1. Discovering Your Dreams

2. Agenda
Icebreakers
Ground Rules
I Admire…
Dream Collage
Letter to Self

3. Icebreakers
Resources: Club Project Guide, page 9:

4. Ground Rules

5. Ground Rules Serve as agreements Meant to help everyone in the
group feel safe participating

6. What do you need to feel safe discussing difficult issues?
Ground Rules
What do you need to feel safe discussing difficult issues?
Some suggested guidelines include:
Put cell phones on silent and away during sessions.
Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.
Ask questions about others’ ideas.
Listen actively (give your full attention to the person speaking instead of thinking about what you will say next).
Wait your turn to speak (suggest a signal to indicate that someone wants to speak).
If you are speaking a lot, step back to allow others a chance to speak; if you aren’t speaking a lot, challenge yourself to share your ideas and opinions.
Maintain confidentiality (don’t discuss others’ personal statements outside of the group).
Speak from your own experiences (use “I” statements instead of “we,” “you,” or “they”).

7. I Admire…
Pass out the I Admire… handout and a pen to each participant.

8. I Admire… Close your eyes and think of a woman you admire…
This could be anyone – a family member, a friend, a neighbor, a celebrity…
Close your eyes and think of a woman you admire…

9. I Admire… What are some inspiring things this person has done?
What makes this person admirable to you?
What are some words you would use to describe this person?
Instruct participants:
Spend two minutes finishing the sentence on the handout.
Use positive language (example: “I admire others who are generous” instead of “I admire others who are not selfish”).
Continue writing without stopping for two minutes.

10. I Admire… Share with a partner “I admire others who…”
After two minutes have elapsed, instruct participants:
Find a partner.
Share what you wrote, starting with the introductory words, “I admire others who …”
Switch who is speaking after one minute.
Indicate when one minute has passed so partners know when to switch who is speaking.

11. I Admire… What happened as you were writing?
How did you feel as you were thinking/writing about people you admire?
Were you surprised by anything you wrote?
What does what you wrote mean to you? What does it suggest to you about yourself?
While the participants are sharing with a partner, display the following prompts on flip chart paper, board, or screen.
After both partners have shared their worksheets, instruct participants:
Respond to the displayed prompts with your partner.
Switch speakers after five minutes have passed.
Indicate when five minutes have passed so participants know when to switch who is speaking.
After both partners have shared, bring participants’ attention back to the large group. Explain to participants:
The purpose of the activity is to consider qualities you admire in others, because admiring qualities in others can indicate what quality traits and values are important to you.
By understanding what you most admire in others, you can have a clearer understanding of who and what you want to be.
Now that you have had a chance to think about valuable qualities in others and what that might mean to you, next you will be able to think more specifically about future aspirations for yourselves.

12. Dream Collage Resources: Dream Collage

13. Dream Collage Close your eyes… Make your Dream Collage!
Imagine yourself in 10 years…
Make your Dream Collage!
Invite participants to sit in a comfortable position and close their eyes. Read the following visualization exercise, pausing for several seconds in between sentences to allow time for thinking and visualizing.
“Imagine that ten years have passed, and you are in your mid-to-late-20s…
Maybe you have completed college, or maybe you have worked a few different jobs…
Do you live in a city? The suburbs? A rural community?
Who do you live with?
What do you like to do with your time?
What are your friends like?
Do you have family nearby?
Now, think deeply on these…
Ten years from now, how would you want someone to describe you? What traits would they use?
If you could be anything, what would it be?
If you could do anything, what would it be?”
Allow participants to sit with their eyes closed for one minute. After one minute has passed, instruct participants to open their eyes.
Explain to participants:
You all likely dreamed of many kinds of aspirations for yourselves. Provide examples such as:
Maybe you envisioned owning a dog, or maybe you envisioned living with a best friend.
Maybe you envisioned being creative, or courageous, or independent.
Maybe you envisioned being a journalist, or an accountant, or the leader of your country...
Remember your dreams and remind yourself often of your dreams. For now, they can serve as motivation for the future.
Next you will create a dream collage so you have something to take with you to serve as a reminder of your aspirations.
Instruct participants to sit around tables if they are not already. Provide glue sticks, markers, magazines, and scissors to each table. Pass out sheets of cardboard or cut-out cereal boxes to each participant.
Instruct participants:
Look through the magazines, newspapers, printouts, postcards, etc.
Cut out pictures, phrases, and/or words that reflect your dreams for yourselves.
If you cannot find an image that accurately conveys your dream, draw or write any additional pictures, phrases, or words that portray your dreams.
Arrange dream images on the piece of cardboard and glue the images into place.

14. Letter to Self
Pass out a piece of stationary paper and an envelope to each participant. Explain to participants:
The final activity is to write a brief letter to yourself.
The activity will allow you to think about where and who you hope to be one year from now.
Think back to the many qualities you identified as admiring in others and may aspire to be yourself…
Think back to the dreams you envisioned for yourself and then included on your collage…

15. Letter to Self
Over the next year, what will you do with what you have learned?
Over the next year, what will you commit to doing for yourself?
One year from now, who will you be?
Explain to participants that they have eight minutes to respond to the following questions within their letter to themselves. Display questions on flipchart paper, board, or screen.
After eight minutes have passed, instruct participants:
Sign and date your letters.
Write your name and address on the envelope.
Place your letter inside the envelope.
Seal the envelope closed.
Collect the sealed envelopes and explain that the Soroptimist club will mail the letters to each participant in one year.
Explain that the first session has ended and thank participants for their participation. Remind participants to take their collage with them. Suggest they place it somewhere where they will see it often so it can serve as a reminder of their aspirations and continually inspire them to work to achieve their dreams.

16. Think about…
What do you
want to say
yes to?

17. inspiration Looking for more to follow your dreams?
Soroptimist’s LiveYourDream.org community sent messages of support just for you.
Read them here!