President's Corner - From the August Newsletter

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.— William Shakespeare
 
I’ve been thinking about my personal journey and how the heck I got here.
 
Many of you know that I teach art, lead the Drawing Study Group, and of course there’s that Presidentin’ thing.
 
What you may not know is that that all came about because someone looked at me, saw who I am, and said, “I bet she can do this!”
 
Those who looked at me and saw my potential didn’t just look, they encouraged me, gently prodding me to take on teaching drawing at the Senior Center, then painting class, leading a drawing group, and finally becoming your president. Just those things have happened over the last year and a half. (checks calendar…yup, that’s right, less than 2 years!)
 
I don’t consider myself to be a natural leader. In fact I’m more of a stay on the sidelines type. I volunteered a little here and there and didn’t speak up much outside of close friends and family. That’s all changed now!
 
Yesterday’s Helen stayed safe, waiting to be asked for help, afraid she couldn’t do the job, and so on. She stayed safe, but she also missed out on the connection, the joy, the outright blast of working with and encouraging other artists.
 
Don’t be like yesterday’s Helen. Think about what you could do to help your fellow members and community by volunteering. You never know where that will take you. You may be surprised at what you are capable of…like I was.
 
Yours in ART,
Helen

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