NINJA Mentor Training

As many of you know that I've been a participant at this NINJA Youth Leadership Conference for three years and then getting the opportunity to go back as a Mentor this summer is such a dream come true!!! I am very much aware of the many expectations and guidelines that I will need to be following in order for this to be a successful week for those involved. It's really amazing to have a chance of being able to offer as much support and input as I can to the youth we are serving, but as well as helping out the Center Staff too. They are such a great and wonderful group of people who have continously supported us in everything that we've done, whether or not we noticed just how much of a impact it would make on our lives. After having been to the conference as a participant, there was absolutely nothing about it I would have wanted to see change or taken place differently- regardless of what those are. 

YESTERDAY AFTERNOON-- My mom and twin sister drove me & our best friend, Danielle up to Salt Lake so that we could attend this NINJA Mentor Training. This particular meeting was truly an amazing experience for us who are going to be there as Staff and believe me, it is a lot more than I'd originally saw on the application. All of us have specific things that we need to work on before this conference takes place and trying not to be too loud, shy, or finding ourselves talking too fast that a lot of people won't be able to understand. It certainly has me thinking fairly hard about making sure that I follow the rules/guidelines as best as I possibly can, because if you must know-- going to this from a different point of view. There have been various moments when I tend to find myself talking way too fast and not being able to slow down what is coming out of my mouth. I know it will be an amazing opportunity to grow as a person and self advocate in the sense, of being able to put my best foot forward in this conference. I am incredibly grateful for this new role that my friends & I will be able to take on throughout the week that we are there helping out. It will not only be super fun, but I know there will be a lot of things I need to take seriously and not be someone who won't be willing and brave enough to step up on things as much as I possibly can. 

To make this long story short, all of the mentors/our staff who were there with us took all of girls out to lunch at Cafe ZUPAS!! (Absolutely incredible and scrumptious if you must know... there is not one thing there I haven't liked or that wasn't the best meal choice for me.) It was super fun getting to have that girl time together and laugh till our hearts were completely tired!! After that, we headed back to the office and watched two videos of what leadership means to us, rather than making it a lot more of a bigger deal than it should be. It is simply about reaching out to people or friends that we know, in a way that we haven't ever been able to do before-- but I also think it has to do with the little things. It's definitely one of the most rewarding things that I'll probably ever get to do as a self advocate, but I'm more than happy to take this leadership role very seriously and give a helping hand whenever it has to be needed at any given moment. 

#NINJA4Life