Time Spent with Family is the BEST Time Ever

Well overdue too, I have to say the weekend I spent with my cousin, Hailey, was some of the best memories I’ve had in Phoenix yet!

Background: The Crowe family lives on the San Juan Islands in the most Northwest region of the States. My family used to camp there every summer, and when my grandparents lived in Washington, I’d see them a few more times than just Christmas. However, now that we’re all getting older and meeting together only happens once a year in December, it gets tough!

I have said before, family is the BEST gift I could ask for. I know what it’s like for family not to care, spend time with you, and ignore you, so I’ve made it my mission to be a part of my cousins’, Hailey and Bjerre, lives. Hailey is now a whopping 15-year-old and Bjerre is a 4-year-old turning 15 :)

Hails, or more affectionately known as Booger, and I try to stay in touch as much as possible. Facebook, phone calls, texting, you name it! She’s called me when friends are evil to her, she confides in me about her dreams, among other things. I know she looks up to me, which gives me that much more pride and joy to be there for her....and let’s face it, keep myself in line!

My Epiphany

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While I was applying for grad school, the same question I kept getting asked was something along the lines of “What are your long term career goals?” Well, crap! I had no idea what to say because I haven’t figured that out yet. I wrote about some compilation of ideas between reaching out, collegiate success for others, technology or retail industries, and making a difference and non-profit work. The goals changed depending on the day I was writing my application essays.

After I filled out double digits of applications to top universities across the world, I started thinking I’d enjoy international event planning. Planning large entertainment events across the world would be such a FUN career! A former professor of mine does just that which is where I got the idea. But how do I get into that?

I started looking into headquarters of restaurants, resorts, golf tournaments, retail stores, travel agencies, and every other headquarters in between that could possibly get me to that overall goal. (I’m pretty sure once I move to Phoenix, every agency will know who Britni Freiboth is because they all have my resume!)

But then I started thinking about my essays and what the underlying messages were that I was trying to imply. I thoroughly enjoy the satisfaction of putting others before myself in any situation. However, I delight in fighting for a good cause to raise money whether I participate in running activities, or creating my own charity events. I believe I was born to fight for those who cannot or will not fight for what is ethically right. I am a firm believer in what is popular is not always right, but what is right is not always popular, and I live my life based on influencing others to choose based on ethical values. I have a genuine, passionate, competitive, active personality, which is a deadly combination. Once I set my mind on a goal, I will achieve it no matter what obstacles fall in my way. If I can teach others or help others achieve their goals along the way, I will have succeeded.

Ideas for Lasting Relationships

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I read an article the other morning about lasting relationships, which perfectly enough, I quoted in a conversation later that day. One of my students was having a bad day, not knowing why she would just all of a sudden start crying for no apparent reason. I told her to come find me if she needed to talk. I had a sneaky suspicion, but sometimes it’s hard for people to say things out loud because it makes it real. I know that all to well from my own personal relationships. But I also know that not talking about the things on our minds, the harder it is to logically think through the madness.

She showed up in my office a few hours later. We had our initial small talk session and then I went right into what was going on. I nailed it. She was having personal problems with her boy friend, but she didn’t want to really deal with them because she cares so much for him that she kept locking the frustrations away, only to finally break down “without any apparent reason.” The ever-present, yet constantly consciously forgotten, “Love is Blind” came into full swing. Why is it that so many people try to rationalize issues that will later destroy a relationship just because they remember “the good times?” Anyway, I pulled out the listed characteristics and gave it to her straight.

When considering a “soulmate,” you better have these characteristics figured out:

What really matters in life

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I was asked to write what I would want to tell young ones I loved, if I only had two minutes to live. Since I love you all, I'll share it with you...

What really matters in life is that you take chances. Don't ever settle. Ever. You have so much to offer in this world even if you don't believe it. Find others who don't believe in themselves and make them believe that they matter. Be selfless. The more you look out for others the better you'll feel about yourself. Be humble. It's the hardest thing to do, but do it. Be the first to say you're sorry, even if it's not your fault. Make sure you spend time with family. You may not think it matters to them that you are present for a football game or choir concert, but when you aren't around any more they will appreciate the time you took to be with them. Leave a legacy that inspires others.

If you had minutes left in your life, what would you say? 

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To be good or to be bad - that is the ethical question

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Pandora current song: I Go Back, by Kenny Chesney

Ethics play a big role in every decision people make on a daily basis. They are principles and morals that govern the appropriate conduct of an individual or group. Throughout my life, I’ve been a prime target for others to harass me based on my leadership techniques. Honestly, I should be used to it, but I am also one who HATES it when others are frustrated with me. I do everything in my power to make everyone else happy before I ever care to worry about myself. Sure I get run over in the process, which is probably why I’m an easy target with my submissive personality waving the white flag.

