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1st Impressions Boutique Party

On Thursday, October 21st I felt an odd mixture of excitement and anxiety. I felt so privileged to be one of the eight participants asked to represent CWEE at the 1st Impressions Boutique Grand Opening Party. I felt calm and collected during the day, but as the party crept closer and closer my anxiety level began steadily rising, more so after learning that I was the only girl from Phase 1 that would be there. I worried that because I had only been here for 2 weeks, I would somehow mess up and make CWEE look bad. I wondered, “What will I do? What will I say? Will I say or do something stupid?” Before I knew it, guests were arriving. I’m not sure where the courage I felt had suddenly come from.

A woman began walking in my direction and started looking around. I walked towards her, reached out to shake her hand, introduced myself, and asked if she would like a tour. She said yes and my heart began to pound so hard I thought she could hear it. After we had finished the tour of the building, she thanked me for showing her around and she gave me a compliment that changed my whole night- she said I was a very articulate young woman. I couldn’t believe it. I was so nervous I thought I sounded like an idiot. Then I realized that even though I was nervous, I was still able to speak about CWEE well because I am CWEE. We all are!!! That realization changed not only my night, but my whole experience in this program. I’m grateful to those that asked me to participate that night, and saw potential in me that I would never have found on my own.

Victoria M. Grady
Current CWEE Participant