Hello 2022. Hello you.
Still remote. Mute? Frozen? Oh no, we are just so skilled now with that coordinated action of camera and microphone, like some kind of new breed of zoomie wizards. I’m 14 days in and no talk whatsoever of ‘seeing me but not hearing me’ or vice versa. Dare I say it, we are pros at this and have decided that two years of a new ‘thing’ automatically entrenches it into our every ‘thing.’
Shall I tell you what I’ve learnt? Go on, humour me? Yep, that together thing. All warm and squidgy and dare I say a tad earnest. But my oh my, going it alone, in virtually anything nowadays, is pretty horrifying. Grab yourself an emotionally intelligent friend, family member or colleague and life starts to creak itself out of almost any trauma. After all, how good do we know we really are without asking someone? The chances are we aren’t going to give an accurate description of ourselves, to ourselves. But someone else? Someone else can see us, hear us, help us and you never know….join us?
Having recently read the utterly captivating book ‘The Choice,’ by Edith Eger, where another soul, or belief in another soul, can salvage hope when all of life appears hopeless, I am reminded of the human spirit. A reminder of how humans need other humans even when we
don’t believe that to be true. Edith talks about ‘never criticising’ others. ‘Ever.’ Now there’s a thing. To really think about that, every time we speak. Try it. Something extraordinary happens. We are led onto a road where the only paths are friendly. Well what a thing. Delivering bad news, but never actually being bad. This is where humans learn to like each other despite disagreeing. Mmm, novel. I LIKE!
Nothing impresses me more than ambitious young people. Last night I had the privilege of meeting some of the members of our local youth council. An erudite teen chairing her way through an online meeting of mixed ages and sexes, like a knife through butter. We have never owed the stage to young people more than we do now. Time for adults to step out of the way and for the teen-massive to get back to what they do best, being together with their mates, as much as humanly possible. Something we need to aspire to ourselves in adulthood, even if it now feels a bit wrong, or a bit wierd.
As I said, together is better.
Michelle is an experienced operational and strategic senior manager with 10 years experience in the NHS. She is currently studying an MBA in Strategic Management and recently accomplished the Board Directors Programme. Michelle has an interest in the governance and development of services.
Kelly is a registered nurse and has had a varied career that has crossed both education and health and usually involved supporting young people. She joined You Before Two in its infancy, initially to support with delivering Workshop around Sexual Health and Contraception as that was her ‘day’ job at the time. She has more recently moved into a Safeguarding Children’s role in nursing and so has become the Safeguarding Lead at the charity. Its great to see how You Before Two has grown in the last 3 years and it’s a pleasure to be part of it.
Andrea is from Brazil. She emigrated to England around 15 years ago and she loves it. She has always worked with people in her life, and it is something that really fills her soul. During her early years in Brazil, she used to work as a volunteer in her church providing free soup for people in need and also visiting hospitals trying to cheer up those in need of a chat or a cuddle. She has always believed that we should help each other and now more than ever. We are living in a very busy world where sometimes even when you are surrounded by many people you are still feeling lonely. Therefore she believes that if she could help the next generation to go through life without all the worries and concerns that she had when she was that age, is just an amazing opportunity.
Fiona has over 20 years experience as a Solicitor. She is a Senior Partner for a firm in Rotherham. Fiona has an avid interest in education and supporting young people in an increasingly challenging world. She has a wealth of experience of being on charity boards and is You Before Two’s legal and policy expert. Fiona has been with You Before Two since its inception and is a dedicated and dynamic member of the team.
The day you stop learning is the day you stop living.