Jason Liebson

One particularly sad moment in my life was something I did that affected other

people. I don’t quite remember doing this, but I have heard the story more times than not

that I can explain what happened. I was about six years old when my grandmother

passed away. I was very close with her; she taught me how to play piano. We were

riding in my mom’s purple Mercedes when I said, “Mom? I miss Grammy”. From what

I know about the situation, my parents broke down. Using the principles of

communication, we understand why that was a sad situation. Kids usually say ridiculous

things, or give messages that contain a bit of ambiguity. This message was ambiguous,

but because of the context, it was clear I was talking about my grandma and not the

award show. It was also powerful because it created a connection with my parents. Our

textbook says, “Interpersonal communication helps you to relate” (19), which in this case

was true, just not in a very uplifting way. It made my parents realize that I was capable

of accessing a much deeper feeling level, even though I was only six at the time. There

was no psychological noise; my parents listen to me without preconceived thought (14).