“How can you know what you’re capable of if you don’t embrace the unknown?”
Esmeralda Santiago
Summer of 2011, I worked as a counselor at a summer camp, and I really believe every 20-something wanting to have a baby right away should take this job first. It’s extreme babysitting except they don’t go to sleep at a decent hour, and instead of being responsible for an average 2-3 kids, you have twelve.
One night, another counselor and I had a tent full of preteen girls. Just as everyone is about settled (which is a miracle in and of itself), one of them started screaming. Naturally, the rest of them started screaming too. It was 11 pm, and there was a snake in our tent. Great. I got out of my sleeping bag, stood on my cot, and yelled for them all to get out. We ushered them outside and to the dock on the lake so camp staff could behead the possibly poisonous creature. Some girls were crying, and none of them could wrap their minds around the fact that they would have to go back and sleep in the same tent where the snake intruder once resided. As we approached the dock, I realized this could be an important teachable moment, and more importantly, we needed to distract them.
I arranged the girls in a circle, and started a conversation on fear. We talked about how fear can build up and hold us back if we let it. However, we also talked about how fear and courage aren’t opposites; they actually walk hand-in-hand, so expect one to come with the other. Fear isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of awareness.
Movement in life – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual – is always taxing, emotional, and revealing. Nearly ten years after camp, I understand the depth and gravity of that discussion on the dock that night in my own adult life as your Realtor. The career path I chose allows me to be your perspective when the process becomes stressful or when tensions rise. I am your trusted advisor and your encouragement, and I don’t take any responsibility lightly, let alone that one. Trusting the process in a high stress situation forces us to rely on others, which is why it’s important to have the right people and tools readily available to you during this time – whether it’s beheading a snake or purchasing a piece of real estate.
Always,
Syd Phil