"Find and follow your trail to stay on your path. Be aware of yourself and your surroundings. Trust that you will find your way,
and don't hold yourself responsible for the trails and trials of others.
–Sabrina Moyle
We hear terms such as trailblazer but do we know
exactly what that entails? Did you know that each of us in this room is a trailblazer
in our own right? A trailblazer is defined as a pioneer, someone willing to take risks and go on a path
that isn't already there. They blaze a trail and leave a way for others. One that blazes a trail to
guide others. As social workers, we are trailblazers according to the
definition. We listen to others. We assess others. We guide others. We help the
helpless. We help advocate for others. We help connect others to resources. We
are kind, compassionate, and welcoming to others. We are trailblazers whether
we accomplish something minimum to momentum.
Your trailblazing
moments started when you decided to apply and attend our beloved illustrious
Mother Tuskegee. You both decided to become trailblazers by leaving your
respected hometowns, making the Pilgrimage to Tuskegee University by showing up
for classes, studying, asking questions, being guided by professors, staff, and
advisors, and partaking in personal and professional development, all while
getting to know who you are and who you are becoming.
You probably questioned
why you were chosen to partake in the social work career path, not realizing
that social work chose you, and you accepted and completed the assignment.
Now you have reached
the path of transition. You are going from part-time adulating to full-time
adulating. First, you have matriculated through TU by fulling the social work
and University course requirements. Then, you assed an
accelerated, macro practice Summer virtual internship that not only stretched
and challenged you both but helped enhance and broaden your skill sets in grant
writing, research, leadership, and becoming trailblazers as the 1st
interns at your particular internship. But, you set the trail ablaze by partaking in
your internships during a time in which the world got turned upside due to the
global pandemic, uncertain how to meet hours due to time zone differences,
military obligations, and overall adulating decisions. TrailBlazers help people develop a strong
sense of self-worth, know how to problem-solve, deal with tough times, and have
the mindset of being a leader.
Eight ways to continue
to make waves and blaze trails:
1.
Be fearless
and advocate for yourself (Be your client) and others: Social workers constantly
advocate for change for clients, communities, policies, and human, social, and
environment l rights. Make sure you support yourself as well. Advocate for
better work conditions and mental health, and be fearless. As a social
worker and full-time adult, you will face challenges and unpredictable
situations. Be courageous and face them head-on. Being fearless also calls for
being imperfect and okay with making mistakes, as you will have the bounce-back
magic to recover from them. Be a force to be reckoned with. Set the tone. Be
your first client by exercising self-awareness and self-reflection, and help
yourself first.
2.
Be
coachable and teachable: It's okay if you are not the smartest or most seasoned
in the room. It is okay to b coachable and teachable. You do not know
everything, nor will you know everything in this lifetime or the next. Be
vulnerable and open to learning from the babies, elders, and people who look
and live differently than you. We all have something to share and learn from
one another. We all have lived experiences that can help guide and mode us. Learning from others enables you to grow, evolve, and become more
empathetic, well-rounded, and well-read.
3.
Be
self-accountable and responsible for showing up for yourself and others. Stop
making excuses, limit yourself and opportunities, and take accountability and
r responsibility for YOU! It comes to a point in your life where you must stop
blaming others for your shortcomings, imperfections, limitations, and
stagnates. Be must be aware of these things and decide what direction or redirection you will take. Change is never easy, a d humans despise change. To
become a trailblazer, you have to be okay with being uncomfortable in your
comfort zone, learn from feedback, look in the mirror, and hold yourself
accountable for where you are in life mentally, emotionally, physically, and
spiritually.
4.
Ask for
help: As the African Proverbs states: "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go
together" It is okay to ask for help and receive it along the way. We live
in a society in which people throw around the term "self-made" no one
is self-made or pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. We all had someone
help elevate, inspire, uplift, educate, empower, hold us accountable, and help
us to live. It's okay to give help and to give support when
needed. But make sure you have a balance and reciprocate the help.
5.
Each One,
Teach One, Each One Reach One: As social workers, not only are you a
trailblazer, but you are also a coach, mentor, educator, and ambassador
of Tuskegee. Your job is to reach and teach somebody and help somebody. Actively listen, and provide
a safe space for every room that enters your space. People want to be heard, seen,
validated, and humanize. You must ensure you handle people with great care
because we all are fighting an internal battle. Everyone can't be saved or
helped, but make sure you show up, do your best, and do your job well. Meet
people where they are and lift them. As our co-founder and ancestor of the
prestigious institution, Booker T.
Washington, stated: "If you want to lift yourself, lift someone
else."
6. Practice
Radical Self-Care, Confidence, and Boundaries: Put your oxygen mask on first. You
cannot and will not be everything to everyone. As social workers, we pour into
people daily. We are the problem solvers, advocates, facilitators,
policymakers, and movers and shakers. We are often left drained, burnout, and experience compassion fatigue. Make sure you practice self-care while doing
this work. Learn how to live a peaceful, s simple, happy, and healthy life. Know
when to shut things down, try not to become a workaholic, try not to bring your
cases and client's problems home with you, know when to take a vacation, not
work-cation, exercise, eat right, laugh, live life to the fullest, be confident
in the work that you do, create professional boundaries by not overexposing
yourself and don't become a yes person and overload yourself with an endless to-do list, while neglecting yourself, your health, and re t. Remember, health
is wealth. If you aren't right, everything else will be misaligned. Know when to say no and delegate tasks. No is a complete sentence. It is called balance.
Find your flow and roll with it. Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, an act of political warfare."
--Audre Lorde.
7 Be Patient,
Be Persistent: In life, you must be patient with yourself and others because we all are a work in progress. Take life moment by moment. Live
for the present. Don't worry about yesterday's mistakes or tomorrow's problems.
Be patient with yourself. Be patient with your career path, salary, and growth.
Everything takes time. Be persistent and go after what you want and need.
Remember, you may not get what you want, but you get what you need, and that's
okay. You may be redirected to something better and grander. Nev r limit
yourself. Be prepared and not scared. Let your yes be yes, and let your no be
no. You never know what new heights you are being prepared for, whether on the
job or in your personal life. Be prepared to say yes or no.
8.
Believe In
Yourself, Have Faith, and Give Thanks: In a world filled with uncertainties,
you have to believe that everything is going to be okay, and if not, you will be
okay. Believe in your ability to improve the spaces you enter and the people
you come across. Be kind and believe in a belief system outside yourself to
maintain your sanity. Always give thanks to those who believed in you, those
who have helped you, those who provided words of wisdom, encouragement, and
care pack gas, provided an opportunity, and gave you a helping hand. Please make
sure you pay it forward.
In
conclusion: "Greatness
is not measured by what opposite or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he
or she has overcome to reach his goals."
We all are trailblazers
in our own right. So continue to make waves and blaze that trail.
