A521.3.4.RB_Personal Reflection

I feel that there are multiples times in a person’s life when situations take place that have a formative impact on them. Below you will four examples of different situations that left a formative impact on my life.

Childhood
In the spring of 1991 my family was in the process of transitioning from living on a military base to a more civilian lifestyle. My father had just recently had knee surgery and we were renting a small house while ours was being built. I was roughly 4 going on 5 at the time and although I was very young this situation left a large impact on my life. There had been many home invasions and car break-ins taking place in the neighborhood and one day my mother’s car was broken into. As usual a police report was made and we went on with our lives. A few days later my father was coming home early and caught a burglar in our home and chased him through the woods; granted that wasn’t the smartest idea because he had recently had knee surgery but he did what he had to do to in order to protect his home. This situation has forever made me worry about that society in which we live in. Unfortunately times are changing and violence is growing. No longer is it the 1960s – 1970s where people didn’t lock their doors and lived by the motto of “love, peace and no war.’ Now that I currently reside by myself I find home security extremely important and I take all the necessary precautions to ensure my safety. This situation also impacted me in how I trust people; I am no longer willing to trust just anyone.

Adolescent
Starting at the age of 8 till I was 22 years old I struggled with my weight. People now call me “tiny” or “skinny” but many don’t realize that struggles I faced. I was always the “fat-friend” who was nerdy and liked school to a certain degree. My father always struggled with his weigh and my mother didn’t; I look like my mother (almost twins) but I am built like my dad. It wasn’t easy growing up and being teased all the time. If kids weren’t teasing me for my weight they teased me for the way I dressed. My family struggled at times and I wasn’t always the most fashionable but I had clothes and a loving family; the necessities were all that mattered to me. I am sharing this situation because it relates very much the “Ugly Duckling” story. Many kids and especially the guys of my class never paid any attention to me (and that’s okay because I liked girls but I digress); I surely wasn’t being asked to the Prom. As I grew up and became an adult suddenly the guys that picked on me are flooding out of the wood works. This situation proves that you should never judge a book by its cover because you never know what is really taking place inside. It wasn’t my time to shine in high school; I apparently was designed for something more special as I became a woman. This situation/story made me start seeing the problem or situation and not the person. I was judged for so long based on the way I looked and I don’t want others to feel that way; it does go both ways now as well. At one time in my life I was over looked for being unattractive and now because I am attractive people think I am just another pretty face – proving yet again you need to know the person, problem or situation and look past appearance.

Early Adulthood (college)
Micromanaging is one of the first styles of management I have ever had to endure. My first administrative job in higher education was the first job that taught me a lot about myself and how to handle micromanagers. In the summer of 2007 I started working as a Program Assistant for a grant at Hillsborough Community College and my boss was the poster-child of a micromanager; I could barely write and email without her reading it over my shoulder. It was terrible. There were countless days I just cried in the bathroom because I couldn’t understand how someone could treat their employee that way but in the same breathe talk about what a great Christian she was. This situation spanned over a ten month period of time. At the time of the conclusion of the grant I was let go; it was only a temporary position. That situation showed me that you will not always be able to make someone happy and mistakes will happen but it is how you handle yourself that truly matters. Now there were times that I did fight back and I stated my views because I was tired of being treated as a worthless-pee-on but this experience taught me a lot about professionalism. I learned that other colleagues of my boss were not impressed but her demeanor and that I was more posed than she was. It was a hard learning lesson and experience but it is something that will stick with me forever.

Early Adulthood (post-college)
Working with and for a team is extremely rewarding. I never imagined I would be working in higher education and loving every minute of it. Post-graduation from the University of South Florida in May of 2010 I took an Administrative Assistant position at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Worldwide. Now I will be honest this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life as I aspire to be something more than that but taking this job meant I would  exposed  to the ins and outs of higher education from an administrative side which was an area I was dying to know more about. While working in this position I was asked by my boss, the Chief Technology Officer, if I would administer and manage the New Programs & Partnerships Meeting. When I was asked to do this I didn’t know how many conversations had taken place a head of time and how many people said that they knew I could do this. It was the first meeting when I found all of this information out and it has forever changed me. For one I know that there are people who feel as though my work is exceptional and I can handle big projects and meetings. When this decision was made I had only worked for the university for 6 months proving even more so that I was being supported from all areas of leadership.

There will always be times or stages in a person’s life when they will be impacted by a situation. Above are 4 different situations and or stories and how they impacted me life not only then but now as well.