Valeria's Portfolio 2024

2024 Ethnic Women's Leadership Course A LADY KHADIJA TRUST INITIATIVE

ValeriaSanchez

THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!

My purpose is basically to not starve out and enjoy my time while I am alive. Maybe on my way to death, I get the chance to share with others the mysterious experience of living but other than a mere sparkle of chance, we don't have.

What is my purpose?

Honesty. Adaptability.

What do I stand for?

My future metaphor:Boiling Fire

Ever since I came to live to NZ I haven't seen fire. My stove is electric, the oven is electric, the electric kettle boils my water. Campfires are forbidden, lighters are not sold in supermarkets, matches can't be lit nor candles and so on... Where I come from we are taught how to use fire gracefully and respectfully. We don't avoid fire. We acknowledge its capacity. I want to be the fire that boils my own and ever-changing water.

I journal since I am 19 years old, years later I added doing yoga to my self-reflection practice but since I am in NZ I haven't found a shala where my body and my mind feel comfortable. Here yoga practice is too white. Besides this, oftentimes I go around having conversations with myself. I immerse in my thoughts and feelings because my mind is a calm place to be. Last but not least, I attend therapy regularly.

My reflection practice.

Water The water that slowly drops from the melted ice laying on the mountain peak. The water that springs up quietly from the underground to the creek. The water that unapologetically finds its way back into the vast endless ocean. The water that angrily feeds the volatile hurricane. But mostly, I choose to be the sweet water that calms the unscrupulous drought.

What is my story?

I will keep working on myself so that I can achieve the best version of me, just because without a healthy-fully Valeria, the rest of the connections become secondary.

What will I do to help achieve my WHY?

I revised the dots given a couple of times and concluded that I am 25% each of them. They come across in no particular order depending on the situation. I grew up with parents who had no middle point between their communication styles and whose interactions where different inside and outside of home so I learned to deal with those very fluctuating dots. That's why I speak 4 languages, I am a language teacher, and that's why I studied Fine Arts.

My communication style.

Something I have learned as a language teacher is to give room to silence. You cannot process what is being said if you simply just don't shut up. An effective communication comes to live as soon as parties are allowed to express without noisy interference. Also, honest listening comes through leaving your judgments, prejudices, and ideas aside... otherwise you will assume based on what you previously had agreed on internally.

My listening exercise.

ONCE A MONTH-Reading a good book.-Watching a good movie.-Having a date with my husband. -Going out for a long walk by myself.

My tools.

DAILY -Taking shower-Drinking coffee-Eating a cookie-Moving my body-Journaling

Woman. Brown. Strong. Feminist. Millennial. Mexican. Educated. Fully Bilingual. Multilingual. First Born Daughter. Middle class. Married. Critical Thinker. Reader. Passionate. Committed. Traveler. Sportive. Understanding. Vulnerable. Human.

Who Am I?