What’s up, y’all. Here I am on another lazy sunday waiting for the Super Bowl to come on in a few hours. It’s weird that the big game comes on at 3pm out here. It just doesn’t seem right to watch the Super Bowl when there’s still sun outside. Speaking of lazy sunday, have you guys seen the Saturday Night Live “Lazy Sunday” video? If not, you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=zLElfJ9YCh0 …that joint had me dying!!!

Now on to the rest of the entry…work is really creeping up on me this quarter. I definitely underestimated how much work my classes would require and I’m feeling the effects now. I thought I’d picked out a schedule with some fun classes that would both teach me a lot but wouldn’t have me scrambling to get everything done. Boy, did I have that wrong. Who would have thought that a Sports Business Management class would have a lot of work? I was expecting to sit back and hear some great speakers (which has happened), but I didn’t think there’d be so many cold-calls and hand-in assignments. And, going into my Competition & Strategy course, I simply thought it would be full of games because it’s basically a class on how game theory applies to business situations…whew, the preparation problem sets and readings caught me by surprise. I guess this goes to show that you can never really expect to lounge around academically when you’re in business school.

You guys will probalby get tired of hearing about my Touchy Feely class by the end of this quarter, but I just can’t help writing about it…it is really making me see all kinds of interactions with people in a different way. I’ve always prided myself on having good people skills, but I’m now realizing that good people skills don’t necessarily equate to good communications skills. There are many instances where people “go over the net” and make assumptions and determinations of what is going on in other people’s minds, which leads to a ton of disagreements and miscommunications. One of the biggest lessons we’ve learned so far is that there are three parts to communication: what is going on in your head, what actions are taking place between you and the other person, and what’s going on in the other person’s head. You are only an expert at the first two because only you know how someone’s actions affect your thoughts and feelings, but most people try to be experts at the third part, which is impossible because we all aren’t mindreaders. I know it seems like a simple concept, but, since learning that, I’ve tried to change the way I think during interactions with people and it’s made a world of difference. Also, I’ve begun to pick up on when other people try to be experts at all three parts of communication and have seen how it can cause problems. This may seem like a simple idea to y’all, but I believe it’ll help me tremendously as I move along in my career. If any of you are fortunate enough to be able to take a class in Interpersonal Dynamics or one that uses “T-group” learning, I’d highly recommend that you enroll in it and take it seriously.

One last thing before I close this entry out…Recently, I had a former associate accuse me of writing in this blog to further some sort of personal agenda or gain fame in the MBA World. This shocked me because I would say that I’ve gotten more flack than acclaim for some of my entries (espcially the ones describing how I got beat down in my on-campus internship search last year). I’ve been keeping this thing going for so long because I figured that people would find these stories helpful as they approach and go through their B-school journey. Anyways, the following is an excerpt from an email that a reader sent that had me floored when I read it. Messages like this are exactly why I keep at this blogging thing…I hope you guys continue to enjoy reading the things I have to say on here. Shout out to Ladetra for sending me this message.

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“Hey Marquis,

I know that you don’t know me and I don’t know you really, but I feel like I know you from reading your MBA Blog. We have a few things in common, I too am African American, grew up on the East Coast-I’m from South Carolina, I also have 2 sisters, and I am an MBA student. I discovered the MBA Blog website maybe a month ago and have read all of your entries and past entries. I am really inspired by the things that you have experienced. You have a great ability to tell a really good story! I look forward to reading your posts and I check on a daily basis to see if you have written anything new. Your entries have inspired me to study harder, to travel abroad(I have never traveled past Louisiana or past Virginia, I know that is awful, right?!) and I have even started tutoring students in Accounting. This is all from reading your Blog. Reading your posts makes me want to do better in all aspects of my life…

Anyway, reading your Blog has given me the heads up as far as what to expect when i do start taking my Core classes next semester. I hope that you continue to post entries to your Blog because I really enjoy reading them and look forward to the things that you will do next. I feel like I know you just by reading your posts and I can tell that you are someone who “keeps it real” and is still intelligent, has morals, is a go getter and a natural leader…Anyway, I just had to contact you and let you know that you should keep your Blog going, even after you graduate. Because I and I’m sure a lot of others consider you a “friend” and would love to read about the next chapter(s) in your life.

Sincerely,
Ladetra

PS. I’m sorry that I am rambling in this letter, but I just wanted to let you know that even though you may have thought that your Blog was something that maybe people would read and get some info from but not to change anyone’s life and you have changed mine in little but major ways. Just know that God uses all of us for His Purpose.”