The power of the situation

First, I want to mention Rachel's poll about year long school. Give your opinion. Personally, I think kids need a summer. I need a summer. How else would I have gotten to California to learn a lot and have a blast. I hope she can recharge for the upcoming year, I am sure all those classes and work this summer will pay off.

The power of the situation

If there is one thing I have learned in psychology it is that the situation has immense power over our feelings and actions. This summer I decided to live with a family rather than individually in an apartment. I put myself in a situation where I knew I would have an interesting experience.

Sure, I was nervous, but I people tend to underestimate their ability to adapt and therefore do not take the chance and seek out the experiences that can prove so important. So my advice is to put yourself in an interesting, perhaps not always comfortable, situation that will only lead to personal growth.

Amanda’s experience is a prime example. TFA is selective, rigorous, and extremely challenging. Yet, each week we get a taste of all the benefits that Amanda reached simply by placing herself in an interesting and challenging situation.

Needless to say I have learned a great deal while in California. I expected to learn from my internship but being able to gain knowledge outside of work has been just as much as worthwhile as what I have gained from my job. I want to share my past week, which was both unexpected and amazing.

So my California mom as I call, Christina, in whose home I am staying, invited her friend and co-worker Shiho to stay in the home, for a week as she met with the California office. Shiho flew in from the Tokyo office and I met her on a Friday, and on Saturday we travelled into San Francisco with our bikes, with our goal to cycle from San Fran to Sausalito, across the Golden Gate Bridge. Kind of a big trip when you’ve known someone less than 24 hours.

Once again I didn’t know what was going to happen, but why not go for it. We had a great time. But the Golden Gate Bridge was freezing! Weird, but that is San Francisco weather for you. Mark Twain once said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Well the weather was definitely weird for the end of June. After our lunch in the beautiful town of Sausalito we took the ferry across the bay, passed Alcatraz, got off, and made our way to Lombard Street.

We finally made it up a side street, a very very steep side street, and came to the top of Lombard. Shiho really wanted to bike down Lombard Street, but it’s not really allowed. But she came all the way from Tokyo, and the policeman wasn’t looking, so we went for it. The picture of Lombard Street doesn’t do the street’s incline justice. It is a solid block of clutching your breaks and hoping they don’t give out and you slam into someone’s car door. Well we made it and continued along the boardwalk back to the train station where we made our way home to Palo Alto.

Photo source: http://www.visitingdc.com/san-francisco/lombard-street-picture.asp

Next weekend was another adventure. We kayaked in a slough near Monterey, where there were otters, and sea lions in the water with our Kayaks. It was amazing. Our guide was a marine bio major and filled us in with loads of knowledge about the slough and the ecosystem. After that adventure, we made our way to Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Wow. The aquarium is amazing, and the fish very beautiful. As we made our way through the various exhibits, Shiho made sure to tell me which fish were “tasty.” A bit off color, but hilarious. Imagine a petite, sweet, Japanese woman telling you she wants to “cuddle that tuna” because it is so beautiful. If anyone has ever heard someone say “I want to cuddle that tuna” please let me know because this person should meet Shiho.

After shopping a bit in Monterey, we stopped at a bar and joked and laughed until I the designated driver, reminded Christina and Shiho that Shiho had a flight in the morning and we had a one and half hour drive back home.

All this experience was unexpected, but it all stemmed from picking a situation that could only be interesting. I could have stayed home, but then I would have missed learning various Japanese words like kampai (cheers), arigato (thank you), and ita daki mas (about to receive- not a great translation, but you say it before you eat). I would have missed out learning about Christina’s family in the Philippines and Chile. We discussed how time is conceptualized in Japan versus the US. It was great and words don’t give the warmth I felt from my experience over this week.

We often think we can control the situation, but as psychology will teach you: we can’t. So pick a situation where you can grow and learn. Pick a situation where you are unsure what might happen, and perhaps you will find wonderfully unexpected events waiting for you.