To Day 7 and Beyond

This blog is for the Florida State University Session of Leadershape. It will serve to motivate, update, and captivate the spirit of Day 7/365. Leadership is a life-long process of learning so hold on because the journey moves forward.

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One sleepless night in April, I was lying in my bed thinking about how I wanted to spend the next years at Florida State. The next day, or rather later on that day, Tell Your Story: Tallahassee was born. I did not really have a vision for this video project; I thoroughly enjoyed doing it just for fun. It was not until LeaderShape where I began to think about the potential TYST has to promote social change.

TYST exists to share compelling and complicated stories that promote awareness and compassion in a world that may be too presumptuous, ignorant, or critical. My goal is to remind people that they are not alone, their voice is important, and they have a story worth telling. Sharing stories humanizes people and encourages us not to just tolerate, but to make an effort to truly accept and understand one another. The beauty of stories like is that every single person has one- everyone has gone through something that has made them who they are today. With every video I create, I become more convinced that a story has the potential to change how someone sees the world.

I have LeaderShape to thank for one of the best experiences I have ever had in college. I was able to develop my vision for Tell Your Story: Tallahassee. But more importantly, I learned how to develop a vision. Since last year, I have had several opportunities and have made some life changing decisions. LeaderShape certainly played a role in providing the foundation for bringing any vision I have to life.

Carolina Ruggero LeaderShape Institute 2014

Facebook.com/TellYourStoryTallahassee YouTube.com/TYSTallahassee

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FSU LeaderShape Day 7 Profile: Rebecca

Rebecca Justilien is a 2014 Florida State University LeaderShape alumna. During LeaderShape she developed a vision geared towards empowering low-income communities through economic development by creating sustainable projects and initiatives. With the idea of living in a constant state of possibility and with the knowledge each day after LeaderShape is Day 7, Rebecca has gone on to partner with iGrow, a youth empowerment and urban agriculture program, located in Tallahassee, FL.

iGrow serves the Frenchtown community, and Rebecca has been able to build community there. She has worked to build and strengthen relationships, empower and develop young leaders, and change how people view the purpose and power iGrow holds. She shows the power of effective leaders when they lead and live with high levels of integrity. She has helped to create an environment where she and the community she serves feel empowered, and she has been able to bring her knowledge from LeaderShape to do so. We are glad to recognize Rebecca’s work in bringing her vision to fruition and her efforts to creating a just, caring, and thriving world.

Here is the video Rebecca created to show her work with iGrow and the greater Frenchtown community:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqNsNTDEifM

And if you would like to learn more about FSU LeaderShape and iGrow, here our links to more information:

http://thecenter.fsu.edu/Programs/LeaderShape-R

http://igrow-whateveryoulike.weebly.com/

https://www.facebook.com/iGrowyouth

[keep-loving-yourself]

[ted]

The world’s most viewed TED Talk. In GIFs!

[ted]

Pearls of wisdom from some of our favorite TED talks on the importance of entrepreneurship.

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Before I die I want to..

"Before I Die" is a project by TED Fellow Candy Chang that asks strangers to share what they most want to accomplish in their lives. Since Candy created the first “Before I Die” wall in New Orleans in 2011, people have installed “Before I Die” walls in 62 countries around the world, including at many TEDx events. Above, a selection of a few TEDx “Before I Die” installations at TEDxHonolulu in Hawaii,  TEDxJerusalem in Jerusalem, TEDxRiyadh in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and TEDxBerkeley at the University of California, Berkeley. Below, Candy’s 10 favorite “Before I Die” responses, from her interview with the TED Blog:

Before I die I want to…

be completely myself (New Orleans, LA, USA).

stare at the stars with the people I love (Pohang City, South Korea).

own my own ice cream factory (Asunción, Paraguay).

be a stripper and a nun at the same time (Santiago, Chile).

see where my grandma grew up (Townsville, Australia).

have my own theme song (Johannesburg, South Africa).

overcome depression (Newport News, VA, USA).

create a typeface of my own (Almaty, Kazakhstan).

try lots of things (Brooklyn, NY, USA).

stop being afraid (Jerusalem, Israel).

(Photos: Instagram users  dselectived, maha_92; _janiekins_; elishaseye)

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Agreed!

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Letting People In

Most of this is because of where I grew up, the bible belt. This meant that being gay and not being religious are frowned upon. I figured that out at a very early age. So, I made sure to always be very vague about my religious beliefs, and for the longest, I resigned myself to lack any type of sexuality. It wasn't until I started school at FSU that I began to slowly let some of those walls down, allowing people to see glimpses of who I really am. 

Then comes Leadershape. I had a roommate who told me that I had to apply. It was something that would be perfect for me, because I love leadership programs. I applied, and was placed as an alternate. Then, out of the blue, a week before the retreat, I received a call asking if I was interested in attending Leadershape. I took the leap and said yes. That decision turned out to be one of the best I have recently made.

At Leadershape, one of the first activities we did was figuring out our GAG for the week. GAG stands for Going Against the Grain. We chose a trait about ourselves that needed to be worked on. Throughout the retreat, we had to try and make sure that we didn't fall back on those traits. My GAG was being evasive, which has obviously been a bit of a problem for me. So during that week, I tried incredibly hard not to be evasive. For me that meant being myself, not trying to fit anyone's expectations of who I should be, and not trying to avoid sharing myself with others. It was a challenge for me. There were times when I felt extremely uncomfortable, though no one would ever know it. 

Since Leadershape, I have tried to take my GAG with me. It has been a struggle, but I know that this journey is one that needs to be taken. By learning how to truly be myself, I know that it will only allow me to better help those around me, and for that I am forever thankful and indebted to my experience at Leadershape.

- Eric Jones, Leadershape Graduate 2013