perfect fit

About two weeks ago during training I assigned my staff a rather unsual task: take a piece of the staff 'puzzle board' I created and make it their own. I didn't have any expectations of them just that it was to be completed by the first staff meeting (which was tonight.) After going through some housekeeping items and few other important bits of information, we gathered around the table and revealed our puzzle piece designs.

I kind of made this activity up thinking it would be a cool way of showing all of our unique qualities and it allowed us to express ourselves in whatever way we wanted to in a) a short amount of time and b) in a limit amount of space. I think one of the most important parts of the role as a student staff member is to remember that uniqueness is not a bad thing. I really enjoyed coming up with a way of expressing some of the things that are important to me and I think my staff really enjoyed the activity too. Here are some pictures of the end product...

Caitlin forgot that we chose a certain side of the posterboard to decorate, therefore her piece did not fit. But it made room for a few laughs and added some more 'uniqueness' to the puzzle! :-)

This is my piece...

I wanted to not only include things that I really like/enjoy, but a few things that let my staff know a little bit about me without pouring it all out on the table. As you can see, my name is made out of road map stickers because I love to travel. I can't wait to have the opportunity to travel more than I do now. The background of my piece (even though it's hard to see) is made up of a pattern of two different paper designs: 1 is fall leaves and 1 is music notes. Fall is my favorite season. I'm already looking forward to the changing leaves and crisp air. And music is important to me not only because it's my outlet and all of those types of things, but music is something my whole family has in common and it has always meant something to me. When I was in high school I played the alto-sax in jazz band and it was mostly because my sister played when she was in school. I liked playing, but I liked knowing it was something we had in common more than anything. Scattered across my piece are hockey figures. I LOVE hockey. The game, the players, the music, and the beer and nachos. I love it all. I'm hoping I can get to a few more Sabres games this year...and I will of course be a regular at the C-State games. Hockey is something my dad and I really enjoy and therefore makes me feel closer to him. Finally, my piece is surrounded by soccer balls. In high school sports were my life. Soccer especially held a special place in my heart, again, because I was able to play with my sister and then continue to play through my high school career. I was an area all-star, the whole nine yards. But I decided to put soccer on there not because I love the game, but more to remind myself to follow my dreams. I wanted to play soccer at Cortland. I set myself up to play- and then talked myself out of it. To this day I wonder what it would have been like and so soccer not only remains one of my deepest passions, but it serves as a reminder to pursue my dreams no matter how scared I might be. My hope is to coach one day and through that I will continue to spread not only my passion for the game, but the message of never letting yourself or others stand in the way of your dreams.

So many more things could have gone on that puzzle piece to represent my life, but a little mystery never hurt anyone.

Until next time...