There is this new role in my development as a professional, one where I am forcing myself to take advantage of every possible opportunity that comes my way. I find that I say yes to each request to conduct a lecture or presentation and then a minute later I regret that I had agreed because there is a part of me that is too timid to follow through. Yet, there is this strong sense of purpose when sharing critical information about inclusive education and yes, a little bit of pride for being brave by putting myself out there. The nerves, the worry, the effort to make it just right, the desire to impress, the effort to prepare, and concern to not wanting to waste anyone’s time, are all reasons to not complete the task. In the end, I am glad I pushed through. It’s hard – even with having a theater background, I still have self doubt about why would they want to hear this information from me. But I’m glad I put myself out there, and at the end of each experience I reflect that I have in turn learned from the task and participants. Inevitably it becomes this beautiful collaborative, global, professional exchange.
The passion I have when sharing this platform of inclusive education is my greatest asset and though I am becoming more confident with owning my areas of expertise, I love what each experience has brought. From meeting intelligent educators from around the world, to the fascinating questions I had yet to think they would ask, from the laughter that only like-minded special education teachers share even across cultures, it all becomes an awesome global exchange.