Or more of this?
No matter.
I am not here to talk about my future plans and goals and whatnot. I am here to record my experience in a very 'interesting' module that I am taking right now for the benefit of the rest of Mankind. And also to get a grade on this. That module is COM 443 - Advertising Principles and Techniques, facilitated by none other than Professor Bob Armstrong.
I have to say that everyone of us have heard stories, passed down from generation to generation (actually, just one or two batches before us) about this module, and the style that Professor Armstrong adopts (read: dog massacre-and-butcher-and-then-noisily-rip-apart-the-meat-and-eat dog). So, it is with the slightest bit of trepidation that we signed up for the class; some less willingly because they have to fulfil their communication module electives, while others more willingly because they are just masochistic.
I have to say that everyone of us have heard stories, passed down from generation to generation (actually, just one or two batches before us) about this module, and the style that Professor Armstrong adopts (read: dog massacre-and-butcher-and-then-noisily-rip-apart-the-meat-and-eat dog). So, it is with the slightest bit of trepidation that we signed up for the class; some less willingly because they have to fulfil their communication module electives, while others more willingly because they are just masochistic.
I have a confession to make, that I was expecting my last semester here in UB/SIM to be at a more, how do I put it, relaxed pace. But now, being one-thirds of the way in, I can say that out of all the semesters I have been in the UB/SIM program, this semester is potentially the toughest semester I have taken.
And guess what? After a month taking this module, I hope that I am not jinxing it when I say that this experience hasn't been what we were expecting, mainly because it is worse. No, I jest. It has not been dog eat dog as of yet, more along the lines of dog bite dog. I just hope that we will start losing our teeth before we lose our limbs, vital organs or our heads. Honestly, with nary a hint of brown-nosing, I really think that this is an experience that I will treasure, not for the head knowledge gained. That would be forgotten in an instant. But rather, it will be treasured for the life lessons learnt, and the whole experience.
But, thus far, it has been a beneficial and eye-opening experience for me. One of Professor Armstrong's aims was to simulate the environment of the advertising industry as much as possible and already I have learnt something; that if the advertising industry were really like this, there is a 99.99999999% chance that I WILL NOT enter this industry. I value my life and sanity too much.
Nevertheless, there are many things that I've learnt that has nothing to do with advertising but useful life skills, which in my book is equally if not more important. First of all, I discovered that I have the stamina for working long, long hours without needing any coffee. But on a more serious note, contrary to my public self, I am not an extrovert. I don't find it easy to make friends and/or work with people I am not familiar with. I try to avoid foreign situations as much as possible, preferring to remain in my comfort zone. Not good for growth, I know, but good for people like me who enjoy emulating a turtle. So, I really think that COM 443 is causing me to wake up to the realities of life and understand that in life, I have to deal with uncomfortable and unfamiliar situations. And so far, I have realised that in actual fact, things are often not as bad as we imagine.
After randomly assigning us to groups, a wise man told us in the first few weeks of class, 'You don't have like everyone, but you have to work with them.' I already know that I am not the easiest person to work with, because sometimes I may be too demanding. But I think that I am not all that difficult to work with because I temper that abrasive side of me with my natural charisma and charm (which by the way, costs me $100 per person I choose to 'exercise' those qualities on). But this module has shown me that good teams are difficult to form and even more difficult to keep together.
Looking around, I thank my lucky stars that I am where I am right now. My team-mates are generally great to work with and I am enjoying their company. That said, there are still differences among us that we have to iron out but at the very least, we are all making the effort. And that is reason enough to move beyond merely working with my team-mates to liking them. I am grateful, in that regard, that we were randomly assigned to groups, because these are a bunch of people I feel that I can have friendships with and I do hope they feel the same about me. So, to my team-mates who may be reading, before I step on any of your toes even more, please know that it is nothing personal, it's just work.
Anyway, I really sympathize those who are good students unlucky enough to be assigned to groups with people whose attitudes seriously, for the lack of a better word, stink. It stinks so bad that even being in a different group from them, one can smell the reek. This sort of thing makes me realise that truly, it is one's attitude that determines one's altitude. How far can a person make it with a lousy attitude? Not far. Even if he or she starts at the top, he or she will not be able to stay long. People say that you win some and you lose some. While at times, winning and losing is dependent on one's self, this whole observation made me realise that no matter how much effort you put in, sometimes victory or failure rests on the shoulders of the people you are surrounded with. And really, at the end of the day, life sometimes can be unfair. But oh well, c'est la vie.
Looking at how much we have done thus far, and how much more we have ahead, I reckon that this module will be both more challenging and yet more fulfilling that most modules taken thus far. Somehow, it seems ironic to be taking a module that is so demanding in my final semester when I expected to be able to kick back and relax just a tiny bit. Also the same time, I do think that this is a befitting end as well to the whole UB/SIM experience; having an enriching and thought provoking module to gird myself up for the travails of life beyond school. I believe at the end of it all, I can look back and say that I came here, to UB/SIM, not expecting much but I leave with a lot.
