My Notes
I never thought that this bound set of papers with a very uplifting message on the cover and my folders with their usual funny names will become a piece of my heart within a couple of months.
I have been quite regular in making notes, both digitally and physically from Day 1, so it has been quite a journey. Every week was a new place to be and the ride started around 5 pm on a cold Sunday evening, with the new PW being uploaded. I used to get enrolled in the courses, download all the material, and then write down the course contents. It helped me make progress continuously, applying what I was learning, in my daily life.
Just like every journey, the initial days were full of excitement and enthusiasm, with a feeling of being overwhelmed at times. But I decided to take it one day at a time, handling multiple responsibilities side by side. I made sure to put my heart and soul into all that I was doing. I was glad to have met a wonderful set of people and an equally amazing couple of instructors. It felt amazing, to be a part of such a great cause. The video lectures, Ted Talks, reflections, sessions, and break-out rooms on zoom were full of learning, which made me happy thinking I’m being productive in the middle of a pandemic. It also helped me take some time out for myself to know myself better, rather than sitting and getting depressed due to the harsh happenings around the world, a fact that could not be changed.
The whole journey has been full of learning but the initial two weeks were of relatively higher importance. I’ve seen that the basic concepts we learned and practiced in the very beginning, are the ones we have been building our progress on. I’ll put some of the learnings in bullet points:
- No questions are wrong; it helps me ask questions, and thus learn more.
- Knowing my strengths and weaknesses; helped me assess my own personality and understand my aptitude and areas of improvement.
- Exploring my values; helped me appreciate the goodness in life and its importance.
- #JustStart; helps me take initiative at once, rather than overthinking something and then ending up not doing anything at all.
- Knowing my “Why”; helps me understand the importance of everything that I do. Now I feel like things lose their importance if their “why” is not understood.
- Teamwork; It has changed my perspective of group tasks, because although it comes with difficulties and drawbacks, still you need a team to win a championship.
- Feedback; I don’t get offended by feedback anymore, it’s a gift.
- Leadership; has helped me do things I’d never have tried otherwise, like speaking up in a group or taking a responsibility.
- Career Planning; I had no idea about it. This course gave me a thorough understanding of what steps to take to build myself professionally.
There’s still a LOT more that I learnt in the initial weeks, but reflecting on the mentioned points, what I discovered about myself is the importance of my values. I have come to understand that the problems I face because of being honest or kind are not my problems, rather they are problems for those who create issues on following these values. I have started thinking of those issues as a reward and I feel happy about them. I have started respecting my principles and thoughts.
All in all, the experience I’ve had in the fellowship, from the beginning till the end has been nothing, but beautiful, and one to be remembered
A thing of beauty, is a joy forever -John Keats
