Your Excellence Spirit
It’s that time of year again fellow AWiBers, Women of Excellence month! I’d like to think of it as my AWiB Christmas. Trust me when I say, I love me some Christmas!I am total ferengi, when it comes to Christmas. I’m the first one to pop out my Santa hat a month before, sing-along to all the jingle tunes all day long, ready for countdown. I’m also one to throw a “Christmas-in-June” themed house party, just for the sake of it, right smack in the middle of summer. But, here I am, here in Ethiopia, where Christmas is just not as I have been used to for so long. So as December slowly creeps by, I’m left to joyous reminiscing of that Christmas spirit I so loved to be immersed in. Now though, I have a different kind of spirit to rejoice about, I call it my Excellence spirit. Not the Christmas spirit, but my Excellence spirit.
What is it, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Being lucky enough to have participated in the interviewing and selection of the 2017 Women of Excellence, I was struck by the Excellence spirit. The spirit that ignites in you a point to reflect on your contributions as woman in your society, your community, your tribe and to our world at large. A time of the month where you are compelled to consider the many great doings of individuals that arebut silently making noise. Women that you would have never thought or heard of, as recognizing and appreciating for all they do. That’s where AWiB comes in, steadfast and bold in their relentless promotion of excellent women.
It was such am amazing experience to have the opportunity to get to know the amazing stories of some very amazing female individuals. It was so inspiring to reflect on the achievements and continuous strides of these wonderful females. And so in the spirit of excellence, I thought I’d reflect on what it means to me and hopefully start a dialogue amongst you all.
Excellence, first of, means what? The dictionary says it is “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good” a word derived from the Latin word “excellere” which means, “to surpass”. You have to give it up to AWiB for being the first association of its kind to recognize such exceptional qualities in our Ethiopian women. Women who should be known for their work towards our communities, their stand for women’s rights, their struggle and strive to bring change and their strength to carry out their activities amidst all odds. These are the women who have paved paths for all other young women to follow, to lead and to recreate for the next generation of amazing women to come. And so here I pause to first thank AWiB for acknowledging these women.
Our president-elect Meti, said something that has been craved in my brain ever since, she said “when joining AWiB, all I asked for was to be pushed a little, but they literarily shoved me to where I am right now”. It’s a great example of just how AWiB slaps you across the face with only the intention of waking you up to your true potential. And so my AWiBers, take heed, Women of Excellence is to wake us all up to the work of so many amazing females in different fields of life that have pushed forward through all sorts of hurdles and challenges to get to where they are now and now we have a space to be able to celebrate and get inspired by these women.
We are all born in the definition of purity and excellence, all in our own unique way. Sometimes though, as a woman struggling to bring change to a male dominated world, or to a woman simply trying to do her best, the best way she knows how, its nice to have a support group that reminds you of that. Reminds you of your excellence and recognizes what needs to be appreciated about your excellence. A group of conscious women, happy to celebrate another woman’s achievements and excited to compliment her in style, I might add.
Voices that need to be applauded in order to infect others with the motivation to fight for excellence in one’s self. We all need to strive for excellence in our lives, it is the only way we can grow. We have to continue to find it in ourselves to want to be better in all aspects of our lives, but most importantly in the lives of others as, what Nahu calls, “titleless leaders”. I think to be a woman of excellence you must want to give all that you have, in whatever you do, to make, not only your life, but the lives of those around you always better. And that’s what AWiB celebrates.
So, not Merry Christmas, but Merry Excellence to all those reading and hopefully to all those excited, as I am, to get to know the new set of AWiB’s selected Women of Excellence this year! I’m infected with the spirit, I only ask that you bring out your Excellence spirit, and infect others! See you at Sheraton!