Personal Updates

CATEGORY: SOCIAL
LEVEL: FOUNDATIONS

Why:

We're all curious about our peers. With a little structure and a safe space, we can use this curiosity to learn and connect more deeply.

Warm-Up:

When people say "how are you?," what do you usually say? Do you tend to say how you really are?

Exploration:

If you think about it, when someone says "how are you", how often do you expect an honest answer? Instead of an automatic response like "I'm good", what if you want to share how you really are? Here are a few ways to test this out together, since we all tend to be curious about each other's actual feelings and lives. You could share your "High and Low" from the past week, with detail. Or you could share how three key domains of life are going: School, Home, and Friends. What's happening in each? Try giving each person a full minute or more to share a deep update in this way.

Additional Resources

There are many other prompts aiming to help people open up and share more descriptive or introspective updates about their lives. Another popular one is the "Rose and Thorn", inviting students to share one "Rose" (a good thing happening in their lives) and one "Thorn" (a challenge or struggle). Some people add on a "Bud", something that you're curious about or would like to explore more. See this activity plan from Mindful Schools for more detail:
https://www.mindfulschools.org/inspiration/mindful-reflection/