Amy J.

Costa Rica

I am a former teacher that still loves interacting with students of all ages. I love exercise and talking to people. My goals are to add value to my communities, enjoy nature, to travel and learn.

About Me

Portfolio Connect

Guatemala trip reflections

It was just a couple of weeks ago that we went to Guatemala and spent some time at the Meso school with our friends from Utah and The Wonderment. There were many things that stood out for me about this trip and I wanted to write them down before I forgot their importance.

I love traveling with friends and exploring new areas. Guatemala was a new country for me and going there with Cloe and Mileidy at the beginning of the trip felt easy. I say easy because I have traveled with them before, I feel comfortable with them and I trust them in new situations. They make me think because they have great insights into other people and experiences. It was also fitting to have Cassia, Matt and Amy along with their families join the trip the next day. A few times in my life when I am fully out of my comfort zone have been with the Wonderment crew. The amount of support, trust and ease I felt to travel with this many people is something that I am grateful for.
I love schools - the energy and the excitement from the energy of the kids is infectious. Thinking about how to motivate students with projects and set up the structure with the teachers is a fun puzzle. It made the Project Wonder idea real for a moment. I want to figure out how to capture that and move it out to the world.
The volcano hike was really hard. Actually, the hike was not hard, the evening and night were hard. I am not sure how I feel about my reaction to the sleeping and bathroom quarters. I think that it is always good to experience something like that so that it puts our life into perspective. It is also interesting to do something like that with a group so that you see the necessity of having people around you that are supportive and get you through hard things.

More than anything, relationships are key to life. I am grateful for everyone that I interacted with on the trip and will continue to think about the different elements of the trip that impacted discussions and decisions in the upcoming weeks. Let me know what you took away from this experience!

See More of This Path

Business journeys with a small dose of health

I would like to follow a process of finding the right fit activities for right now. My old right fit was being a teacher. There is a picture of me and my class on a very cool field trip to Atlanta and showing some of the great connections that we made there. I am moving on from that job where I had a ton of connections and now am working to branch out and create something new. This is showing what it is like to start a new venture. This week, the new ventures are opening a new store in our area and the different aspects of how to do that. The other new venture is starting Project Wonder and opening that up to the world to take part in. Another would be working on staying healthy and enjoying the outdoors and exercise communities here in Guanacaste Costa Rica. So all of those things are at the forefront of my mind right now and I would like to think about the process of going through some business journeys along with a small part of creating balance and health in a busy life.

See More of This Path

Reflection about strengths from Amy

The prompt was to think about how my strengths are relevant today and what I can use them for in the future.

It gives you the confidence to stand up for what you believe in.

My strength of creativity has me always looking for interesting and fun ways to do things. This has led me to be creative in jobs that I have had in the past, I have created new structures of new ways of doing things and have really enjoyed doing that. This strength of creativity and the understanding of people around me really helps to make my surroundings enjoyable.

I would like to think that I believe in doing things that others will benefit from and it is interesting to make the world a better place. These are the things that propel me to continue to create and revise and communicate with others. To be creative, it is also important to hear how the process works for others and to adapt to their feedback. This needs to be something that I keep in mind as well!

It supports your understanding of your motivation to do things.

Right now it is important to know my strengths because I am trying to start a new business that might be my work for many years to come. I have an idea in my head and I get pretty excited about it when I think about the outcome of the project for me and for students that will be involved in the upcoming years. My strengths of creativity help me envision the outcome and give me lots of ideas to work with while I am moving forward with the project. Because I have good social intelligence, I am always looking for people to work with and I also am able to talk to so many people about the idea and get some input and suggestions along the way. That motivates me.

When I look at these strengths, I also realize that I can implement this project. However, I also realize that those are not enough to manage the daily output and need input to implement the details.

Some of this I am learning on a daily basis. What is the motivation behind getting things done? It is not money that is the motivating factor, but it is developing something that I am proud of and something that will help students succeed in the world that we are living in today. Because of that, I need to make sure that I put the effort in to create something of value that students will be engaged with throughout the process.

That could be where my strength of zest comes in. I have a lot of energy and need to create good structure to make sure that the time that I have is spent well.

See More of This Response

The things that interest me!

More than anything, I just love being around people and thinking about how to make the world a better place. If I can do that while exercising, that is a bonus.

Strengths

These are my strengths from the VIA strengthsfinder test and I think that they are correct. I am full of zest and creativity and also love talking to people and they love talking to me. :) So, social intelligence is something that I feel like is important for me.

Communities

This made me think about what communities that I belong to and there are a lot! It makes me realize why I am busy and why I feel weird when I am not with people. But I do love people so this makes sense. I have my sports groups, mountain biking, running, pilates, yoga and tennis. These people are my greatest friends because usually these activities are in the morning and I am at my best in the morning. We can solve problems together, trust our commitment and also get our exercise out of the way for the day. I would not be the same without all my exercise friends. My work communities are also very important. I love working on projects with people and having work to do energizes me and makes me think. I appreciate all the support I get from both of my jobs. I also love the relationships that I have built with my former students. They are now my friends and I am happy to still be their mentor. I also am finding that they are my support in new ventures and I have hired a few for my other job. And most of all I am so happy with my family. We are a good team and are full of love. Community is the most important thing for me. I love being a part of something and working together toward a goal. Whether it be fitness, support, business, or just companionship, it is a must for me in life. I grow and learn from all of these relationships.

Edit your Profile.