Blog Post #1

     After reading the required texts for the past two weeks in our book Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction, by John T. Warren and Deanna L. Fassett, I can definitely say that there were a few different things that stood out to me in the readings in particular. That being said, I found that there were  particular sentences and ideas discussed in the chapter that I would like to expand on for this blog post.
     The concept is hearing vs. listening and the sentences were, "In general, hearing is physiological experience in which sound waves vibrate our eardrums. We usually ignore these sounds and take them for granted. We therefore take hearing to be a passive act..."(Warren et.al 64).  I found this interesting because it got me thinking about what I truly LISTEN to and all the noises and sounds that are so easily bypassed every day. This also led me to think about how hard it would be to practice active listening in every class. Because I am a student, I think about it this way because I can relate to it most in that sense, or maybe even in a social sense. But, even when I graduate from school, this process of active listening and not just "hearing" someone, will most likely continue. Although this can be frustrating it is almost comforting to know that most people struggle with this. As we talked about in class, there are ways to improve this subconscious "trait", but active listening also takes a lot of energy. If I tried to actively listen the entire class every class I had during the day, I would leave absolutely exhausted. Although this may just seem like an everyday process, the chapter also explains the other types of listening, which further complicates the act of what were think is just simply "hearing". I also thought about all the different sounds we hear everyday, and the ones we choose to make important. I wonder if what I choose to "listen to" is different from others as well.

     I found this whole chapter to be extremely informative regarding active listening and the differences between listening and hearing. After reading this I feel that I am more aware of when I am simply "hearing" something I should be "listening" to, which I know will be helpful as I get into higher level classes and eventually in my career.