It's spelled Xaverian, not Xavierian. Little things. It's the little things that get to us. We Xaverians take these things personally, not because we are egotistical little boys pent up on the fact that we came from one of the top high schools in the country. Actually you know what? scratch that, THE Best Chinese-Filipino, Jesuit,all-male school in the country. No, not because of that. It's because as a community, we are very proud of where we came from and what we endured together and have bonded so much around that idea that the words Xaverian Pride takes on a completely different meaning to us.
Ask anyone around the Ateneo campus about what a Xaverian is and they'd probably give you the same description,more or less - Chinese-Filipino, friendly, outgoing, fun, hot, sexy, any other synonym that goes along the lines of hot and sexy, and proud. All of these, I can say, may be attributed to the way we were essentially "raised" in our former school.
As an organization, Xavier (pronounced |(ig)ˈzāvēər|) School is an organization unlike no other. The culture within the campus is a very special one. Aside from all the activities that involves academics, it's the spiritual formation that really sets us apart from other schools. All the retreats we have are designed to instill a sense of passion to strive to be men fully alive, endowed with a passion for justice and the skills for development (I totally stole that from the school's mission statement, by the way). Moreover, the teachers of the school are a very special bunch of people as well. Not to take anything away from Sir Beaver Flores of the Ateneo Communications Department and may I say, the best communications professor I've had *wink wink*, but the teachers in Xavier somehow are able to temper professionalism, courtesy, and adeptness in teaching with the ability to actually be friends with the students and form a bond with them. Through this, the classroom is given a more informal setting, allowing the students to laugh, joke, occasionally curse and at the same time, learn in a very comfortable environment. This, in turn, gives us the personality that you see today.
Ok, I am sounding like a cross between an education analyst and a Xaverian propagandist, but the fact remains true, through the organization that is Xavier School, Xaverians from all batches are able to form a culture that has taken a very special identity of it's own. A simple obvservation through the halls of the Ateneo and one may see a number of Xaverians wearing shirts that have quotes, logos, and symbols of their alma mater on them. Xaverians that sit together during breaks and form groups 3 tables long litter JSEC and the caf only proving that same sense of Xaverian unity and friendship.
Xaverians are the types of people who take pride in the fact that they are Xaverians, but are humble enough to come to terms with their imperfections. Xaverians are the types of people who always have each others backs through thick and thin, people who would take a bullet for each other in a heartbeat. So, in any case, if you happen to get into a fight with a person wearing a bright yellow shirt with the word Xavier on it, make sure you have back-up.*
*This sentence is just me trying to make Xaverians sound tough and bad-ass and also end this blog in a very awesome and sexy way. The truth is, we are actually a peace-loving group of people who hate conflict and would never get into a fight. :)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Blog 6: The Uncertainty-Reduction Theory, The Social Exchange Theory, and Exes
All the talk this week about the Uncertainty-Reduction Theory and the Social Exchange Theory brought gave me some ideas all while the class was discussing it. However, when taking the lesson up, all I could think about to associate with these two theories is something everybody just loves to hate - awkward moments. Look at it this way, since the main focus of the Uncertainty-Reduction theory is well, uncertainty between people and the main argument of the Social Exchange Theory is the weighing out of options (through the economic principle of Opportunity Costs) when it comes to relationships, what better way to explain both than through an awkward situation, right? I know, sounds a bit iffy, but hey, I promise this will all make sense in the end. Hopefully...
In my books, there are a plethora of awkward moments one can think of and can experience in everyday life. Things like spilling a glass of water on your pants and seeing that girl you like think that you actually had an accident, or the time when you hit an inanimate object with your car and have the driver next to you give you a stare that reads "incompetence" or even the times where your writing a paper that was due an hour ago and feel totally guilty for it because you know you should have done it in the afternoon but was too tired to do so because you woke up early for an Accounting class that started at 8 am and ended at 12 noon. (Sorry sir, my bad, won't happen again). Anyway, I believe that when it comes right down to it, there are 3 gay baby making situations that tops my list and they are as follows.
1.) Meeting a person you barely know and being left alone with him/her for an extended period of time.
2.) Watching a sex scene with your parents in a movie theater.
