# data[].attributes.body
During the weekend I chose to do exercise 1. I did really well on the exercise. Perhaps this is due to our generation being the best at multitasking. Even so I found that focusing on one task I preformed better and payed more attention then usual. However listening to music while doing homework seems to be pretty natural to me and I rarely ever mess up because of the background.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the exercise where you turn the volume down on the TV, when there are other noises in the background. It didn't go so well for me. I struggled to still listen to the TV, because all the noises in the background threw me off. This didn't surprise me because in the past I've had this happen where my sisters were being very loud in the kitchen while I was watching TV, so I turned the volume up so I could hear the TV. I found value in this exercise because it made me realize that it is very hard for some people to concentrate on something that is quieter when there are louder noises going on in the background. From this exercise I will work on not getting distracted and trying to stay focused on what I was already doing.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose to do the 1st exercise. It went better than expected. I expected nothing to happen, but I ended up really enjoying the experience. I was surprised that it actually worked. I listened carefully and I could really understand what the characters were saying. This taught me that I don't always have to change things I don't like, sometimes I can just focus hard on it
and it will help me out and become easier.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the first exercise this weekend. It was very annoying to not be able to turn up the sound on the TV. I did it for about two episodes of TV. I think towards the end it got easier for me. At the beginning I was very angry because I couldn’t hear what the TV was saying. But towards the end, I was able to hear a little bit better. It could have been because my family got quieter without me noticing. Or it could have been because I was able focus on the sound better after an hour of doing it.

# data[].attributes.body
Over the weekend I participated in the first exercise. I found this experience to be very challenging while at the same time interesting. The exercise was to turn down the tv just when you want to turn it up with noise in the background. The point being to hone your auditory skills in a noisy situation. At first I was tempted to turn the tv volume louder, then after about 5 minutes I was able to concentrate more on the tv and block out the distractions. This activity applies to everyday listening because you may not be focused when someone is talking but you have to listen. The tv exercise helps you focus in loud hard situations.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose to complete the second activity. This activity consisted of doing something you didn't like, or talking to someone you usually wouldn't talk to. I decided to talk to some people I usually wouldn't have talked to, and I really enjoyed it. I found a lot of value in this exercise and realized that we are too quick to judge people and set up stereotypes/expectations. I will apply this activity to my everyday life by being more open to talking with others, and will use it to make more friends.

# data[].attributes.body
I tried the exercise where I don't talk about myself but focus on others. It went as I expected. I learned a lot about the people who I talked too. Over the weekend my parents went to help my sister move in at college so my grandma came in town to take care of me for the weekend. I learned so much about her and heard so many stories that I otherwise wouldn't have heard.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the exercise in which you turn down the volume on the TV. At first, it was very annoying trying to hear everything, especially because construction is being done outside on my street. One thing I did to help was I turned on closed captions so that I could at least read all the words and still know what was happening in the show. However, after I just listened for a few minutes with the volume down, my ears began to adjust to the low volume and sort of tuned out the sound of the construction work.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the first of Shafir's nine exercises. the exercises accord as I thought it would but also with some extra comity. I needed to watch TV and turn the volume down whenever i wanted it turned up. As I was watching other noises accord around my house such as vacuuming. when these noises accord I turned the volume down. after two minutes I had accidentally turned the volume all the way down. I had troble paying attention to the video. I found value in practicing listening to something while hearing other noises.

# data[].attributes.body
My exercise that I did was focusing on one of their good qualities. When I did this, it went as I excepted it to go. I I found that the person wasn't as bad as I thought, I was just too focused on negative aspects of this person. I enjoyed this exercise because now I can go up to any person. I can go up to them with an open mind because of this exercise.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose the exercise in which I had to turn my negative thoughts about myself or others into positive thoughts. I was able to listen to myself when I told myself to make my thoughts positive. Making my thoughts positive helped me to be more open minded about situations. I was able to have more patience, as I was no longer looking on the negative side of things. This went as expected for me. I thought it would make me have a better mindset and attitude, and it did so. I will now know to change my negative thoughts into positive ones.

# data[].attributes.body
3. I asked more questions than I usually do and I let the other people talk when I was hanging with friends. I learned a lot more about my friends than I thought I knew. It really let me dive deep into my friend's lives and see why they act how they act. It really made me feel more connected with my friends.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose the fifth exercise where I needed to keep my negative feelings about myself or others away. This wasn't a very hard exercise because all I needed to do was be positive. When I wanted to think something bad about myself or someone else, I thought of the positive things about them which lead me to make better and more thought out decisions.

# data[].attributes.body
I did exercise number three which was to have a conversation with someone and let them do most of the talking. While I did the exercise I learned that I do sometimes start to pay less attention to the person who is talking as time passes. At times I felt the need to look around or think about something else but I tried to make sure that I was listening closely and being attentive. I did find that after I was done talking to my friend that I hadn't seen in a while that I did learn a lot about her. Since I asked her more questions than usual and let her do most of the talking it gave me a chance to really listen to what she was saying and learn more about her.

