Monday, June 28, 2010

The Power of a Woman's Spirit

June 28, 2010

  Saturday night a bond between six women was made.  After a thought-provoking lecture regarding professionalism and networking, it came out that a few of my Envirovet colleagues thought they made a poor first impression.  I was startled to hear that one student in particular thought this of herself.  I approached her after the class and felt it necessary to give her my feedback on my first impression of her.  I felt moved to do this because my first impression was quite the opposite.  The young woman in particular struck me as mature, kind, light-hearted, and humble.  She was soft spoken and quick-witted.  I was quickly joined by other students who felt similarly - they shared their impressions (also very positive).  What resulted was a small crowd of six women who began gushing with optimism and respect for each other.  We decided to go to a place more quiet and private and continued our exercise.  We came back to the room Amelie and I share and we made a circle.  We took turns going around the circle speaking about our first impressions of the woman on the "hot seat."  Then we said all of the things we admired about that person and followed up with assigning each an animal personality.

  I was a little surpised to hear the group's description of myself -- kind, funny, pretty, nurturing, leader, and motherly.  Apparently when put in a group of like-minded peers I emerge as a leader and a nurturer.  I was flattered, and it made me realize that I am becoming the woman I always wanted to be.  When it came to Amelie, she started to describe how I took her under my wing when she arrived on the plantation a little later than the rest of us.  She started to tear up, which made me cry.  She said since we've been here I've taken care of her and looked after her - she hoped we'd be friends for a long time.  My animal: the African elephant.  You'd have to know a thing or two about the species before passing judgment, so here goes:

Elephants live in a matriarchal clan society, the basic unit consisting of a mother with her dependent offspring and grown daughters.  Clans are usually made up of 6-12 animals.  A herd's welfare depends on the matriarch's leadership.  The matriarch sets the herd's direction and pace and is usually the oldest and most experienced of the herd.

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