<\/p>\n
Last Tuesday evening, I finalized a presentation on corporate coaching and rushed to an invitation-only event at the top of the Compuware building in downtown Detroit. I found myself in a fancy pencil-skirt, sampling delicious appetizers and listening to dynamic speakers discuss their motivations for living, working, playing, giving, and leading in the city of Detroit. I was at the Year 3 Challenge Detroit Kick-Off Celebration and I couldn\u2019t help by wonder \u2018wait\u2026how did I get here?\u2019<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was one of those moments that smack you in a face. Clearly, it was no accident that brought me to this program and Detroit in general. If I told myself four years ago what the next four years would bring, I would have thought I was crazy. One year of full-time volunteering at a Kansas City free health clinic, 2 years of graduate school in conjunction with a nonprofit fellowship with special needs children in Milwaukee, and then another year in another <\/em>nonprofit fellowship while working at a mortgage company in Detroit\u2026? How unfocused can one person be?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sometimes when I consider all of my experiences, I worry that I will never truly find my place in this world. Perhaps my college guidance counselor was right and law school would have set me on a path of lucrative stability.\u00a0 But really, where\u2019s the fun in that? Each of my experiences heightens my awareness of who I am in relation to the world around me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Had I gone the safe route and went straight into graduate school, I never would have gained the perspective\u2014not to mention the lasting relationships\u2014that a year of full-time service provides. \u00a0I now know what it means to live simply, without Internet or TV, and to rely on an (oftentimes unreliable) public transportation system. Those were the choices I made and, quite simply, the fact that I even had that choice is a sign of my own privilege. Since my year in Kansas City, I have been given the amazing fellowship opportunities I discussed above. Though my transition into the corporate realm at my Challenge Detroit host company has held its difficulties, the insight I am gaining makes it all wholly worthwhile.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At this point in life, I fully accept my privilege and try to be mindful of its existence. \u00a0I have felt the guilt that often accompanies this awareness.\u00a0 However, in our first Challenge Detroit Leadership Friday we discussed how this guilt is futile. The most important thing I have come to realize in my brief (almost) 26 years on this earth is the power of gratitude. When I focus on gratitude, life\u2019s little stressors and annoyances seem to melt away. I am no longer focused on unfair disparities, but instead am able to offer the best version of myself to all those I encounter. After all, look at everything I already have<\/em>\u2014a wonderful family, a great network of friends across the country, a stable job, a beautiful home with lovely roommates, a network of inspiring fellows, and a partner in life to be with me through good times and bad. What more could I need?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sure, I will always have moments where I wonder how I got to this place in my life. I never dreamed that I might live in Detroit, work for a mortgage company, and have the opportunity to consult with a new nonprofit every 6 weeks. At the end of the day, I don\u2019t understand why so many wonderful people and experiences have entered into my world. All I can do is express gratitude and keep my mind and heart open to the future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thank you for reading. Happy Holidays!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last Tuesday evening, I finalized a presentation on corporate coaching and rushed to an invitation-only event at the top of the Compuware building in downtown Detroit. I found myself in a fancy pencil-skirt, sampling delicious appetizers and listening to dynamic speakers discuss their motivations for living, working, playing, giving, and leading in the city […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/challengedetroit.builtrare.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}