# data[].attributes.body
I chose to do activity 1, and normally at night I listen to the radio, so having it turned down really made me strain my listening. I can see the real world connection because it makes one have to really pay attention to what is being said rather than other louder background noises.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the first exercise  where you turn down the volume on the tv and try to concentrate on what they're saying. I struggled with trying to concentrate just on the tv and not on my surroundings. This did not surprise me because I knew that I would have trouble concentrating just on the tv because the volume was so low. I think this is still a good exercise to practice because it helps you focus on one thing and not get distracted by other noises or distractions.

# data[].attributes.body
This weekend I did the first exercise. When I felt like turning the volume up on my TV, I turned it down. A dog was barking outside, and there were landscapers outside doing something that was pretty noisy. However, I focused on what the person on TV was saying, and I completed the exercise. I thought that the exercise went as expected, although it was a bit hard at first. I was surprised at how when I finally got it down, it seemed almost effortless to tune out the other noises. I feel as if this exercise was well thought out, and I may use this exercise when trying to focus on work.

# data[].attributes.body
This weekend I tried number five, which was to change your negative thoughts to positive ones. At first I thought the exercise would change my state of mind, but I hadn't really experienced any changes. I felt more or less the same, however I do believe that this exercise would help if you had to work with someone you're not too fond of. It would help distract you from the person, and focus on the project itself.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the exercise which you had to turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. I found that I was less frustrated when I wasn't thinking negatively. I expected this to happen, but I didn't expect the results to happen so quickly. I did find value in this exercise, I think it could help people be happier. I think I will try to use this in my life so I can be a more positive person overall.

# data[].attributes.body
The exercise that I did was the one were when having a conversation with someone, you had to try to keep stuff away from you, and ask about them more. I think it did and did not go as expected, because the results were cool, but the "flow" of the conversation went a predicted. The thing that really surprised me was hoe long the conversation continued, and how it seemed to have much more value to it. I did find value in the exercise, because it helped create a more valuable and engaging conversation. From this exercise, I an in the future try to keep conversation away from me, so that way I can learn about others, and listen ti what they have to say.

# data[].attributes.body
I as I attempted to do the exercise number five, I was shocked at how often not only myself but everyone thinks negatively of themselves.  It felt weird trying purposely not to think or say one negative thing about myself.  I did find value in the exercise because I think turning all my negative thoughts into positive ones is good for my mental health and I think I will continue to try to do the challenge. I think it would make me, like many other people, a happier person to not think negatively of themselves.

# data[].attributes.body
For one of Shafir's listening activities I decided to try and always think positively instead of negatively. When practicing doing this over the weekend, it went really well. It surprised me that just telling myself to think positively actually worked. It also surprised me how much better my day went when I thought positively. I found lots of value from the exercise, seeing how your way of thinking really affects you. I can take what I learned from this exercise and apply it to my every day life in school. If I am worried about a test or assignment, thinking positively can help me to stay focused and perform better. Also thinking positively can make my days better in general.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the exercise that said to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. I liked this exercise because being positive made me happier in general.  It felt good to be able to think differently and helped improve my day. I was surprised that just telling myself to be positive actually resulted in being positive. Also, this helped me focus on my math homework. This weekend, I was really stressed about a math quiz I had and was thinking that I wouldn't do well and I couldn't do any of the work. I realized that once I calm down and think about the situation, it helps me do the work and focus better.

# data[].attributes.body
I did the 5th exercise and it went well. I felt happier and refreshed. The exercise went as expected I thought it would make me feel better and it did. It surprised me how easy it was to do. I found value in this because I felt more positive and I enjoyed my weekend more. I'm going to try and replace more negative thoughts with positive ones so I'll be a more happy person. I think this helped me think more positively and focus more on the good rather than the bad.

# data[].attributes.body
For my Shafir's listening experiment i did the one with the tv a low and you had other loud noises distracting you while you had to focus on what the actors were saying. This experiment was very challenging at first because it was hard to hear what they were saying but as i did it more i eventually got good at blocking out all other distractions and really trying hard to focus on the actors. I did find value in doing this experiment overall i think it helped me with selectively listening to the speaker and really focus on what they are saying.

# data[].attributes.body
I attempted Shafir's third listening exercise and I found that as I went on with the exercise it got harder for me to let the other person talk as the other person was my mom and wanted to know more about me. Even though I had a hard time completing the listening exercise, I still got a lot out of it and made it my goal to be the listener. This didn't go as expected because I had never done the exercise before, and I thought it would come more naturally than it was. I can apply this to my own life by in general, letting others talk more than me.