MiD Student Blog
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Recently...
Group Development
What a weekend we first years had. It is hard to explain and I'm not even sure if I'm suppose to, but for me, it was very enlightening. We were assigned readings a week in advance, which discussed human nature and the development of group dynamics within the setting of a "small" group (less than 16 people).
It turns out those readings were the road map to our progress, but somehow we refused to see it. Our first day was spent confused, with a lot of wandering discussion. As the days progressed, though, the conversation became more and more focused and we started being able to recognize our place in the group in a loose way. For me, and I must assume others, it was hard to ever fully grasp ones role at an any instant because of their dynamism. It was only after looking back that I was able to assess, and not even fully, my position at a given instant. After days of those personal assessments, a picture of ones, initially, unperceived actions began to emerge. This grainy picture of my subconscious now seems to haunt my every interaction. It still sits outside my conscious but it is always tapping on the window reminding me it's there; trying to be let in.
After the workshop we had a cool-down Q&A session. I learned we would have ended up at about the same place in our progress no matter how long we had, 3 days or 3 months! Nothing has ever illustrated to me how persistent human nature is like this workshop. We also learned that how what we take from this depends on us and our intestinal fortitude to continue examining ourselves.
