First Week

My first week was pretty interesting in that it meant I got to meet new people and enjoy new experiences.  So for the purposes of this blog I am supposed recount how I felt and share my personal experiences with the readers, here goes...

The first day of the program I had no idea of what I was walking into but I decided to be optimistic and conquer the challenge. On arrival I was met with a room filled with complete strangers which had a slightly awkward atmosphere being that most people weren't familiar with each other (or maybe that was just my take on the situation), Chamara, who is the program coordinator, introduced herself and proposed an ice breaker. It was a "normal" ice breaker but with a twist. She went around the room, at the time I believe there was about 10 of us, and she whispered to each individual  the sound of an animal. Of course, we were all taken back when she told us that she wanted each of us to mimic the sound of the animal that she had given us. Everyone just stared at each other, delaying making the noises of the animals because it just seemed like an obscene request from Chamara but in the end it was funny and we each found our respective pairs. We met and introduced ourselves and then we introduced the person we met to everyone else.

The first presentation that I can recall was my Ms. Eastmond I believe her name is. She really reinforced that our time is limited and that we need to plan to ensure that we make the most of the time that we have. Ms. Eastmond also asked us what we wanted to accomplish by the time we are 65 and she listed several categories for us to fill. For me personally it really drove home the point that 65 is not as far as I thought it was and there are many things that I want and NEED to accomplish in order for me to attain the things that I would like by the age of 65. Granted I did not agree with everything Ms. Eastmond but I could understand where she was coming from.

Our next session was with Chamara and this presentation too was about goals and accomplishing them. Chamara asked us what we wanted to accomplish within the next five years. For me this was easy because I had thought about this before. The difficult part of Chamara's presentation was when we were asked to do some introspection and answer very key questions in relation to our lives and who we want to become. Some of those questions I still have not found the answers to but I'm hoping that I will sooner than later. This first day lead to many thought-provoking questions and revelations about myself.

The next day we were to report to our respective hosting organisations. I honestly was not the most thrilled about my organisation because it was on the other side of island which meant I had to catch two buses. I was not amused but from the brief interaction I had with the lady who was to be my "employer" for 3 days of the week, gave me a bit of hope as she had a pleasant and  cheerful demeanor over the phone. I arrived to my hosting organisation about 15 minutes late which is never a good thing especially for first impressions but in my defense I did not know the trip would have taken that long. I officially met Barbara Dennis and her family, needless to say they were all nice and welcoming.

The first day of work a bit of the dry side in that I felt like I really did not do much. But I guess that can be expected when on the first day of any job as you have to you have to familiarize yourself with the new environment and everything else that is going on. The second day I felt way more productive in addition to having a sense of accomplishment in that I was able to attain some of my tasks which were assigned to me. The third day was I worked from home which was great because it meant I did not have to get up early to travel to the other side of the island.

The second training day of the week is Friday and it was particularly impressive in that the session with Rebel Glam was absolutely wonderful! Although the highlight of the day for me was the session with Rebel Glam there was also another wonderful presenter who came and she too was very informative. Ms. Alana being a vet by profession took the time out to come to us and speak about "Being Your Best Self and Becoming the Person that You Want to Be". She told us that there are three major concepts which are important to ascertain being your best self, they are: control, influence and choice. She also emphasized that there is extreme power in our uniqueness. This is an extremely important point especially in a world where we are constantly bombarded by images of what the standard of beauty is and this standard is usually unrealistic and more often than not Eurocentric. Furthermore, Ms. Alana stated that there are three layers of confidence, this information was new to me. I never knew that confidence had layers and with this knowledge it allowed me to have a deeper perspective of this word that is so widely used known as "confidence".

Mrs. Selena Dodson who is also known as Rebel Glam was our second presenter. The topic for this presentation was "defining yourself more" Mrs Selena told us that we make definitions for ourselves and the other people. She also said that we need to set parameter for ourselves together with creating our own definition of self. A major theme from the presentation was self-love and the importance of it. Rebel Glam brought her presentation over in one of the most realistic and down to earth ways imaginable. Mrs Dodson informed us that although she is the imagine that is associated with "rebel Glam", but she created the concept as a platform to provoke people into creating their own standards of self and beauty. There was a lot more information that was learnt and gathered from the session. All in all at the end of the session I felt a sense of empowerment which was fantastic!

The first week is over and there are seven more weeks to go....