Small Wins
In my Community Org class last year, we talked often about the importance of 'small wins.' Within the community organizing world, 'small wins' refers to this: when working with community members to tackle a large scale policy issue, for example, you want to start by taking on (and accomplishing!) a smaller, more feasible goal. And you want to celebrate it! This serves two purposes--one, to help you establish trust, rapport, and build relationships with the community. Two, it's also really empowering for everyone involved--it makes the big challenge seem that much more possible!
Jake and I have tackled my graduate program in much the same way. We celebrate every benchmark, every challenge, every threshold passed. First year of my graduate program? Celebrated. Getting an A in my epidemiology class after reluctantly accepting that I was probably going to lose my 4.0 GPA? Celebrated. And we're about to celebrate again, as I just took my last final and wrapped up my last term of classes. Am I done, yet? No. 200 hours of internship, a 10 page paper, and a 3 hour oral final exam are still standing in the way. But I've crossed some major hurdles and checked a bazillion things off my seemingly endless to-do list. Never again will I sit in a classroom for 3 hours, get home after 7 or sometimes 9 PM, or spend weekends consumed with papers, presentations, or projects. So, we celebrate! Of course, we will celebrate BIG in June when we head to Cancun for 8 days and nights to celebrate 2 years of hard work (eeek--we can't wait!). For now, we're headed east to Sunriver to enjoy sunshine, hiking, craft brews, and some much needed R&R.
Happy Spring Break!
Jake and I have tackled my graduate program in much the same way. We celebrate every benchmark, every challenge, every threshold passed. First year of my graduate program? Celebrated. Getting an A in my epidemiology class after reluctantly accepting that I was probably going to lose my 4.0 GPA? Celebrated. And we're about to celebrate again, as I just took my last final and wrapped up my last term of classes. Am I done, yet? No. 200 hours of internship, a 10 page paper, and a 3 hour oral final exam are still standing in the way. But I've crossed some major hurdles and checked a bazillion things off my seemingly endless to-do list. Never again will I sit in a classroom for 3 hours, get home after 7 or sometimes 9 PM, or spend weekends consumed with papers, presentations, or projects. So, we celebrate! Of course, we will celebrate BIG in June when we head to Cancun for 8 days and nights to celebrate 2 years of hard work (eeek--we can't wait!). For now, we're headed east to Sunriver to enjoy sunshine, hiking, craft brews, and some much needed R&R.
Happy Spring Break!
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