Reverb 11, December Twenty-First

Describe a defining moment or series of events that has affected your life this year.

My first solo assignment was early this semester, at a new client school in Nepal.  I felt duty-bound to give them my 110% A-game. I always try to give the clients everything they need and are looking for, but I felt a particular burden with this client - after all, as a brand-new client, they wouldn't necessarily know what to look for or ask.  It was up to me not just to have the answers, but to find the right questions as well.

I know I've been fairly obtuse with you all about what I do; I'll save the deeper explanation for the next post.  Suffice it to say for this one that adult education is a part of what I do, and I did it fairly well at this school.  Well enough, in fact, that the office asked me to recreate one of my presentations during our annual training week.


I put a great deal of work into that 40-minute session, and I was rewarded with the acknowledgment and praise of my peers.  The word of the year is "appreciation." The appreciation I was shown in that moment did the best two things it possibly could have: it went straight to my heart, and it didn't go to my head.  That moment was the product of hard work; it showed me how much more hard work I have to do to demonstrate continuing excellence and growth in my profession.  I'm blessed: I happen to enjoy this profession so much that even the work is a little fun.


If there's anything better than doing what you love and being paid for it, it's doing what you love well and being paid and praised for it.  I don't need this much recognition (although it does have a direct impact on how often I work), but I cherish it when it comes.