Today at orientation, Dr. Merrill talked about our personal brand and how we are in a position right now to completely recreate our brand if necessary, or solidify the brand we have already started.

I was struck, yet again, by how blessed I am to have this opportunity and just what an awesome responsibility it is. I really want to make the most of it and I want to become the person that I have always dreamed of becoming.

Here are some ideas that I thought about today. I’m sure I will add to it later, but I think it’s a good start. I want to be:

• someone who empowers others. I think fear and insecurity often drive me to want to appear “better than”, but in reality, that is not who I want to be. I want to be a person who makes people feel like they can do anything. I want to be a person people turn to when they are totally discouraged because they know that I will be there to support them. And I want to be the “cheerleader” who is happy when someone gets an internship, even if it was the one that I really wanted.
• a contributor. I do not want to be a leech. I want to add to what is going on in my section and in my team.
• someone who knows how to use humor appropriately, sans sarcasm. I do not want be funny at the expense of others, or myself.
• confident. To me confidence is liberating. It doesn’t mean that I will always be successful, but it does mean that I will be confident in my abilities to succeed eventually. Or maybe to overcome obstacles is a better way to put that.
• someone who people trust with their name, their reputation, their stories.
• Christlike. For me, right now, this means seeing everyone as a child of God and treating them that way.

I had a bit of a hard time with the final one today. I often get a little insecure around women who I view as being my equals, if you will, or my superiors as is often the case. Anyway, I started to get a little judgmental today and I don’t want to do that. I think there’s a difference between judging someone and removing yourself from a situation that you don’t want to be in.