Blog Entry #5

    When I came to James Madison University, I did not know my roommate, nor my hall mates.  They were going to be the people that I socialized with for at least the first few weeks at school so I needed to get to know them.  As each day went by, especially during FROG week, we started to interact more and more.  We went to the gym together, ate meals together, went out together, and walked around campus together.  You could probably see that we were Freshman from a mile away-we always traveled in a large group.  Well, those same people who I lived with Freshman year, those people that I did not know before coming into college, are currently my best friends and roommates.  Being a junior, I have been friends with them for three years and our friendship just keeps getting stronger.  This is an example of the propinquity effect.  The more we interacted with each other, the more likely we became friends and are still friends.
    Over the summer, I lifeguard at a camp for kids with disabilities such as downs syndrome, autism, and ADD.  These kids not only become friends, but throughout the summer, they become like family.  You learn how they take each day and live it to the fullest.  They are truly the happiest people on the planet.  Over the summer, I develop this sense of altruism for them.  Because they are so inspirational and positive, even when they are severely disabled, it makes me want to help them as much as I can no matter what.  Sometimes I will go out of my way to do something for one of them or help them even if it is difficult for myself or creates a sense of uneasiness.  I develop a desire to make their life easier because they have such struggles on a daily basis.
    Lastly, when it comes to doing people favors such as giving them a ride somewhere or picking something up for them if they don't have time, depending on who it is, I sometimes expect that they would do the same thing back for me.  For example, I picked my roommate up at the library around 12:30 am the other day because she did not have a car.  It was a Tuesday and I had class early the next day but I felt bad that she would have had to wait for the bus.  I was tired but I knew that by me going out of my way to pick her up late at night showed that I was there for her and that she would hopefully do the same thing for me.  When she got in the car she did say "I owe you."  This is an example of norm of reciprocity.  Another common example is when you give a gift or receive a gift.  It is expected to give/receive one back.