Be Fully Expressed. Be the Spark.

This weekend I attended a conference called Spark of Awesome in northern Minnesota. Yes, I drove through a blizzard—literally—on my way home, but it was worth it. I got to meet an amazing group of women from around the country, including the extraordinary Danielle LaPorte. I’m back in Michigan with some new revelations about myself, my work and my life. We all need pauses in our regular lives to carry ourselves higher. Perhaps that’s what spring break provided to you.

I think folks—my scholars, my friends, my family—know that I find Danielle’s work utterly inspiring on many levels. It’s the reason I started weaving her work into our work with our McNair students. From feedback I’ve received so far, I think you guys are enjoying this exposure and opportunity for exploration.

Danielle and me

I spent an entire day with Danielle and we covered a lot of things. Did we ever! Looking over my many notations, the one speaking most to me is this concept of self expression. Danielle said, “Being fully expressed is the greatest gift I can give my child.” Taking this further, being fully expressed is the greatest gift we can give any (and every) person we come in contact with.

We are in the business of self expression—on a scholarly and intellectual level and on a personal level. It takes great courage to express yourself. We all do it in varying degrees. I know that I often hold back out of fear. What I’m coming back with from this experience is the desire and resolve to live each day fully expressed. I’m not sure what that might look like exactly for me each day, but I want to find out!

It was funny, at the conference, others were referring to our group as the “sparkly people” and at breakfast I heard someone say, “oh, that’s the sparkler group.” To this I say---SWEET! I love being part of the sparkler group. To me, living fully expressed means being confident in myself and being willing to show my spark. So, I challenge you to let your spark out so that others can see and benefit---from YOU. Be the spark. Be fully expressed every day. I guarantee you will grow and change in some unexpected and remarkable ways…

Conference on College Composition and Communication

Well, on a much less philosophical note, I am preparing for a panel presentation that I applied for in December. I am one of two students (as well as the only undergraduate) on my panel discussing the racism and subjugation of Native people with the use of Native American imagery and likeness as mascots. Needless to say I'm starting to lose my mind thinking of all the details for travel, presentation information, talking with professors about upcoming absences, and the like.

However, I am thrilled that as an undergraduate I've had an amazing experience and have been pushed to my limits - only to excel further. :D

My mentor, Dr. Rose Gubele of the English Department, has been such an inspiration and such a strong force in my life. If it wasn't for Rose, I can't honestly say the things that I've accomplished this far would've happened.

So, moral of the story: even though things are all sorts of crazy as we're knee-deep in the semester, remember that the future can hold really beautiful and exciting experiences for you - so soak it all up and bask in the glory of being a McNair Scholar.

(side note: I honestly have friends in Graduate School across the county who repeatedly remind me how blessed I am as a McNair Scholar, and that they wish they would've applied or considered it.)

Take care, and pray I don't stutter too much! ;)