Onstage with women: A Women's Month Tribute

By Niña Terol March 8, 2009 IT is no accident that today, International Women’s Day, is the day when I am able to write this piece. For yesterday and the day before that, I was blessed with a unique opportunity to share my words with women (and men) from different walks of life, and I feel a profound sense of joy knowing that I have used even just a bit of my time here on earth to touch other lives. It is a mission I take wholeheartedly, a responsibility I take seriously—and the gravity of it all humbles me. I am in still in awe of it all, and I dedicate this to all the women out there who have dedicated their whole lives to helping dreams take flight. I dedicate this most especially to the women who have enabled some of my own dreams to be realized: my Surreality sisters: Carissa Villacorta, JV Wong, and Tricia Tensuan. Yesterday, March 7, was the culmination of a dream held dearly by four women who had met just a few months earlier. For Carissa, JV (Joy), Tricia, and I, our meeting on August 22, 2008--Carissa’s 29th birthday--was no accident. It would be only the beginning of changing each others’ lives, and we had hoped that our story would touch other lives as well. The Surreality workshop was an idea that we had thought of because we were all brought together in very surreal, synchronistic ways, and because it was the title of Carissa’s widely acclaimed book relating her experiences as a wide-eyed, twenty-something Filipina in New York City. The workshop took months of discernment and preparation to put together, and we were met by fears that--come Surreality Day, nobody would show up. Would people really be willing to pay for a workshop on “Making the jump from dreaming the life to living the dream”--and facilitated by non-celebrities at that? Our doubts turned into amazement, however, when people and organizations started offering their support to make this workshop a reality. Enderun Colleges, Powerbooks, and Design Muscle came in to partner with Joy’s firm, People Ignite, in providing logistical and marketing support. People from everywhere in Facebook started sending us messages of encouragement. Newspapers gave us free space to share our story and promote our activity to their readers. We knew that we were onto something special, but nothing had prepared us for the magic that was about to unfold. Our workshop’s mantra was “Believe. Begin. Become” and we also used it as a framework for our activities. We began the morning with a centering and visioning exercise, which I had framed and facilitated, and we walked our participants through some creative unleashing grounded by a healthy belief in self. Within an hour, our participants’ buried dreams were excavated, denied passions were confronted, and hazy visions were crystallized. I was moved by everyone’s willingness to let themselves go and come face to face with their inner selves. Carissa’s session, which came after mine, was a generous showering of tips, to-dos, and realizations based on her experiences in fulfilling her dreams in New York and beyond. For Carissa, Surreality the book was the culmination of a long series of serendipitous moments, but it was only the beginning of the influence that she was about to wield among thousands of readers from all around the world. For her awe-inspiring work, Carissa was awarded as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipino Women in the United States at age 28. And in her session, Carissa pushed each participant to begin walking the path to their dreams and to complete the sentence: “Nothing can stop me from being a ______.” Joy’s testimonial came in the afternoon, and she shared her very powerful and moving story of clarity amid chaos; of triumph amid trials and tribulations; of faith in the invisible and faith in the impossible. In the span of five years, Joy had transformed herself from corporate workhorse to emerging entrepreneur, from cancer-afflicted to cancer survivor, from childless woman to mother. She shared with us how each of us is a warrior that finds the answers in the voice of silence and finds courage in the darkest of times. Joy’s story is, indeed, a story of "becoming." Until now, it is unclear to me how strangers become good friends, how acquaintances become kindred souls and how seatmates become accomplices in the fulfillment of each other’s respective missions. That day, however, as each session unfolded and as the facilitators and the participants fed off each other’s energies and together took steps toward self-actualization, I saw the cosmic forces at work once again. In sharing our stories and the birth of our participants’ buried dreams, Carissa, Joy, and I were fulfilling our own dreams of helping others rediscover and spread their wings. In joining us that day and patiently working through the exercises, our Surrealist friends were rediscovering their own paths and embarking on brand-new adventures of their own. I cannot even begin to describe in words how powerful the energy in the room felt that day. What struck me most late that afternoon, during the sharing of “vision boards” and “roadmaps”, was how open and generous everyone was with praise, encouragement, and support. Just as we had hoped, once-disconnected people were now offering to help someone else in coming closer to his or her vision. People who had other concerns of their own were offering time, expertise, or connections in support of someone else’s mission. During her session, Carissa encouraged everyone to be someone else’s “fairy godmother” so that we could all have a chance to be Cinderellas. Our friends seemed to take her advice to heart. And as we wrapped up and the day came to a close, it was evident that we were all exhausted--exhausted from exhuming the past, and exhausted with the knowledge that we had higher mountains to climb. Our bodies were evidently tired, but our spirits were alive and wide awake, and we all felt that another chapter in our lives had just begun. As for me, I was—and still am—enveloped by a powerful feeling of peace. There is so much chaos and uncertainty out there right now, but when you are given the chance to share yourself and be part of someone’s life in the most fulfilling of ways, you just feel so much JOY and SERENITY in the knowledge that the world WILL become a better place—somehow. When times are darkest and the tempest is strongest, leave it to women to bring a little bit of sunshine in. *Wink* Niña Terol, 29, fuses her passion for people, causes, and ideas in her work. A Communicator, Enabler, and Organizer, she uses the power of vision, words, and connections to inspire, empower, and motivate others around her. A creative soul at heart, Niña established herself as a writer, having co-authored various publications for a long list of clients. She is also a budding poetess and performs her poetry with the women’s advocacy group, Romancing Venus. She is also an ardent advocate of progressive reforms in the Philippines, being a key mover of several advocacy groups. She handles political communications for a reform-oriented senator by day, but she believes that her being Filipino is a full-time undertaking that knows no limits.