iExamen 2

Jonathan Ocampo
10/30/17
Prof. Ellis
iExamen 2

Kindness in a Jesuit Community 

Stacy London’s quote, “Be kind to others even if you do not like them”, highlights my experience of this assignment. As I began my day I realized that I would have to approach it in a different mindset compared to a normal day. I love going to school at Loyola, but there is always that one person that can twist your buttons and get on your nerves. This person, who I will not mention, and I have an uneasy history and have not gotten along well with one another. I made it my mission to take advantage of this assignment and be kind to this person throughout the day.

As I aroused in early in the morning, I felt nervous about how the outcome of the encounter would turn out. The first action I took was attempting to write an introductory text such as, “Hey, what’s up” or “Hey wanna get lunch”. I quickly sent the message and waited in my bed for a reply from him/her. This person agreed to sit down and have lunch with me and have an adult conversation about the drama arising from a personal issue. I was absolutely kind to her, and in no way made her feel scared or fear for her safety. I started our conversation by apologizing for my recent actions that had ended our previous friendship. I told the person how much her friendship meant to me, and ending our friendship put me I a rough emotional state. My feelings towards this conversation quickly changed as she made me feel more comfortable when she accepted my apology and agreed to starting over as friends. This meant a whole lot to me because I usually do not receive second chances and when she willingly trusted that I would change made me feel a sense of pride. This sense of pride that suddenly hit me influenced me to do whatever was possible to make this fallen friendship rise from the ashes. As I finished eating my lunch I told her why I was doing this and she replied with a “Thank you, I was waiting for you to do something about it”.

Going into this project I thought I would get absolutely nothing out of it and write some fake story. This person’s friendship meant a lot to me, and the fact that I used this project to renew something that I thought was lost forever felt very rewarding. Within the past year I have had difficulties communicating kindly to people and this assignment opened my eyes to how kind communication with all people is necessary to keep relationships steady. This assignment has taught me that kind communication with people you don’t get along with can lead to productive talks, which can then lead to a beneficial outcome.