Coming in to this program, I didn't think I was a leader. I was more of a follower, watching other people do things as I sat idly by. I didn't think I had what it took to be a leader, yet I didn't know what it took to be a leader. What made me join this program was the desire to become a leader.
I was definitely not expecting such a program to make me realize who I was.

I used to value things like success and ambition, as a part of my parents' teachings. I was always told to be the best, or it wouldn't be good enough. Because of my values, I started to judge others for not being as good as I was or myself for not being as good as others. It caused me to be self-deprecating and disapproving of everything, and it has negatively influenced my outlook on life. It caused me to avoid others, to avoid feeling bad for myself. And because of that, I became demure, soft-spoken, and I felt useless.

Through the various activities that we participated in, I learned what it takes to be a leader and that leaders don't have to be born with a "leadership quality" that allows them to be leaders. Leaders create themselves. Leaders can be anyone from anywhere. They aren't just born. They build themselves up.

Through this program, I went on a journey, and the destination was self-awareness. I realized in about the 5th week that I didn't know the difference between what my values are and what I have been told to value. What do I believe? What are my values? Have the values of my traditional parents been past on to me? Do I believe them? I soon discovered through the "Pick 10 values" activity that my values have been heavily influenced by my parents' values and they aren't really my values.

By realizing what my values are, I was able to consolidate what I wanted to do with my life, and I gained the confidence to do so because I valued my life more than success. I found out that I believe one's income and quantity of achievements do not determine one's quality of life.

I want to be able to have people understand that they don't have to be the best to feel good about themselves. I want to be able to lead a movement so that people who are self-aware of their values follow those values, so that they'll be able to accept their beliefs, their lives, and themselves.