$JES 983 Being Jain In College An Experiential Guide 2nd Edition

Author(s): Sonali Vakharia
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

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MEETING PEOPLE
things to help me "learn and improve myself." What I found out later, when I got a little smarter, was that she was telling me these things so I wouldn't befriend these other people and would become more attached to her as a friend. How twisted is that?
So, you have at least four years to make mistakes and to learn from them. In this time, you will find that not everyone is as equally trustworthy as you or as you'd like them to be...and, you'll also find that they are not always what they come off as at face value. Just remember that you have to take in the good with the bad, but you always have a choice and no one can take that away from you. In other words, it's important to trust people, but wait until you get to know their personalities and intentions before trusting them completely. From doing this, I have been able to filter out and keep the best people possible in my life! If you're not really sure, just go with your gut feeling. It's a big world out there, and I want you to be smart and learn from my mistakes.
Taking Time for Self On another note, you don't have to be extremely social if you don't want to be. It's good to embrace the introverted side of yourself and make time to be alone. Some of the world's greatest thinkers were introverted and managed to make the largest impact on the world, including: Gandhi, Sir Isaac Newton, and Rosa Parks. To get an idea of how much you can gain from getting in touch with your introverted side, check out American writer and lecturer Susan Cain's TED Talk on "The Power of Introverts": TED talks are a global set of conferences which aim to spread ideas by using short yet powerful talks. Link is:
www.ted.com/talks/susan cain the power of introverts.html
or you can also read her book Quiet: The Power of Introverts. Building social skills, experiencing new things, and finding time for yourself all help you grow in different ways. Do you want to be a person who is very sociable, but who has trouble finding comfort in your aloneness or finding value in other things and vice versa? I think we can all agree the balanced choice of being both an outstanding personality and mentally aligned would be ideal. You can create that balance!
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BEING JAIN IN COLLEGE