Roeipraet 2-2019

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when that nagging sensation comes that says “No you can’t,” I’ve successfully built the other part of my brain that says, “Oh yeah? Watch me.” You helped me gain a sense of resiliency that understands how growth really only does come after discomfort – personally and pro- fessionally. And now, I choose to go there. The thing is, I played a lot of team sports - team is not a new concept to me. But rowing was different and the- re’s this one moment that has always stuck with me. It was my first time being in the top boat as a sophomore. I was shaking in my foot stretchers (the shoes in the

boat that a rower puts her feet in). We did our normal warm up and the coxswain told us to “way enough” (stop) with our oars up. We glided. No, not glided, we soared. We PERFECTLY balanced our boat as if we were one person. Not many people know what that feels like – the complete and utter abandonment of self for a greater good - the exact way rowers must find compromise in a boat of 8 to reach its fullest potential. We glided. No, not glided - We soared.

In life, I quickly learned that we really are always on a team. Everyone always said how sports help you with this, but I didn’t really get it until now. The second thing you taught me was not just how to be a good teammate, but to truly operate from a team mindset. I know that what I do every day is not just about me, its about making the team I’m on better. It’s a sense of trust and harmony, tied together with purpose, that

help us move in unison. And it’s this ability and mindset that make our teams, our offices, and our relationships more successful. You taught me that this true sense of team is rare and when you find it, appreciate it. The last thing you taught me is the one I’ve been thinking most about and that is to row my own race. Of course, we constantly are competing against the boat next to us. But at the core of what makes a good rower different, is the ability to trust herself in trying times - the confidence and self-awareness that she has to turn on the gas at just the right moment. And now in my life, with considerable professional aspirations and an unsettling feeling that I should be doing more, I find myself having to trust in rowing my own

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