Reflective Writings from the 2010 Young Women's Leadership Institute.

Below are two participants’ reflections on a leadership development session focused on “Leading from the Inside Out.” 

Before we look to change others we need to look inside ourselves. Are we where we want to be? Are we who we want to be? How silly it would be for us to take on the task of leading our community before first seeking personal fulfillment. It's like what they tell us in the airplanes--if there is an emergency, first put on your own oxygen mask before helping those around you. How can you be of any help to another, when you haven't even helped yourself?

The task of leading a community, while noble, also comes with a lot of responsibility.  The best way to lead in my opinion is to know the people you are trying to lead.  Don't let them be faces that blend together with no distinguishing qualities or needs.  To be a true leader you must see and appreciate those you lead as clearly as you see yourself.  Your job as  a leader isn't to control but rather to give them control of their own lives. A true leader is one that empowers. 

 -        Nadeena

 
10 Days Until 20

this consciousness weighs heavy
...on my body, a boulder I carry
sinking from chest until buried

within the pit of my stomach-blossoming
into anxious steps, evolving, transfigured fear
a mad dash sprint away from the mirror

each day I turn ever so slightly
face a serene visage in the peripheral view
reach out hands, elongate fingers
brush an ideal self; falling short

I light the flame and extinguish

until anew, rekindling
my vitality-forging ahead
I make this living
reaching out I touch the world
embrace myself ever so slowly
giving in like earth to avalanche
like clouds to scurry of rain
until I burst rising, birthed from ash

of a former life lived

-        Nadia