2nd Day of Class

It's only the second day of class and I already really feel a special connection with the girls that are here. Not just the girls in my class, but all over Harkness Hall. I even met girls from Marcy (Abby and Kara). There is such a positive vibe from everyone in Providence. I meet people just walking down the street or seeing them in a dining hall. I met Abby on a random college tour, and I met Kara at Starbucks. At first, the idea of coming to Summer at Brown with so many people felt socially intimidating but to be completely honest, people here are so much more friendly than in California. People take care of each other. There is absolutely no drama. When I'm with friends and we see anyone by themselves we always ask them if they want to join us. That's pretty much how you make friends here. That sense of unity and just general kindness is something that I definitely want to take back to the West Coast with me.
I think today's class was crucial to all of our development as leaders. Today we really focused on listening. We learned about how to be a good listener and how to train yourself to be the kind of person that people will want to talk to. We really learned the importance of body language. For our listening exercise I was paired up with Alli. We were asked to share difficult experiences with each other and to really try to listen. She is so sweet. The only thing we had to do for the exercise was to just try to show the person we are listening by using our body language. Allli actually hugged me after we talked. She is definitely the kind of person that anyone would be lucky to have in their lives.
Starbucks is pretty much the place to go right before class and we always come in with something new and end up having everyone try whatever is good. Today as we started filtering in after lunch, we laid on the floor in a circle and shared some really interesting and very personal facts. It was hysterically funny.
Dean Robin Rose came in to talk to us about all things regarding listening and negotiating. She was extremely helpful and chill. I really hope she comes back at some point to talk with our class.
I just got back from the mall and I am really thoroughly enjoying myself here. We have a lot of reading and homework, but the joy of class is so worth it. Speaking of homework, that is precisely what I should be doing right now. Adios!