So I started my first course and on the first “homework assignment”, I had to answer questions based on the Chapters that I read. The book is called “Peak Performance” and is written in part by Sharon K. Ferrett.
The questions were: After reading Chapters 1 & 2, What did you learn about yourself? How will your styles and preferences help you to be successful in college? Construct a one or two paragraph response to each question…Well…
After reading the Chapter 1, this is what I came up with:
I am an Introvert in my everyday life and an extrovert in my writings. I've always thought of myself as a "Peak Performer" even when I didn't know the correct verbiage or term. I still don't know what to make of my thought process, because I think that I am a creative & analytical person, who, based on previous experiences in life, has been thought of as a "directive" type. Almost every position that I've ever held in life has been in the "authoritative role", and I've been sought out more for my advice than I've sought the advice of others. I took the "Self-Assessment Test" on page 1-7 and answered it the same way that I've answered any " personal or business self-assessment" I've ever taken, and I came away with conclusion based off of a numbered scale that in some areas I had more 5's then I had other numbers in other areas. And while the sum of numbers doesn't add up a total, it does give me an indicator of what some of Peak Performing Skills are.
I’ve read every word in the first two Chapters and I still haven’t a clue why it is that I can directly relate to almost every personality trait, and why when I read the “Redefining Intelligence: Other Learning Styles Section”, I can sit here and say that every single listed example directly applied to me. With the exception of “Picture Smart”, I can say “Yep, yep, yep, that’s me…”. So now I’m confused and lost, already. Not because I don’t understand what is being said in the first two Chapters, but because I think that most of what is said: personality, attitude, thinking styles, and temperament are all things that I feel I should already know about myself. I identified with what I saw as “positives” in the first Chapter, everything used to describe the way we think, how we perceive, how we break down or translate, interpret and use new knowledge is something I felt I already knew. The only thing I learned were what each was called, I kept saying to myself “That’s what that’s called”, meaning that I just didn’t know what the nouns or adjectives were to describe my form of thinking. From a “psychological” standpoint I already know what learning is and how the “brain/mind” learns new things. I found myself also often saying “How’d I already know that?”
Chapter 2 where we begin be covering “Emotional Intelligence, Integrity, Civility and Ethics (I’ll even throw in the word Morals)”, as those words relate again to “Developing Personal Qualities”, I can’t help but think that most of these things are meant for “psychologically motivating purposes”. The areas covered. i.e. Responsibility, Self-Esteem, Confidence and Motivation are just words to someone like me. All of those things, AGAIN, are me. Nothing there is “new to me”. I personally think that I could’ve written Chapters 1 & 2, actually I’ve written things like this already, except in my writings I delve deeper psychologically and bury the “message” or “inspirational thought” that I’m trying to share with my readers in a whimsical and relaxing format. Reading this so far, pretty much seems like it’s meant for people who don’t really know anything. Honestly, I’m not trying to sound like a jerk or sound like I’m a genius but I thought I was going to learn how to express my thoughts in the proper grammatical format. This book is a game to me, this book makes no sense because I already know it. Skimming thru the chapters..Let’s say Chapter 6: Memory Skills…Here are my “Memory Skills”, this how I remember things: I write them down, I say them out loud, I take a mental note, I take mental picture, I remember to remember it. Pretty much, nutshell..I remember everything.
I feel like I’ve just started college for the first time, this first week, and I’m going to fail. Fail, because the only thing I feel the book doesn’t cover, is what to do when you feel like you’re a quitter and what do you do when you feel like you fail at everything? I’ve felt like that before…I felt like that before I started this. Matter of fact, I’m going to remember something a AU Classmate just recently said in an Introduction, “I lacked the confidence and the self esteem to do so” Thank You Helen(told you I tend to borrow things), at one point in life I felt that way. I’ve given up before, I’ve quit, I’ve felt stupid, I’ve been neglected, I’ve felt unloved and thus I FELT UNMOTIVATED and found myself unable to “Perform”. You cannot be a “Peak Performer” or anything else in this world unless you first “FEEL” comfortable, excepted and wanted without those, you can’t be motivated to do anything.
This book is a “Catch 22” for me, I feel like this book is meant to teach me about me and act as a guide book of sorts. I don’t need that…I don’t need to know anymore about myself because I already know myself, I know how I learn. I know all of that…I’m a creative/analytical(kinda why I broke the book down this way). So simple question….Can I fast forward past all of this and start working on my degree or do I really have to come up with “make believe” answers for the next 5 Weeks? Sorry classmates or anyone else who reads this, but honestly I feel like I have two options here: Sit around for the next 5 weeks and give answers based off the questions that are already available to answer(sorry I already did that too, I’m just waiting to turn it all in), collect my GI Bill and chill while some of you struggle to find answer basic questions or any I supposed to “fake it” and follow along for the benefit of the class?
I hope that anyone at AU who reads this understands that I’m really not trying to be a jerk, but I really need to know if you can find a class that suits me? That or send me all of the work and I’ll do it all at once so I don’t have to waste 4 years sitting in front of my computer waiting on other people to get my degree. Is there anyway to just do it all at once, to get all of the books, take all of the test and not have to wait? To be brutally honest with you I quit high school, because I got tired of always having to wait and learning at everyone else's’ pace. Why doesn’t the book tell me, how it’s possible to for me to: Read, Type, and Think at least 3 completely different things at once.
Oh and wait..Is it true that when used like this, words, can be a picture?:
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llyhappeningthisismyfavoritesentencethisisreallyhappeningthisismyfavoritesentencethisisreallyhap
peningthisismyfavoritesentencethisisreallyboringbutyoureadallthatjusttoreadthisthisisreallyhappen
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See, I wrote that two months ago and it’s called @^@ Sore, it has 3 “actual” sentences. I know, because I put them there. I wanted to make picture, and game out of words. I guess that means that I was wrong…I guess I do have all 8 “Intelligence Styles”.
So am I at the 
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