Change has come...

This experience has taught me that: You CAN change your current reality by reaching back, stepping forward and embracing who YOU are TODAY.


Looking over my blog also took longer than I had expected but it was really nice to see that I have indeed changed over span of the semester. I think I am more myself than I was at the beginning of this journey. I feel proud of taking this class seriously but also surrendering myself to this process of learning and leading. My favorite blog entry was creating your own family. I look at them often and I am certain that if they knew me they would be as supportive as I imagine they are. It really allowed me to express myself in a positive and constructive manner about who I am and what I have to offer to the world. Here is to you Cesar Chavez, Beverly Cleary, Jock Soto and the Hug Guy!!!

The Manifestation:
I have grown in many ways. As a student, I feel more confident with my skills of time management, dedication and comprehension. I recognize that this type of class setting will be rare in my learning but appreciate it nonetheless. I felt like a sponge trying to absorb as much as was possible from not only Dr. R. but also classmates, TA’s, guests, films and anyone who was willing to share their story to shape mine.

As a leader, I feel that I have grown by developing and recognizing my gifts of leading. I have gone from a woman who is scared of everything to a woman that knows what she wants and can plan to achieve it. In this class we established that a leader is someone that recognizes their strengths but also their weaknesses. More importantly, a leader can create a sense of purposefulness for assembly. That is where my path is leading me. I have this urge to assemble people and share with them what I have gone through so that they learn and take from it what will best help them to achieve their own success.

One of my greatest hurdles has been to overcome living for everyone but me. Now I want to lead a life of authenticity, integrity and goal attainment. I have slowly started to take my life back from no one in particular to anyone that would take it back to its rightful owner. I feel empowered, energized and excited about what is to come.

Everyone in the class I encountered who I spoke to about my goal, touchstone and steps was very receptive, encouraging and often helped with strategizing my next step. I learned that I do not have to be perfect all the time and that the best I can be is more than enough :) This one is a bit hard to mentally accept at times.


My thinking has definitely changed since the beginning of this course. I practice quite a lot of self talk now. I get overwhelmed a bit easily but I just need to refocus, confirm to myself that I can handle whatever comes my way, take a deep breath and take action. I see myself as person that is making strides to betterment and with that will come mistakes. I now see mistakes as learning opportunities and I know that I will not die if I make a mistake. Yes, it is uncomfortable and embarrassing to make a mistake but everyone makes them and how you handle yourself in a mistake speaks a lot about you as a person.

In regards to the future, I can’t wait for tomorrow to come but don’t get me wrong. I try to maximize my days and squeeze them when they need to be squeezed but let them flow when they need to flow. I have found a sense of calmness and have given myself permission to live and plan for my future. When I was younger I couldn’t see my future and therefore assumed that there was nothing really that I was going to be doing in it let alone creating it.

I truly think that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to. I have heard this said by a lot of people many times before but didn’t put too much thought into because I usually saw my successes as flukes instead of acknowledging all the work that I had put into them. I know now that all of this takes time, hard work and persistence. So I guess goal attainment does not just happen to others-I used to think it came so easily to everyone else.

BLOGGING!!!!! I like it but it is very time consuming. Looking back on it I am amazed at all that I have written. I really enjoy it and is such a great way to stay connected with friends and family (my brother from Seattle followed my blog). Like I mentioned before, risk taking has been a more active and intentional act. I have started to attend events(social gatherings/movie screenings) on my own. If friends don’t want to for whatever reason, I still go. This is scary but I am very proud of my new found independence and I am much happier.

3 wonderful things...

I really enjoyed the exploration activities at the beginning. I think they really get at what ones passion is but also take it a step further (what about doing that activity did you really like). I really enjoyed blogging for reasons I mentioned above but also because you can be creative with it. You can express your creativity from the writing style to the design of the actual page. I very much enjoyed Bell Hooks. Her book was intriguing, truthful and hard to read at times from the very first chapter all the way to the end. She wrote about LOVE in such a different manner than I was used to reading about LOVE. It really put up a mirror both at my physical self and my emotional self. Loved it!

Bonus: Success teams-Great! Rotating success teams-Fabulous!!!

3 not so wonderful things...

Some weeks the homework, reading and blogging all seemed a bit much to do and turn in on time. Home groups were okay. I would have like more discussion but due to the class size I could see how that would be tough.
Honestly, the Palmer book is good but pricey and it seems a bit distant.

3 last things...

More class discussion, a list of alternatives to KYT that may include: book suggestions, helpful online resources, movies to consider, etc. I think most of us when given an alternative to watching tv will not watch tv. Finally, I think room set up is important for this type of class. The way the class set up was in the beginning was a bit lecture style and we all looked to Dr. R. for direction, answers and anything else that we could think of. She stated that she would not be lecturing much but the room set up practically called for it. I would just be mindful of it in the future.