Collaborating Creative Women!

October 14, 2015

Working with the young women of the Lotus Project never ceases to amaze me.  In our third small group meeting of the year, we developed a short program to do with the elementary school and their program called, Project BLOOM.

These girls brainstormed problems young women faced and how they could best mentor the young ones and steer them in the right direction.  They fed off of each other's energy in such a beautiful way!  It reminded me how vital collaboration skills are and how important it is to listen to everyone.  And it left me inspired.

Learning from the people around me and sharing a common goal makes my heart happy!

Year In Review: Lotus Project 2014-2015

As the school year comes to a close, I am so excited to see the success of the Lotus Project on my girls.  This project is my heart and a lot of time, love and effort goes into it.  To see it embraced and well received by so many young ladies is a true gift.  It takes bravery to start something new and the LP was definitely a brand new adventure for these young women.  These girls are strong!  They are stronger than they know and I hope they continue to uncover this strength.

This school year we had two full sessions.  We worked with a group of sophomore girls in the fall and a group of freshmen in the spring.  Each session had small group activities led by a teacher-mentor.  For a six week session we met weekly to work through curriculum on topics like health, relationships, confidence, relational aggression, gratitude, "putting your best self forward" and goal setting.  We also did weekly journaling and reflection.  And lots of talking!  Developing personal relationships with the girls was the most important and rewarding part of program.  Throughout the entire year, I also had a small group of seniors that acted as mini-mentors and assistants to me.  We did many of the same activities as the underclassmen but we also focused on their needs as seniors embarking on the next chapter of their lives.

In the fall, some of our special activities included:

• Volunteering at the IM3rdMeal Campaign.  We made and packaged sack lunches for kids in our area who might not normally get a third meal of the day.  
  
• Skyped with fashion photographer, author and philanthropist...Nigel Barker!  He spoke with us on true beauty - INNER BEAUTY - and really made an impact on the girls.  
  
• Thought Design!  We spent a day learning at Thought Design in Rockford, MI.  We took a yoga class, learned about healthy stress reduction (including "throwing away" the negative elements in our lives that we later burned in a barrel), had a groove dance session and cooked a full meal FROM SCRATCH.  Some of the girls had never cooked natural food from scratch before.  It was an amazing adventure.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• "Putting Your Best Self Forward" - We had experts from Genesis Salon and Day Spa come in and teach us how to take care of our skin, how to apply make up and create fun hair styles.  Then we had the professional photographer, Beth Hallock, come in for a photo shoot.  It was a good bonding afternoon and our experts made us feel like rock stars!
   
  Spring Session was also great with the freshmen set!
  
  
  • In order to team build and get to know each other  we had an adventure at ARTengage where we took healthy risks (well, for the non artists anyway) and painted a Lotus Flower under the guidance of a pro.  
  • We had a great adventure at the GR downtown YMCA in May.   We did a yoga session, some inner reflection activities, a groove session, had lunch, created art, at played in the pool.  This was a great day to bond with our mentors and dig a little deeper into our best selves.  Words can't express how amazing this was!
  • During Health Week (both sessions) we had many guest speakers, including doctors, nutritionists, peer resistance professionals, and two sessions with Ms. Emily Smith, Miss Pride of the Peninsulas.  She informed us about the importance of mental health and we even ended up raising some funds for the Stomp Out Stigma walk to bring awareness to mental health.  (A few of us participated!)  Our second session with her was about skin care, hair care, age appropriate make up and dressing for our body types.  We also had games and samples.  This second session really put some smiles on the girls faces.   
    
    
    
    
    
    
  
  Senior Girls!
  
  • The seniors this year were able to do a little more volunteering.  In the fall we traveled to a local elementary school and worked with little girls. We did esteem building activities and had a great time girl bonding!  We also volunteered to help at the St. Mary's "Runway on the Rapids" which is a fashion show to help raise money and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy.  We ended up being gifted tickets to the event and we donated our own money at our first (amazing) fashion show!  We plan on contacting this group again for other volunteer opportunities.  
  
