a changed women

Q10: what influence did this trip have on you as a leader?

First, I want to reference my Q1. I wanted to learn to be more flexible on this trip, and I can honestly say that if there was one major thing that this trip helped me with it would be flexibility. There were a few moments when things went a little crazy and I laughed it off and told Mads not to worry about me because I was just going with the flow. Eventually, everything worked out… even with me in the back seat, and that is a lesson I will never forget. This trip also had a few more significant influences on me including embracing learning opportunities and some safety precautions. I was tested quite a few times on this trip through the cold showers, sicknesses, and allergies, and I had to just take it all in. The very first night I showered dead last. I lost my breath it was so cold, and I was almost at the point of tears, and then something great happened… Mads accidentally flipped the light off in the bathroom I was in. So there I was… cold, in the dark, and naked. I froze for a second, a little confused and a little startled. I didn’t know what to do, so I just laughed. I reminded myself I was in Greece and I literally laughed it off. That was a big learning opportunity for me. I learned how to be completely out of my comfort zone and laugh because it truly didn’t matter that much in the grand scheme of things. The other side of my influence was safety. I have never felt so unsafe in a place until Athens. Getting catcalled multiple times, approached multiple times, and begged for money multiple times was simply something I have yet to experience. It made me open my mind a little more and realize not only that Kansas isn’t such a bad place to be but also the world is a little bigger and darker than I see day-to-day in my comfortable and secure lifestyle. As a whole, I feel like this trip influenced me to learn, adapt, and move on, and for that, I will never be able to repay Mads, Leadership, or Greece.Read more