Thursday, February 3, 2011

In the Beginning, you were warned: Confessions and Reflections of a Wanna-be-Leader

IN THE BEGINNING, YOU WERE WARNED:
This is my first blog entry ever. I'm not sure how one starts to "blog" really, but I'm going for it.
A word to the wise, I use some slang and even the occasional emphatic "damn." Hereby, you are warned.


JUST TO INTRODUCE MYSELF:
I'm Bee, a student of Public Heath at UC Berkeley who desperately wants to be awesome at this stuff. Why? Because I just can't shake this notion that I  (like everyone else on earth) can do something about the challenges we face in this world and make life better.  My focus is in Health and Social Behavior and I'm specializing in Global Health.  I think this plainly speaks to who I am and what I believe, because I know in my soul that our individual actions and collective actions affect the entire world.  Realistically though, about the hardest thing to to do is to change other people's behavior.  Just look at yourself.  When was the last time you successfully changed a behavior of your own? (This may be particularly salient a month after New Years).  How easy was that to do? To maintain? And that was YOU... YOU who, I could argue, have 100% control over yourself and your own actions. Try doing it with other people over whom you have no power! Anyway... that's for another blog, maybe.

If you simply must know something more about me, I'm from Palmdale, California.  Out of a wild and crazy upbringing, I emerged with a powerful desire to get the heck outta there.  I didn't end up going to far  though. I went to UCLA for college and studied Biology, and stayed in LA for about 9 years doing all sorts of fun things.  I came up to the Bay Area for grad school in August and I honestly do love it up here.  I enjoy spending time with friends and loved ones, playing capoeira, practicing yoga, rocking out on my guitar, singing at the top of my lungs, shaking my groove-thang, and at times, I enjoy attempting to train my impossibly stubborn and out-of-control dog, Kali.  In my spare time, I also do some school work... just kidding.


THE CONTEXT OF THIS BLOG:
I am very grateful and excited to have been chosen as one of the Center for Health Leadership Fellows. In more ways than I can count, I have already been so impressed and inspired by the caliber of people with whom I share this honor, and I couldn't be more humbled by all this. 

I can speak only for myself, but I believe all of us have come on board as Fellows to be transformed into someone capable of more than we are already capable of right now, and to become a leader in ways we cannot even predict from where we currently stand.  Personally, I'm thowing myself into this process like a sacrificial lamb on the fire, and I am doing this because I want my life to mean something, and I'm willing do what it takes to be that kind of person. The kind that makes a real and tangible difference in the lives of others in the short time we have on this earth. 

I anticipate facing down some of my more powerful fears and sneaky demons. I intend to boldly face-down and dismantle my inner-jerk.  I also anticipate sharing great triumphs over these fears and demons (and possibly other inner-jerks) with my comrades.  And you, my reader, will have access to as much of this as you like. I'm not going to sugar-coat a damn thing.

THIS BLOG:
This blog will serve as my reflection pool, my confidante, my sounding board, venting chamber, and pressure-release valve.  I'm the kind of person who has a propensity for over-sharing anyway, but within this context, I'm hoping that opening up and being real about all this will help me get through it, and it just might help you get through something you're facing too. 

Now that you know what you're in for, let's get on with this.

1 comment:

  1. Nice first blog post! I like the background you chose for the design of your blog; I used to have the same one for my Art Blog.

    If you'd like some good reading material about being a better leader and having stronger connections with people, I recommend the book "It's Not Just Who You Know" by Tommy Spaulding. I finished reading it recently and it's awesome!

    Also, if you don't mind my saying so, I suggest you make the width of the right sidebar a little bigger, so you have more room for showing the "Blog Archive" section. Just a thought.

    Nice to know there's another place where we can keep in touch. :)
    Sincerely, Annette Levy

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