affirmative

Today in theology class we went over answers to some of the test-review questions and...at some basic level I don't follow how the instructor gets from his questions to his answers. It's not like my answers would be wrong (I don't think?), but it seems like I'm usually way off target compared to the answer he is looking for. Part of the problem is that I have arguments with several of the overarching theses of the book, so when I say "my answers" I don't mean my personal answers, but rather my attempt at formulating the answer he's looking for...basically it's an open-book pre-test and I'm still not getting to the right place. Hmm.

On a possibly-related note, today in the communicating course, I'm supposed to write what I'm afraid of, communications-wise, and "turn it into an affirmation." Like if I think I'm too critical my affirmation would be "My feedback is always positive and helpful!" Here goes?

I share my thoughts openly and fluently, and people listen when I speak. I choose my words and tone with care. I can talk about group dynamics without resorting to gossip, and my feedback is positive and helpful.

Well. That would be nice. It all sounds so serious, though. Do Buddhist communicators get to be funny? Because humor is something I'd have a hard time giving up. Though it's also clearly something I use as a crutch to compensate for my extreme social awkwardness, so if I really could share my thoughts openly and fluently, maybe I wouldn't need to be funny? I suspect I have problems that are beyond the scope of this course. Which isn't to say it won't be useful; every little step in the right direction helps!