Back home

Back Home- Coming home has been a joy because I learned so much during my time in South Africa and I have truly enjoyed sharing my experiences with family and friends. My recovery from the jet-lag was quick and painless and this only further reinforces my feelings of strength and renewed energy to get back into my routine. As I have interacted with my friends and family, it has been interesting to put my learnings into practice especially relating to white male privilege and the things I’ve learned about expressing emotions as a male. So far, I feel very comfortable giving up space for others to live into. I have had many opportunities to take an active listening role since returning to my job coaching climbing. I’ve enjoyed seeing my coworkers thrive with this space. I am continuing to work on expressing emotions as a male in a safe way by naming my emotions instead of defaulting to anger, as it is socially acceptable for men to be angry most of the time. I find it interesting and freeing to be able to name something like frustration instead of not knowing what I’m feeling and expressing anger.