I know a lot of you who know me are thinking, “no way is she submissive. She sticks to her opinions and no one can come close to blasting those walls down.” I never said I wasn’t stubborn. However, I also have learned to pick my battles and only stick up for issues that mean something to me or for the greater good of a community or even more, the world.

Like I said before, I always loved my sorority, but it didn’t always love me back. The ethical climate would have received low marks during certain “reins” throughout my time on campus. People in power abused it by making decisions they shouldn’t have, but also belittled those they didn’t particularly like. Sounds petty, but true. However, we see it in everyday life. Those with power or titles use it to their advantage and screw the “peons” in the process, while they gain more and more.

One semester in my sorority, I was taken aside almost every week to be down graded and nit picked for every weakness or fault. It was humiliating and frustrating. Want to know why? Well let me tell you...

Don't assume

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Pandora current song: Amber, by 311

“The challenge of leadership is coming to a common purpose from the vast differences that individuals bring to a situation. Finding the purpose, vision, and common commitments that create a ‘we’ from a group of individuals is the challenge of a community” (Exploring Leadership 139). Life throws challenges at us every move or decision we make. No one ever said it would be easy; it’s just how you deal with what life sets forth in front of you.

Gender is a black and white topic of how people are viewed. Or is it? For instance, when I first walked into our leadership class, people judged me for being 1. Being a Tri Delta and sorority girl 2. Somewhat attractive 3. Blonde and 4. Confident. A classmate of mine said exactly those words. He thought I was going to be a cocky piece of work who he wouldn’t be able to get along with because I was "one who thought she knew everything because things are always handed to me on a golden platter." Little did he know I was far from a snotty, stereotypical, sorority girl.

Higher education empowers effective leadership

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Pandora current song: Kryptonite, by 3 Doors Down

Higher education is the major developer of leaders in today’s society. Legacies are what people strive for acting as change-agents of his/her college campus as well as later in life. Social change will not happen without people striving to make a difference. One person can shock the status quo, but a group can blast through barriers while cultivating a quality environment and encouraging each other. Leadership is rooted in virtually any individual. It may take encouragement or opportunity, but I promise the “leader” bud is waiting to bloom if you let it. Leadership holds the key to transforming any project, student, campus, and community, and ultimately the world.

Effective leadership is an essential ingredient of positive social change. But what is the extent of effective leadership? Effective leadership can be defined as leadership that effects change. Duh, right? Some changes are for the better and some are not. People could argue that Hitler was a great leader as he rose to the top and got Germany to rally with him and his beliefs and they followed. After he knew he had control, he used it for destruction and we all know where that led. He caused change in thought and actions. An effective leader is one who people trust, hopefully for the betterment of the whole, who set goals and utilizes the group to achieve them.

The Difficult Lesson of Learning to Accept Differences

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Pandora current song: Variations, by David Nevue

Opposites tend to fascinate us because they add variety to life and pull us from our comfortable rut of familiarity. Opposites stretch us beyond ourselves, forcing us to broaden our horizons and provide opportunities for growth. It’s from them that we learn our most difficult lessons. They expose us to thoughts, feelings, and experiences that are foreign to us. So why don't we accept people who are "different" from us more often?

I once had a student who asked me why he did things so differently. “Will things fall slowly into place and make me the best man I can be for I have not been influenced by the words and actions of others who are unaware that they may be living the standard prepackaged life that has been put upon by them by some influence? Or am I stubborn, stupid and blind for that is how life is suppose to be lived and happiness can only be achieved not by dreaming but by doing what we should do and not what we were born to do?”

If we stay together, we survive; apart we fall.

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Pandora current song: California, by Phantom Planet

This has either been a very common motto for many companies or hidden in a purpose. Leadership coincides with many different aspects of life. The organizational and succession side of leadership has become very important and will continue in the future. “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing” (Albert Einstein). For those who do nothing, their companies, either large or small, will fail. There are many strategies for preventing this from happening including organization and succession techniques.

Since the world we live in is ever-changing and rapidly continues to advance, leaders need to be constantly rethinking what they do, what their purpose is, and best define goals and objectives. Goals are the core to any business or franchise. Without them, there is no basis for people to work off of. Behaviors come next followed by artifacts and symbols. The organizational handout explains that shared basic assumptions that a group learned as it solved its problems and have worked well together, need to teach new members the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems, or even successes in other cases.