¶ … personal Diary for 30 days with Day 1 group interaction The first interaction that took place was among a group of undergrad students whose quiz I was invigilating. After the quiz the class started talking amongst themselves and in order to bring some discipline to the class I initiated a discussion. The topic of the discussion was the present job market in our country. Even though the discussion was started by me, later on I mostly stayed quite; coming up with comments a few times but majorly letting the students do most of the talking. By doing this I was able to engage them in a discussion which interested them and which made them spend their time having a healthy debate about their options in the coming future.

Day 2 group interaction

On the second day I went to a retirement party being thrown by my cousins for their father. At the party I met a lot of successful businessmen in their 50s and 60s, all of them worked with my uncle. One group of gentlemen had an ongoing conversation about the current economic scenario of the country and how it will affect the trade and business market. I put in my opinion on a few matters where my opinion differed from theirs and was pleasantly surprised to notice that they welcomed my opinion as they said that youngsters always have versatile opinions which shouldn't be ignored.

Day 3 group interaction

On the third day I had 2 group interactions one in the college and one on an online blog. The topic of the discussion that took place in college was the coming vacations and how people were planning on spending them while the topic of the online blog discussion was gadgets. I frequently visit this blog as I find it to be very informative about latest gadgets and tips and tricks related to them. Today, however I took part in the discussion unlike before and conversed with the users regarding the Samsung's latest mobile S5 as, one of the users was planning on buying it and wanted to know how good it was. I shared my personal experience and supported it by giving him links to various articles and reviews that might help him in making up his mind.

Day 4 group interaction

On this day I had to go to a wedding in the family. The food at the wedding was amazing especially the wedding cake which had 3 tiers and not just looked amazing but tasted even better. I soon got to know that the woman who made the cake was also at the wedding. I went to her and complimented her on the cake and got into a discussion with her. It was there that I found out that she worked from her home and had a small setup which she started after the death of her husband to help herself financially.

Day 5 group interaction

I went to an organic food stall that is arranged at a nearby super store every month. There I saw many people standing at one stall. I went to see what they doing there, upon asking a group of customers Iwas told that the stall is famous for live baking and making the bakery items there and then as they are ordered by the customers. I asked them about the hygienic standards and food quality and they assured me it was really good and upon their suggestion I tried a few of their breads and bought some too.

Day 6 group interaction

On the sixth day I had to assist my professor in one of the classes during final presentations. I went into the class 5 minutes before the class started and made sure the students were familiar with the rules. I informed them about the allotted time for presentation, asking questions etc. I collected their reports beforehand. Also, during the presentation I would inform the presenting group 2 minutes prior to their allotted time ending so that they could mention the important things.

Day 7 group interaction

I attended a seminar based on the financial policies being implemented by the government. Here, I made sure that I had a notepad to take notes and note any questions I might have. I waited until the end of the seminar to ask my questions and to give the suggestions.

Day 8 group interaction

I went to a friend's place and started a discussion regarding our racist attitude towards a lot of minorities like Muslims, African-Americans etc. One of my friends who is a Muslim had a number of racist experiences that he told us. I patiently...

Somehow we ended up talking about the rules that prohibit drunken driving. Majority of us agreed that it is for our own good but I was surprised to find that there were people who believed that the rules are very strict and the authorities need to loosen them up a bit. Even though I disagreed with them completely I let them finish first and then added my opinion at the end.
Day 10 group interaction

Being a teaching assistant I held a tutorial for the students of 3rd year as their finals were approaching and they had questions regarding few of the topics. In the very beginning of the tutorial I informed the students not to talk to each other, take notes and ask questions at the end of discussion. Afterwards I listened to their questions patiently and answered them all.

Day 11 group interaction

Today, the whole family was gathered on the Christmas Eve at my parents place. And as expected I was the center of attention, being asked how my job was going and what I planned to do further. Unlike the previous times when I would get annoyed about these personal questions, I listened to them all and patiently answered them with appropriate responses.

Day 12 group interaction

On Christmas day the house was full of family and friends all having a good time. When it was time to open the gifts I sat with my nephews and nieces and helped them in opening the gifts. I further encouraged them to go to the people who gave them the gifts and thank them. Later on, I gave them sweets and made sure that they knew these treats were for their good behavior so that they would get encouraged.

Day 13 group interaction

I went for a walk with a couple of friends and we talked about different things. Today, rather than coming up with some particular topic we discussed the general happenings of life, asking my friends what is going on with them and telling them about my everyday activities.

Day 14 group interaction

Because the weather seemed much better today my family decided to have BBQ on the patio. I helped my younger brother in setting up the grill by first giving him verbal instructions and then guiding him only when he felt stuck. Otherwise, I let him figure out on his own.

Day 15 group interaction

It was a very relaxing day. I went to a book club and discussed one of my favorite books "Pride and Prejudice." I participated in the discussion and listened to the point-of-view of others on the book. I waited for them to completely state their views before stating mine rather than cutting them in the middle of a sentence which not only seems very rude but also breaks the flow of the conversation.

Day 16 group interaction 29

With New Year's approaching people were busy making plans for the coming year and taking advantage of so many sales. I went for shopping as well and got confused between 2 pairs of boots. However, upon consulting the salesperson, which was very helpful, I was able to make my decision more easily. I told him about my requirements, my dressing style and keeping those in mind he told me which would better suit me.

Day 17 group interaction

The whole family was planning on eating out but we couldn't decide where to go as everyone wanted to have something different. After listening to everyone's suggestions and theirinability to come up with a decision I suggested a couple of places which had either multiple restaurants in them which served various cuisines or buffet where everyone can find something they like. At the end we decided to go for buffet.

Day 18 group interaction

It's the New Year's Eve and everyone is really existed about the coming year. Everyone is busy thinking about their new year's resolutions but I can't make up my mind. Therefore, in order to makeup my mind I decide to take help from others around me. I listen to their resolutions and while listening to theirs' intently I suddenly realize what I want mine to be. I decided that my new year's resolutions will be, "To work more on my listening skills" as, in the last few days I have noticed how much they…