Now that I get to sit down to it

This has been on and off my mind for the last week. At the MCIA retreat, the following question was posed to me: "what has changed on MCIA and what has stayed the same?" This was a very difficult answer for me to fully articulate without prior consideration. I have been around for a large portion of the first three years of MCIA's existence and, more or less, the whole time the following years up to this point and could only think of one thing that has consistantly stayed the same since the teams start. As a disclaimer, I must admit that I am one who values change over tradition. There are small personal traditions I tend to cling to, but I don't do it with much struggle or affect. If something is meant to stay in place, it will. Change has proven a very good thing for MCIA in my opinion and I have conciously noticed the changes for the better that the team makes while not giving much thought to any traditions or patterns that have weathered time.

In terms of unchanging, I claimed to have only noticed one thing to last since MCIA's Alpha year. That is class attitude or mindset. I asserted to have noticed that certain class mindsets remain with most if not all members of a given class and are minimally influenced by the later classes. I actaully think this assumption somewhat uninformed and even unfair. It was the only thing that came to mind and only few people I can think of fit this criteria. I mean to rescind this answer if it is brought up again.

I can think of one small thing that has lasted from start to finish, but I beleive it to be most important. Every year, there is at least one person on MCIA that has this burning passion for the team that is difficult to match. They are usually cabinit members, but not always. These people have gone to great lengths and sacrifice for the team to keep it together and happy. Though drama is unavoidable, these people have done much to difuse it or end it ASAP. They are always apart of or actually initiating team outings and their dedication has never even been thought of to be questioned (ex:will they audition for someone else). Heros exist on MCIA and we have them every year, they are a big part of what has been holding the team together since its inception.

Other than that, the zeta team is vastly different from that from the Alpha and I think its wonderful. Many changes have occured and many of those changes have become unchanging traditions that have served as positive aspects of the MCIA experiance. I want MCIA to keep changing as time draws on, but I also do not want them to lose sight of where they came from.

KEEP UP ON THAT BOOK GUYS!!!