Relationship Builder
I am a teacher, a sculptor of young minds, and a relationship builder. I became a relationship builder after my father died when I was a sophomore in college. He was the single most important person in my life at that time and I felt completely lost when I lost him. The relationships that I had with my sister and my boyfriend helped keep me sane then and the development of relationship became my new hobby.
I rebuilt a once strained relationship with my mother in the months following my father's death. I reconnected with my best friend from middle school and gained three more best friends in doing so. I developed close ties with work colleagues and got to know my boyfriend's family better, which resulted in a glorious relationship with his cousin who soon became my closest confidant.
By the time I graduated from college, I had wonderful relationships with my mother, sister, and four best friends. These relationship were fostered by mutually respect, love, and a willingness to care a little more about everyone else and a little less about oneself.
With that success of those relationship firmly under my belt, I built even more relationships. I gained a family in every country where I resided. I learned to be ok with my own vulnerability and I learned to ask for help. I also learned to give freely of myself, my time, and my belongings.
My relationships carried me through two heartbreaking break-ups, a career change, four year stint traveling the world, and an even more challenging move back to the United States.
I am a great teacher and a good leader because I am a relationship builder. You cannot teach without the ability to learn and you cannot learn without opening your mind. A good relationship allows you to feel safe in opening mind to new experiences and knowledge.
Hi Javon,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to meet you Javon. My name is JoEllen and I found your reflection on your relationships to be interesting. It seems as though you have had a great journey and have been blessed with many fulfilling relationships. I like your statement about how your relationships were fostered by mutual respect, love, and willingness to care a little more about everyone else and a little less about oneself. I agree that relationships can be nurtured by mutual respect, love and concern for others and their well-being. Support from others can really take you a long way.
What parts of the world did you travel to? Why was it difficult to return to the United States? How were your relationships effect by your distance from family and friends?
JoEllen