"A good beginning makes a good ending." These are the words encased in glass on the hallway wall of the university building I enter every day. Each year we welcome a new class of enthusiastic, wide-eyed pharmacy students eager to get to work and fulfill the requirements for their doctoral degree. They come from various states and countries with this one thing in common. And it doesn't take long before the novelty gives way to the reality of a rigorous and often grueling journey ahead. I always love the excitement that goes with meeting and greeting these new students. I've also always loved the process of preparing my own kids for a new school year. There's so many hopes of good things to come and expectations of great accomplishments. I think it's a prime moment in time when Continue Reading
Shedding the Wallflower – Made to Brave Sisterhood
When I tell my children of my shyness and how painfully unsure of myself I was during my childhood and early adult years, they question if I am being truthful. The story sounds made up, to them. But it is true. I spent most of my first twenty-some years quietly looking around, unsure of myself and the world. I preferred to watch people, instead of participate; listen to people, instead of talk. I tried to avoid situations where I needed to talk in front of others and where I felt under the spotlight. I hated being asked something I wasn’t sure of. When asked a question, my mind usually went blank, then churned like a slot machine circling madly to land on the correct answer. Didn’t all questions have a right and wrong answer? I was terribly afraid of choosing the wrong one. With Continue Reading
Cultivating a Confident and Humble Heart
Don't we all want our children to become confident and humble human beings? For years I hung a magnet of “100 Ways to Praise Your Child” on the front of my refrigerator. Until one day I decided to toss it in the trash because it was doing more damage than good. Although the intentions were admirable, it fell short of helping me cultivate a balance between confidence and humility. Like most parents, I wanted my children to develop a strong sense of who they were regardless of whether they succeeded or failed. And by focusing on praising them for every accomplishment, I was placing too much emphasis on the reward and not enough on the process. It's in the process, not the reward where refining and character building takes place. Even when the process includes failure and Continue Reading