Our live-streamed series, DreamWakers Daily: Career Conversations from Home, has featured a number of incredible speakers via Facebook Live over the last five weeks. This week we focused on the #DreamTheme of resilience.
What does resilience mean, especially in a time like this? Is resilience important? How can we build it? What advice do we have for students regarding resilience? We asked and YOU answered! Below we have compiled ten reflections from #DreamEducators and #DreamSpeakers on resilience.
1.“During this time of uncertainty and fear, of life and death situations and missed proms and graduations, I have come to see resilience as the small acts that keep us as individuals and as a community moving forward. Resilience will help us through this crisis and all the other moments of crisis and uncertainty we’ll face in our lives going forward.” — Jill Salisbury, Director of PrepNext at DC Prep
2.“Resilience is continuing to press on and stay positive no matter what comes your way. If something knocks you down, that’s okay — as long as you get back up again.” — Allison Kappler, Educator at Linkhorne Middle School & Paul Munro Middle School, Lynchburg, VA
3.“Resilience is remembering that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you’ll ever know.” — Kelly Pearce, DreamWakers’ 2019 Educator of the Year, Lincoln Middle School, Rio Rancho, NM
4.“Resilience has become my most important trait in this time of social distancing and telecommuting. Realizing that each and every day is its own unique gift is what this time has really reinforced for me.” — Lamont Smith, Avid Editor at NBC Sports
5.“Resilience is about sticking to a comfortable and comforting routine that is punctuated by change to keep things fresh and interesting.” —Ann Merchant, Deputy Executive Director, Office of the Chief Communications Officer at the National Academy of Sciences
6.“Resilience is, under the face of pressure or outside forces saying no, the idea of staying true to the idea of a path that is right for you.” — Arpan Somani, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Codecademy
7.“I think of resilience as an ongoing presence that keeps you steady. During trying times, it is especially important to go with the flow of what is happening versus resisting. My practice of resilience, at this time, has been to live in the now and express gratitude in all that comes and seemingly goes.” — Dr. Bridget McCurtis, Founder & Chief Education Officer at Beyond Measure Coaching and Consulting
8.“Resilience is understanding the struggle you’re going through and using that struggle and the understanding of it to transform your experience.” —Dr. Shyma El Sayed, Clinical Psychologist & CEO at Alkeme Psychology
9.“Resilience is like a scar. It isn’t a sign that you’ve been hurt. On the contrary, it is a sign that you have been healed. When we come out on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is one scar that we should all be so proud to wear.” — Heather Shotke, Educator at Muscatel Middle School, Rosemead, CA
10.“Recognizing and reminding myself that I am not in this alone has helped me be more resilient. Human beings love to help one another. If we remember that, we will be stronger and our direct communities will be stronger.” — Rachel Liverman, Founder & CEO of Glowbar
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves! Thank you to the DreamWakers community for sharing your wisdom with us.
#DreamSpeaker Dr. Shyma El Sayed created a beautiful mandala and journal page for DreamWakers. Download it here and be sure to tag @alkemepsych and @dreamwakers_ on Instagram to show us your finished piece.
Watch our conversations on resilience and all of our past conversations on Youtube or on our Facebook Page. Want to keep up with the latest DreamWakers news? Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!