  Thanks for a great year ladies!  Mentors, couldn't have done it without you!  LP
  

Leading By Example

We are always asking the girls to look within to find their true heart and best self. We are always trying to lead by example and show the girls that reaching out to others is a way to also make our own hearts happy. 

This past week I was given an honor. I had a young lady name me as her hero for an assignment for English class. In front of her peers she gave a presentation where she said things like...

...compassionate

...leader

...focused

What an honor! Now, these are things I am always striving to do. I never quite feel like I'm there. I still never quite feel like it's enough. But, I will keep fighting the good fight. And leading by example. 

This is what we need to do. Lead by example. If you don't want people to talk behind your back, stop doing it to others. Want friends? Be a friend. Tired of talking about weight? Be the first to stop and make the point to others around you. 

In the Lotus Project we're trying to develop a culture of sisterhood. We need to lead the movement by setting the example and telling our story. We need to encourage the same in our friends, sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers. 

Be the change, LP

Check your mirror...

.We look in the mirror and too often critique what we see. It's hard not to. Today, I asked my LP girls to describe the women they know that are beautiful. We talked about how the beautiful women were compassionate, strong, gracious, funny, confident, and smart. The way they carried themselves and treated others was what made them beautiful. Then, I asked them to look in a mirror and describe how they were important and beautiful. (And yes, I did it, too. One must lead by example even when it's hard.)

Looking in a mirror and telling yourself good things is HARD. And important. Not to do in a "Look at me! I'm so hot! Let's take too many selfies" way, but in a genuine way. Not just what you like about your appearance, but what you like about your humanity and character. A positive, genuine reflection on all you contribute to the world is so important. It reminds of our value to ourselves and the people around us. 

Part of being compassionate needs to start within. If we are kind to ourselves we'll be kinder to the people around us. My senior quote (20 years ago! Yikes!) was, "the beauty in our hearts transforms the world around us." It may sound cliche but it is timeless and holds true. Our inner beauty is what makes us beautiful and does transform the lives of those around us. Start it up again by looking in the mirror and reminding yourself how much you matter and of all of the things that make you special, strong and wonderful.

LP

The picture below is of some of my beautiful lovelies. We were describing the beautiful women that we are, that we know, and what we will continue to strive to become.

Healthy Relationships

How we interact with each other is so important to our growth.  Here's a view of last year's presentation.  Healthy Relationships Prezi

You are valuable!

How often do you step back and think about your value to our world?  I really believe that we all have an import job to play in "our worlds."  We all hold value. 

Today, I'm going to encourage you to say this mantra: I have value. 

You do. The people around you, your friends, your family, the stranger you bump into at the mall, all rely upon the goodness of you.  You have value. 

Do you know anyone that might not see this in themselves? Tell them. Especially young people. Of any age. Write it on a bathroom mirror. Stick it on a post it. Write it on a Facebook wall. Tweet it. Embrace it! 

I have value. So do you. 

Be well, LP

Scars

Last week was Health Week! We had five seminars relating to our health and to healthy relationships. We were blessed to have lovely women role models in the forms of an aesthetician, an OB/GYN, a nutritionist, a RAVE (Relief Against a Violent Encounter) leader, and a behavior specialist to teach drug/alcohol resistance.

At the beginning of the week we learned about taking care of our skin. It made me think about my own scarred skin. I also felt more self conscious for a few days because it was on my mind. By the end of the week we were learning about sexual assault, staying sexually safe and dating violence. Then I was thinking about my old scars. The ones you can't see. And talking to "my girls" about their scars was even more heart breaking than thinking about my own. Because I've survived mine. Theirs are still new. And they will survive. (You will! You have people that love you and want to be your circles of protection!)

All of this got me thinking about scars. Our scars are beauty. They tell a story about our past and something that has happened to us that we have overcome. They remind us that we have gotten better because of it. Some of our scars are on the outside where people can see them and some of our scars are held in our hearts. They all matter, they are a part of us. They've taught us things and helped us grow.

I need to remember that.