Leadershape
Pre-approved honors experience, winter 2013
The Picture Gallery
Below is a collection of pictures from my 6-day adventure at Leadershape, very professionally taken on my iPhone. Most are documentation of the projects that I did while there, but some are pictures of my "family group" and I doing what we do best-- being our wonderful, weird selves! Scroll through them and look farther down the page for my written reflection of the experience.
(I apologize for any images that are rotated.. I am not yet the professional blogger! Maybe one of these days I'll get the hang of it.)
(I apologize for any images that are rotated.. I am not yet the professional blogger! Maybe one of these days I'll get the hang of it.)
The Reflection
I'll go ahead and answer the burning question for you now. WHAT IS LEADERSHAPE?
On the surface, it is an organization that sets out to do exactly what the name implies-- shape leaders. I will let the institution speak for itself here for a bit: It is a 6-day intensive workshop "that takes its participants on a journey of self-discovery and leadership that includes identification of passions and values, development of a powerful vision, commitment to integrity, and creation of a tangible Breakthrough Blueprint which serves as a commitment to action." The reason I included this exact quote is because I honestly couldn't come up with a more perfect insight into the program. That wonderful little sentence truly embodies the core of Leadershape and tells of its mission... without giving away all of the fun details, of course!
I'm sure by now you have noticed that my writing on this online "portfolio" of sorts is informal-- honest and personal, but informal. Keeping with this theme, I will reveal some truth to you now: when I signed up for Leadershape, my only motivation in doing so was to check off another experience as part of my Honors Program requirements. I had no real preliminary interests in the retreat or hope for personal growth. "I just survived my first semester of college, I've been through all the growth that I'll need for the rest of my life!" I thought (And here is the part where I reveal one of those "fun details" of the program that I talked about earlier). HOW INTERESTING! As I learned at Leadershape, this is what you say when you have made a mistake in life. And let me tell you, thinking that there was no growth to be had at this retreat was a mistake.
Since I'm being honest, I'll say now that Leadershape was hard. I was challenged to look at what I really value and for me, that was a struggle. Maybe because what I value is so deeply embedded in my everyday life that recognizing it required difficult reflection. What I found out, though, was how much I value serving others and accepting everyone wholly. This stemmed from some very personal (and yes, emotional) conversations about my brother. One of the most distinct moments that I remember of my time at Leadershape was when we were instructed to share a time when we witnessed discrimination. As I'm not one for sob stories, I'll just give the shortened version of what happened: I had gotten into a conversation with a fellow student at UC about Eagle Scouts. As the conversation progressed, he expressed that the program was no longer enjoyable for him, seeing that he was discharged to babysit the "outcasts of society" (disabled children), whose parents "knew that they would fit in nowhere else" and that these duties "took away his time" to do what he wanted to within the program. It goes without saying that this struck a vein. What I want to focus on here, however, is the challenge that I had to rise up to in sharing this story. At Leadershape, personal borders are shattered. You are somehow empowered to say things, do things, and try things that you would otherwise feel uncomfortable trying in any other social setting. Not only did I get to share something I never had before and complete a personal challenge in a difficult setting, but I discovered something new about myself: my relationship with my brother has shaped a lot of my values in life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
While the "self discovery" part of Leadershape was monumental, my favorite part of this experience was the community. On the second day, we were split into family clusters consisting of 10 students and one instructor. Maybe I'm biased, but I was definitely a part of the best family group there. We very ironically named ourselves "The Leadership," taking on the role of pirates on board a ship of leading (I told you we are weird, but we like it that way!). Over those 6 days, all 11 of us became really close. At the end, it felt like we had all grown up and experienced life together. That is the truly special part of Leadershape, because I know that I won't get that close sense of community anywhere else in such a short amount of time. I got to watch a motley group of people find themselves, create a vision for a better world, and become a real family.
So to wrap this up, I'll leave you with a quote presented to the students at Leadershape, and one that I keep on my dorm wall as a reminder of the experience and my goals for life: "Imagine a world with a healthy disregard for the impossible!"
On the surface, it is an organization that sets out to do exactly what the name implies-- shape leaders. I will let the institution speak for itself here for a bit: It is a 6-day intensive workshop "that takes its participants on a journey of self-discovery and leadership that includes identification of passions and values, development of a powerful vision, commitment to integrity, and creation of a tangible Breakthrough Blueprint which serves as a commitment to action." The reason I included this exact quote is because I honestly couldn't come up with a more perfect insight into the program. That wonderful little sentence truly embodies the core of Leadershape and tells of its mission... without giving away all of the fun details, of course!
I'm sure by now you have noticed that my writing on this online "portfolio" of sorts is informal-- honest and personal, but informal. Keeping with this theme, I will reveal some truth to you now: when I signed up for Leadershape, my only motivation in doing so was to check off another experience as part of my Honors Program requirements. I had no real preliminary interests in the retreat or hope for personal growth. "I just survived my first semester of college, I've been through all the growth that I'll need for the rest of my life!" I thought (And here is the part where I reveal one of those "fun details" of the program that I talked about earlier). HOW INTERESTING! As I learned at Leadershape, this is what you say when you have made a mistake in life. And let me tell you, thinking that there was no growth to be had at this retreat was a mistake.
Since I'm being honest, I'll say now that Leadershape was hard. I was challenged to look at what I really value and for me, that was a struggle. Maybe because what I value is so deeply embedded in my everyday life that recognizing it required difficult reflection. What I found out, though, was how much I value serving others and accepting everyone wholly. This stemmed from some very personal (and yes, emotional) conversations about my brother. One of the most distinct moments that I remember of my time at Leadershape was when we were instructed to share a time when we witnessed discrimination. As I'm not one for sob stories, I'll just give the shortened version of what happened: I had gotten into a conversation with a fellow student at UC about Eagle Scouts. As the conversation progressed, he expressed that the program was no longer enjoyable for him, seeing that he was discharged to babysit the "outcasts of society" (disabled children), whose parents "knew that they would fit in nowhere else" and that these duties "took away his time" to do what he wanted to within the program. It goes without saying that this struck a vein. What I want to focus on here, however, is the challenge that I had to rise up to in sharing this story. At Leadershape, personal borders are shattered. You are somehow empowered to say things, do things, and try things that you would otherwise feel uncomfortable trying in any other social setting. Not only did I get to share something I never had before and complete a personal challenge in a difficult setting, but I discovered something new about myself: my relationship with my brother has shaped a lot of my values in life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
While the "self discovery" part of Leadershape was monumental, my favorite part of this experience was the community. On the second day, we were split into family clusters consisting of 10 students and one instructor. Maybe I'm biased, but I was definitely a part of the best family group there. We very ironically named ourselves "The Leadership," taking on the role of pirates on board a ship of leading (I told you we are weird, but we like it that way!). Over those 6 days, all 11 of us became really close. At the end, it felt like we had all grown up and experienced life together. That is the truly special part of Leadershape, because I know that I won't get that close sense of community anywhere else in such a short amount of time. I got to watch a motley group of people find themselves, create a vision for a better world, and become a real family.
So to wrap this up, I'll leave you with a quote presented to the students at Leadershape, and one that I keep on my dorm wall as a reminder of the experience and my goals for life: "Imagine a world with a healthy disregard for the impossible!"