Reflection_Exercice

Session 08 Motivation - Reflection Exercise I would like you to reflect on 2 moments in which you added value and you were really proud of yourself – Please describe these 2 moments in details and the reasons why you were proud of yourself. Once, you are done – look at the common themes across stories and think about the things that make you feel confident, that are unique to you, the contexts in which you excel etc… we will debrief this in class. Bring a copy of the exercise to class with your reflection on what enables you to thrive. Please post your two stories and your reflection on blackboard - There is no right or wrong answer. First of all I would like to specify that I desperately lack confidence; as a consequence, I am hardly ever proud of myself. I spent time thinking of what experiences I could talk about and I found two moments quite relevant but in which I think I did not add value. The first one is when I danced for my optional course during high school final exam, the exam you have to take in order to obtain your high school diploma. For this exam, students from all the different Tahitian high schools had to perform at the same place. I knew many people from my dance school who had taken this optional dance exam, thus I knew they were very good in dance performing. All the candidates had prepared months in advance their performance, took individual tutoring with professional dancers and trained every day. For my part, I did not wanted to take private lessons, I wanted this dance perform to be my own choreography, my own story, my own emotions but the most important part in this experience is that I did not want to train in advance. I only though about what my theme –schizophrenia- will be, what music I should take and what story I will tell dancing it. The only thing I really cared about was my costume since it is really hard to improvise on it! I went to the exam but I began to freak out as I saw those very good dancers performing as it was a dance show. I was stressed and angry with myself beginning to think I rather should be prepared. But then I though ‘Well Jessica, everybody is staring at you but who cares' Stop regretting things, dance as you actually were a real dancer, play your role of this crazy schizoid as you were really into it and more important have fun’. The music started and then I became this stark-raving mad person, juggling with different personalities. I completely forgot who and where I was, I was in another world. Then when the music stopped I realized what I had done… 3:20 minutes of full improvisation in front of 100 pairs of eyes and judges… Yes, me, Jessica Tramini, I made it!! I think it was the first and only moment in my life where I felt so proud of myself and relieved! The judges told me that they were literally living my story and by dancing I made the music alive instead of just following the music and do my choreography. Maybe that is what we call ‘add value’, I made them feel something special they did not feel with other performers. I got 18/20 at my exam which is equivalent to a grade A+ and which was the best grade. I was quite surprised because I obtained a better grade than my other fellow dancers who were actually better than me during dance class at my dance school. The second moment of my life where I was proud of me was during this summer. I worked as an intern at the Concierge Department for a well known and luxury resort called InterContinental Resort Tahiti. My duty was mainly to inform clients about the Island and of course, satisfy them. We had this system of ranked VIP people and when people are known as V7 (VIP 7) it means they are very important (as having an Ambassor statute or being a prince, an famous actress or whatever). One day a married couple came to see me for a few questions about activities etc… I was talking to them about all and nothing and I discovered that the woman (Mrs.X) was really interested in Tahitian dance, she asked me if it was possible to learn how to dance it. Actually in the Hotel we do not have this kind of activities and nobody has organized it before. Then I remembered that during my training 3 weeks ago when I had made the Tahitian tour island, the tour guide told me that in Paea district there was this local dance school called Tumata, which actually teach private dance lessons. Hence I managed to call this particular tour guide in order to have further information. He gave me the phone number of Tumata, I called the dance school and talked to the boss trying to arrange something for my client. Thing was that normally, people have to go to Paea district in order to have their dance lesson but it is quite far from the Hotel we were. As a consequence, I negotiated with a dance professor to come in the Hotel for 1:30 hour local dance lesson for a reasonable price. When I told Mrs.X she will be able to learn how to dance the famous ‘tamure’ Tahitian dance she was so excited, she thanked me at least a thousand times and I received my first tip ever in my life! I was proud of myself by seeing this woman so excited for something that is just casual for us, Tahitian people. I was also proud because I took initiatives. My boss told me that it was something really unusual to do, I was the first person who had ever though about that and he added that maybe it could become something they will add in their activities’ list. As I said previously I am very not confident with myself. As a consequence, I would generally never say I am proud of myself (except for my dance performance), I would rather tell that I am glad but not proud. I have this really deep-confidence problem. I am constantly thinking that I will fail, hence I tend not to have expectations so I would never be disappointed if something would go wrong… just in case. It is even harder to think about the contexts in which I excel…I cannot find anything…maybe I am good in viewing things negatively and be pessimistic. Something that I know is unique in me and is actually definitely positive is my international background; that is something that nobody can take from me and even if I wanted to erase it I could not. It is in my blood: my education, my past experiences and my different origins made me who I am now. I know that many people are dreaming about traveling, discovering different cultures and so on. These things are part of me. Living 17 years in a small island lost in the Ocean pacific allowed me to travel all around the world. Consequently I visited many countries such as French Polynesia, France (where I actually lived there 3 years), Corsica, Italia, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, England, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New-Zealand, Hawaii, Canada and of course the USA where I am currently living there. These international exposures I think is what make me really unique and I like this idea!