lets them know they are doing a good job and that I appreciate what they are doing. I then hopped into a discord call with some friends and I quickly had to throw away all the insults I was going to hurl at them if they said something dumb, and from that experience, I realized that you can have a much more meaningful conversation if you correct someone rather than insult them, as you can talk about something that will help both of you grow. In talking to my roommate a bit before bed, I found myself engaging in a deeper conversation than the usual “hey” “what's up” “not much” and then we ignored each other for hours as we both learned some new information about each other and asked some meaningful questions and shared some life stories. Going into the observation period, I thought that I wouldn't have much to say as the usual banter and joking wouldn't really be a thing I could rely on to hold a conversation, but boy was I wrong. If you leave behind all the negative things you say to people, it will engage you in a meaningful dialogue that leaves both parties satisfied and I think that is the main takeaway of this observation.


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