Being a Good Neighbor

This semester, I'm enrolled in Beginner Social Dance at UT. While some dance classes focus on choreographed sets, impressive solo techniques, or competition, social dancing is a conduit for socializing. In beginner dancing, you establish a dedicated lead and a follow, where the lead suggests, through motion, moves for the follow to do, and the follow can in turn suggest style and motion to the lead, though it may be more subtle. Dances are typically established with a "basic", which is a short repetitive motion done to the beat of the music, and other moves which are executed from the basic on the same count. In some more involved dances, like the rotary waltz, it's common to do only the basic, so you can talk while you dance. While you can take liberties in the dances, there are general guidelines to being a fun person to dance with. To be a cooperative dancer, you should be receptive to your partner's movements and style, while also being active and energetic. If you dance too erratically, it's hard to cooperate, but if you're lethargic or passive, it's boring and a bit anti-social.

I think this mindset can be applied to many other things. If you are cooperating on work, you should be communicative, which means justifying yourself clearly and obviously, while also actively engaging in the work and doing your part not to lose pace. Being a good work-out partner means encouraging strong effort, but if you're unperceptive to your partner, you can be unhelpful, or worse, you can encourage injury. Most roommates appreciate somebody who cleans regularly, but regularly re-arranging the kitchen or living room can be overwhelming or intrusive. If you are an online persona, you should be mindful of your viewers and followers, while also producing novel and interesting content. This combination- being active, driving, and engaging, while not being self-centered or uncooperative, is to me the essence of being a good partner or "neighbor".