Words That Hold Weight: Week Two

And so ends the second full week of TLT (Team Leader Training…get used to the acronyms, AmeriCorps loves them). This week was incredible. Finally, it wasn’t lecture heavy; it was hands on team-building. There were tears on Monday…and blood, sweat, AND tears the entire rest of the week.  We went to Camp Shelby, a military post in Hattiesburg, MS to participate in our Leadership Reactionary Course and a Child Services Home in Jackson, MS for a team-building ropes course. A quick explanation of the second half of the week is this: Long sleeve shirts, long cargo pants, steel-toed boots, 101 degree weather, and challenging physical and mental obstacles. We had to overcome butting heads with teammates, the sticky hot humidity, carrying and lifting people, trusting our teammates to keep us physically safe, and learning our limits, strengths, and weaknesses. This was an incredibly challenging week both mentally and physically…my brain and muscles I didn’t even know I had are fatigued and sore. 

This week, too, showed me that I am learning to be an itsy bitsy bit more patient. I think that’ll be my short term goal for the week: Focus on being patient with people.

With that being said, here are some quotes that stuck out to me this week from lecture. It’s neat how some of these can apply to work, friendships, family, and love. I love that this job is affecting both my professional and personal growth. I’m grateful for it every day. I can’t wait to see the woman I become in the next 10 months.

“You haven’t lived until you help someone who can never repay you”

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what you think of it; the tree is the real thing.” –Abraham Lincoln

“A leader is someone who recognizes potential in people and helping find it without telling them”

“When a human being imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.” – Theodore Martin

“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.”

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” – William Arthur Ward

“I need one thank you a week and that’s it. You need to mean it, but that’s all I need.”

“Only a life lived for others is a life worth living.” – Albert Einstein

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” –Sir Josiah Stamp

Today is Sunday, August 11^th and wow— I have had the best day. I went on a 4-mile run at the Vicksburg National Military Park, attended Cedar Grove Baptist Church with five of my teammates, ate at Walnut Hills (a delicious Southern restaurant) for a post-church lunch, laid out by the pool, played basketball, and made time to write this. Things still rock here. I’m very happy with my decision and commitment to this life. Until next time...