Throughout my life I had been an introvert. I was not very out going and had limited friends. After repeated criticism by my parents and friends I gave up the quality and adopted a new attitude towards other people. I started socializing more and people started to get me know better. It was then, I realized the importance of networking.
When I first came to know that the next assignment was related to socializing and networking, I saw it as a great opportunity to make new friends. Till about a week ago I didn't know my next door neighbor. As of today I know a lot about him. He is a computer science major and is from california. Originally he is from china but moved to USA when he was two years old. He is not very good at physics and math but already knows most of the computer science course (programming, coding, software development etc.). He can easily get a good job with his knowledge. We decided that I will help him with math and physics and in return he will teach me coding and programming, but our relationship is not limited to give and take. We have become good friends and it might be possible that I go to his house during the thanksgiving break.
I feel that networking and socializing are very important for a person's development. It is all about taking an initiative and getting to know people for their as well as your benefit.
Going from an introvert to an outgoing person is a very big change. What made you want to change? How else are you going to go about and change more, if you want to change more (meeting new people, joining clubs etc)? Does your networking end at just meeting people so similarly related to you or do you plan on expanding further by meeting people in different majors, or getting closer to your professors and TA's?
ReplyDeleteCalling yourself an introvert and to completely changing that is pretty exciting, was coming to uiuc the only reason you changed from being an introvert? Have you joined any organizations besides iefx? What would say is the greatest benefit of your networking?
ReplyDeleteHas talking to your neighbor opened the door to even more networks previously unseen? Do you still have trouble with introvertism? Have you tried extending this to the rest of your floor?
ReplyDeleteThe world is run by people. If you want to get anywhere in this world you better start figuring people out. Being an introvert shouldn't impact your ability to meet people, communicate, and share ideas.
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