3.) The Breaking-up process.
But since I want to emphasize my point and present you with the most awkward situation possible and use both theorems to discuss it. I have come up with the most awkward situation possible, essentially combining all 3 instances and creating a dream team of awkward moments, if you will.
Meeting an Ex that you had been with for 5+ years and being left alone in an isolated place for a very,very long period of time and have absolutely nothing to talk about because both of you are still bitter about cheating on one another with one another's best friends, while your parents watch everything unfold and judge you by your every move through closed circuit cameras.
Yes, the most awkward situation ever. The Napoleon Bonaparte of awkward situations, small but terrible. And yet, even this has it's Waterloo. Through the Uncertainty-Reduction Theory, we know that we essentially need to reduce the uncertainties between the 2 exes. It may be through Nonverbal Warmth or Verbal Communication,but the main thing is, one of the two need to swallow their pride and at least try to converse to ease the tension. They haven't seen each other for a while so they need to go through the Information Seeking process and catch up with each other through Active and Interactive Strategies such as asking friendly questions about each other, self-disclosure, or even the occasional joke about the time they were together (sometimes more awkward situations, when done with the right amount of humor, may actually lead to the decrease of uncertainty. I can honestly vouch for this.) Lastly, once the (ex) couple has gained some level of rapport, one can now determine if the relationship can be solidified once again. Here, both need to weigh both pros and cons and conclude if there will actually be consequences if they do agree to try and work things out and remain friends or such.
In the end, I agree that this little plot I've drawn out above isn't fool poof. However, through the knowledge of both these theories and with a little bit of humility, humor and self-confidence, anyone can turn an awkward situation into a more or less pleasant one. Well, at least they can try,right?
In my books, there are a plethora of awkward moments one can think of and can experience in everyday life. Things like spilling a glass of water on your pants and seeing that girl you like think that you actually had an accident, or the time when you hit an inanimate object with your car and have the driver next to you give you a stare that reads "incompetence" or even the times where your writing a paper that was due an hour ago and feel totally guilty for it because you know you should have done it in the afternoon but was too tired to do so because you woke up early for an Accounting class that started at 8 am and ended at 12 noon. (Sorry sir, my bad, won't happen again). Anyway, I believe that when it comes right down to it, there are 3 gay baby making situations that tops my list and they are as follows.
1.) Meeting a person you barely know and being left alone with him/her for an extended period of time.
2.) Watching a sex scene with your parents in a movie theater.
3.) The Breaking-up process.
But since I want to emphasize my point and present you with the most awkward situation possible and use both theorems to discuss it. I have come up with the most awkward situation possible, essentially combining all 3 instances and creating a dream team of awkward moments, if you will.
Meeting an Ex that you had been with for 5+ years and being left alone in an isolated place for a very,very long period of time and have absolutely nothing to talk about because both of you are still bitter about cheating on one another with one another's best friends, while your parents watch everything unfold and judge you by your every move through closed circuit cameras.
Yes, the most awkward situation ever. The Napoleon Bonaparte of awkward situations, small but terrible. And yet, even this has it's Waterloo. Through the Uncertainty-Reduction Theory, we know that we essentially need to reduce the uncertainties between the 2 exes. It may be through Nonverbal Warmth or Verbal Communication,but the main thing is, one of the two need to swallow their pride and at least try to converse to ease the tension. They haven't seen each other for a while so they need to go through the Information Seeking process and catch up with each other through Active and Interactive Strategies such as asking friendly questions about each other, self-disclosure, or even the occasional joke about the time they were together (sometimes more awkward situations, when done with the right amount of humor, may actually lead to the decrease of uncertainty. I can honestly vouch for this.) Lastly, once the (ex) couple has gained some level of rapport, one can now determine if the relationship can be solidified once again. Here, both need to weigh both pros and cons and conclude if there will actually be consequences if they do agree to try and work things out and remain friends or such.
In the end, I agree that this little plot I've drawn out above isn't fool poof. However, through the knowledge of both these theories and with a little bit of humility, humor and self-confidence, anyone can turn an awkward situation into a more or less pleasant one. Well, at least they can try,right?
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