Looking Back: Realistic depiction of her goals, grounded, open to the world. Liat wants to be more trusting of people and more confident at public speaking. I think Liat has to overcome her fear of getting hurt and open more to people, only then will she able to realize that people are mostly inherently good.

Leadership Qualities: I see you as a leader who will harness your fears to help you grow. You will be able to see the best in people and help them be their best selves.

 

Friend Qualities: I see you as a friend who will always be cognizant of situations when others are suffering, even if they are silent about it. Your ability to empathize with others is one of your greatest qualities.

 

Spirit Animal: Deer – sensitive and intuitive, the gentle deer has the power to deal with challenges with grace.

Looking back: I truly think it is very brave of you to share what you experienced as a child. Being bullied as a kid is never an easy episode to talk about. I genuinely admired your courage to express yourself - I am really so proud of you. The past experience is hurtful, but you are so strong and powerful that you turned scars into a gem and grew into an empathetic and caring being. 

Leadership qualities: I see you as a leader who is empathetic and passionate. You are able to connect with each individual on a personal level and lead through influence. 

Friend qualities: I see you as a friend who is caring and reliable. You are emotionally intelligent, and therefore is always the go-to person for your friends to share many things with. 

The plant you remind me of: Iris. Iris represents the goddess of the rainbow - just like you, the rainbow after a storm. Iris carries the meaning of wisdom, trust and love.  

Looking Back: I was inspired a lot by your looking back story. The way you respond to isolation in your school - by wearing costumes, which was really amazing! I think this bravery will support you go through future frustrations.

Leadership Qualities: I see you as a leader who has clear self-awareness and would come up with innovative ideas to drive team towards goals.

Friend Qualities: I see you as a friend who has great empathy and support for your closed ones. You are accountable for your friends and could connect people into deeper levels.

Gelato Flavor: mint, as it's a really cool flavor and give people a peaceful feeling

 

Looking back: I loved your looking back story of being the costume girl. I thought it was a clever and Liat-way of solving the problem, using creativity to express and connect with others.

 

Leadership qualities: I see you as a leader who is thoughtful for the others. You are very inclusive, and your heart is caring and warm. You will be a leader who empathizes with people and is all ears to those who are having hard times.

 

Friendship qualities: I see you as a friend whom others would like to hang out with. You seek for joyous moments and your friends will enjoy having fun times with you.

Personal color: Bright green. It is a joyful color but also not a common color, which fits your fun and creative side.

 

Looking Back: Your looking back exercise was beautiful; the way you responded to bullying by deciding to show your true and authentic self instead of shriveling up was inspiring. You showed inner strength, resilience, and boldness. It underscored my impression of you and helped me understand how you came to be such a cool person. You are also a great storyteller, and I loved hearing the vividness with which you described your vision!

 

Leadership Qualities: I see you as a leader who actively works to make her teams inclusive by creating spaces for people to show their authentic selves rather than conforming to a preset notion of what belonging means. I can see your quiet courage and artistic qualities inspiring people around you to push the envelope of their thinking and come up with bold, refreshing ideas. I cannot wait to see how you change the world with your creative, out of the box ideas!

 

Friendship Qualities: I can see you as someone who carefully chooses the people you are close to and make it a point to show up for them and be there for them. You are the kind of friend who asks thoughtful questions to help others see their problems in different ways and arrive at better answers than they would have on their own. 

 

Travel Destination: Burning Man. While you don’t necessarily give me the vibes of a Burning Man attendee, similar to Burning Man, you are someone who isn’t afraid to be offbeat and let out your inner creative spirit and create a safe space for others to be as whacky as they want. Like you, it is not afraid to be quirky and stand out.

 

Looking Back Thoughts: I was inspired by your story about being bullied and in the face of the hardship you were brave. You were not only brave but also expressed yourself in a way that stayed true to yourself

 

Leadership Qualities: I see you as a leader who will create a space where everyone can be themselves. You are someone that people will actively seek out to get your opinion because they know you will actively listen, ask insightful questions, and offer creative solutions

 

The place you remind me of: Given the airline background, I was fortunate enough to travel a lot and wanted to pick places that remind me of each person. For you, I think of the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque, NM. The festival is a weekend in October where dozens of hot air balloons from all over the world meet in Albuquerque and all ascend from a spot in the desert over the course of an hour. Every balloon had a different shape, color or character and the pilots would dress up to match his or her balloon. Bystanders can walk around, talk to their companions, the pilots or help the pilots get off the ground (with guided professional help). What was amazing is how people from all different walks of life just started talking not only to pilots but also to each other. I was one of those people. I ended up walking around talking about the balloons and following specific ones until the balloons were completely out of sight with a women who was around 60 years old from rural Kansas. What stands out is not only the beauty of dozens of different balloons all representing a different part of the country or the world ascending above the mountains on a crystal-clear morning but also the beauty I witnessed of the bystanders sharing those special moments with strangers who didn’t look or talk like them all because of balloons in what some could consider costumes. 

 

Looking back: I was extremely inspired by your story of designing costumes as a form of self-expression and as a way to connect with others. It was such an incredible journey of overcoming a setback. 

 

Leadership qualities: I think you will continue to lead others by sharing stories that touch people and allow them to connect with both you personally and your vision for whatever the topic at-hand is. I was utterly engaged in every experience you shared in class and thought your story-building was beautiful. You also come off as a very thoughtful and introspective individual. 

 

Friendship qualities: I see you as a very loyal and thoughtful friend to your close circle of friends. 

 

Book: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – you mentioned you got feedback that you come off as unapproachable to people when they first meet you. I think this book has a lot of good tactical tips around that if it’s of any interest.