It's the Final Countdown...

My journey here, at the VCU and in this course is about to end. It is sad. I admit it. But let’s face it, the final stage of a group life, adjourning, is about to happen and I cannot do anything about it, it is a planned ending. I knew it when I came here, but as all the ends, this end just came too suddenly. Time has flown fast, too fast. As Levi (2007, 40) points out, “The adjourning stage can be stressful to team members because they are ending the social relations that they have developed.”  However, even though I’m wistful, I feel blessed. I can’t even put it into words how amazing this whole experience has been. It has most definitely been a great opportunity for me to learn; learn things about myself and things how I really can be a member of a successful team.

This will be my last post. In the summary I will use Levi’s (2007, p.4) words to describe my reflections and feelings about group dynamics: “The people in a team are connected to one another. They recognize this connection, and it binds them together so that they collectively share what happens to fellow group members. Team members interact with one another where communication is the central process of a team. The people in a team recognize and acknowledge their membership. Formal and informal rules and roles of the group control the interactions of group members. The people in a team influence one another, and the desire to remain in the team increases the potential for mutual influence. Finally, a team satisfies members’ physical and psychological needs, such that individuals are motivates to continue participation.”

For the paradoxes of group life I will refer to Smith and Berg (1997, 152): "Circles. One cannot escape the feeling that an exploration of paradox is like walking in circles. It is hard to know where you have come from and where you are going. But the more one lives with a paradoxical perspective, the more one develops a tolerance for circles and for the places where two apparently contradictory paths join."

Finally, I want to say something of my own: “This learning journey is about to end. But it will stay with me. I have learned what opposite forces are, they are paradoxes. My paradox is that this trip has faced its end but it means something new will begin. Paradoxes can also be like circles. My circle is that after this life experience I will travel this circle again even though the circle will be different. I will have this experience with in my new circle and it makes it different. It’s called learning and development. I know that I have travelled many circles before this but this circle is special. It has been rich, sunny, energetic, fruitfully, and colorful. It has painted my world view and it will stay in my heart for the rest of my life. The End.”