Personal Narrative: Defining Moments And Become Who You Are

This week we began to discuss chapters 5 and 6: Defining Moments and Become Who You Are. Defining moments can reveal, test, and shape who you will become as a leader and person. I myself have experienced a defining moment during college. I currently work as a student technician on campus and have had my fair share of new supervisors. One supervisor in particular did a great job in regard to his work, but pushed boundaries when it came to private matters. He believed that since he was an open book, everyone else should be one two. At one point, he started a conversation with me that made me feel uncomfortable. He was trying to force some very personal details out of me and I felt obligated since he was my boss. After the incident, I avoided …show more content…
When asked why he wanted to present, Lewis just said he wanted to earn his spot on this time. While this is a nice statement, it was a little too subtle to get at the real issue. As an African American, I understand why he did not come straight out with his thoughts on being used as a token black. It would have created an awkward, negative relationship between Lewis and the other team members on the trip. They would probably be uncomfortable working with him on future occasions and could share the negative experience with upper management. Also, the team members may not be the ones in control of choosing Lewis or other African Americans as token blacks. This appears to be a company-wide phenomenon and making a statement to only a select few who may not control the culture probably wouldn’t change anything. I would have said I was uncomfortable with being a part of something that I did not work on and presenting would help ease the discomfort. While this seems similar to Lewis’s statement, mine specifies the discomfort of the situation. I would like the team to clearly know that I was uncomfortable with going to the presentation in the first place without mentioning the reason why I was chosen. I believe this statement would better show Lewis’s work ethic while addressing the issues of his selection