Reflections

I am going to first apologize in advance for the emotional post! I am sitting on the plane now en route to New York from Hong Kong and am reflecting back on this assignment. I have so many emotions right now – sad that the assignment is over and very sad to leave new friends. But I am also so very excited to get home to see my kids and husband. It’s been a long time away from them and I can not wait to see them all again! Only a few more hours!

I was telling someone the other day that I need some time now to actually sit and process everything that we did and accomplished during the course of the 1 month assignment. It went by so fast and every day was a new and separate set of experiences. In this post, I’m going to try to summarize some of the things that I learned during my stay in the Philippines. We also had the opportunity to conduct round table discussions at the IBM office yesterday. I was in a group with HR professionals and we discussed the Corporate Service Corps (hoping some of them will get to experience it!) and career progression, etc. It was a great discussion and it also gave me the opportunity to think about some of the accomplishments and challenges of the assignment.

I learned so much over the last month, but here are some of the things that really stick out to me.

1. To grow, you must step outside of your comfort zone. I think I found a way to somehow step out of my comfort zone every day of this assignment. From agreeing to do a live TV interview, getting comfortable with singing and performing in front of crowds, discussing recommendations on topics that are outside of my expertise, to trying exotic foods (balut!) – there was always a chance for a new experience. I chose to embrace the challenges and tried to tackle them head on. In order to grow and develop as a person, it is important to experience discomfort every once in awhile. In the words of the Ginni Rometty (IBM CEO)…Growth and comfort do not coexist. I believe I was able to grow personally and professionally due to this assignment.

2. Embrace new friendships and be open to making connections with people around the world. Friends can pop up anywhere and anytime. Despite vast differences in background, culture and life experiences, you will always find ways to connect with others over similar passions and values. I have formed some strong friendships with fellow IBM CSC team members as well as with our team at DOST. Don’t close anyone out. After all, we are all more alike than we may think.

3. Be flexible and go with the flow. I usually consider myself to be a planner. I like to plan things ahead of time and anticipate and plan for different possible scenarios. During the course of this assignment, we needed to be flexible and learned that it is not possible to plan out everything because you never know what will happen. No internet connection for our final presentations? Improvise. Asked to stand up in front of a convention to talk about myself and education challenges in my home country…with a 5 minute warning? Bring it on! A DOST Director wants you to dance to YMCA before indulging in a meal? Why not!

4. Keep a positive attitude and have fun! I talked about this one in an earlier post. Don’t forget to smile, laugh and have fun. A simple smile is contagious and can affect the mood of a room. Fun and laughter can and should be integrated into most situations. Life goes by fast and it’s important to not always take it so seriously.

5. Always allow time for reflection. I learned this from Director Richard, our DOST STII host during our assignment. He provided us with some many wonderful experiences that I will always remember. In his words “skill up while you are young, climb your volcanos and get your work done to great success, but never forget to quietly appreciate the way the day turns into night. It’s the stuff that makes us happy and fulfilled and a vital skill.”

I love this and will try to find more ways to slow down and reflect on and appreciate life experiences.

Roundtable with IBM HR:

Saying goodbye to friends at the hotel:

Saying goodbye to Manila from the sky:

Another sunset…from the plane somewhere over the US Midwest