by Robin Dolman
When walking into the conference room this morning, I was still on a high from yesterday’s high ropes adventure, yet I must admit I was feeling really tired (I was on newsletter duty last night….enough said). The program for the day simply stated “Communication”. That should not be too hard? I had conquered my biggest fear yesterday, “bring it on” I thought to myself.
“This is the time for you to do an impromptu speech, the topic will be provided to you 8 minutes before you are to talk” Katie announced. The anxiety I suddenly felt immediately transported me back to my speech and drama classes when I was still at school. That familiar feeling of dread reminded me clearly of Mrs Armstrong, my speech and drama teacher. She often would make that same announcement as Katie had made, and I found myself remembering the topics we would have to discuss: your favourite animal, your holiday, your hero. While sitting there, waiting for the first person of the day to present, I found my mind fast forwarding through memories. How far I had come since the days in Mrs Armstrong’s studio. All the twists and turns my journey had taken to get to this moment right now. I had come from discussing my favourite animal to discussing the incorporation of an ethics framework into a dietetics curriculum. I found myself remembering the instructions and feedback Mrs Armstrong used to give. Tips included “never a windmill or a statue be”, project your voice Robin, speak slower Robin - you are not catching a train, look at your audience.
by Zaina Sore
We woke up to a beautiful sunny day, a perfect day for team building exercise. After breakfast we drove out of the lodge to one of the high ropes sights on the property. Upon seeing the impressive structure, anxiety began to creep in. While some of us were excited, others were already nervous or both. Our forever enthusiastic beloved George volunteered to be the guinea pig for the first trial while the rest of the group listened to Neels and his team of instructors. George was such a great sport! He made the game seem simple as he climbed to the top of the structure and through the high ropes, he never stopped cracking jokes and managed to steal some laughs from the group. Then, one after the other, we all bravely followed.
We experienced mixed emotions, but learnt three important lessons. First, we must have the courage to push ourselves beyond our boundaries and past our fears. This act of courage made us realize that we are stronger than the barriers we face.
