Heather on the St. John’s Harbour on the last day of training
By Heather Bonynge
I always admired people who knew what they wanted to do with their life straight from the word “go.” I have never been one of those people. I am 32-years-old, and I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Battling cancer at the age of 27 didn’t help, either. At the point of my diagnosis I actually felt like everything in my life was on track. My home, my family, my career were all exactly where I wanted them to be. I finished treatment, and expected my life to go back to what it was before cancer. That didn’t happen.
Cancer changed what I want and expect out of life. I have spent the past five years trying to reintrajectorize myself back into that life I had before cancer, but I keep coming up feeling lost because it no longer matches. In November 2013, I got to take a step in the direction of changing that when I travelled to Newfoundland to become a YACCtivist.
Training
Our training started Thursday at the YACC headquarters; for me this was one of the most exciting parts! I have gotten to spend time with the people in YACC administration at Survivor Conference and Retreat Yourself, but to go to their home turf, and see how it really is behind the scenes made me feel like I was part of the team—something I have only hoped to be since discovering YACC two years ago. We spent the morning in the boardroom reviewing YACC, the SIA program, and our role as YACCtivists. I saw this as an introduction of what was to come, and was already feeling revved up, my head filling with ideas.
After a break for lunch, we went into storytelling. We got to share our stories, and give each other tips and constructive criticism of changes we could make in order to communicate our journey better. Next we got a visit from an external facilitator, Barry Greene. Barry taught us about being genuine and honest in our speaking, and learning our own voice. He also taught us about people’s personality colours. Without going into too much detail about each colour, I learned that I am mostly blue—someone who acts on feelings. Barry told us blue usually loves being inspired, and want to hug motivational speakers after they talk no matter what the subject. I remained a true blue after Barry finished his presentation, as all I really wanted to do was run up and hug him!
That evening Geoff arranged for us to meet some of the sponsors and supporters of YACC at a social event. We were thrust right into the YACCtivist role with some real-life experience speaking in front of 30 to 50 people about our journey, and it was awesome! Geoff hosted the discussion, and we touched on topics like uncertainty, the toughest part of our journey, our connection with YACC, and why we applied to be YACCtivists. It was comfortable and invigorating all at once. While it was easy to share my story, during breaks from speaking I could feel my adrenaline pumping, and couldn’t tell if everyone else could see how much I was shaking. (Editor’s note: We couldn’t!)
After the discussion, members of the audience came up and told us what part of our stories connected with them, and how through us sharing with them they went from understanding to really getting it. It was amazing to get that real life of experience seeing how our story could touch even just a few people we hadn’t met before.
Getting to “go”
Friday morning started with training in media relations. This was my favourite part! As we sat in a boardroom learning from our facilitator, Sarah, about interviewing dos and don’ts, components of a news release, and how to deliver a strong and concise key message, it hit me–that this is exactly what I was meant to do.
I had these overwhelming moments of security and purpose and I struggled to keep my composure so I didn’t jump up in the middle of our training and shout “WOOHOO!” I had distinct flashbacks of me as a teen. I loved to write. I loved giving people direction, inspiring and motivating them. I loved public speaking. I suddenly realized I have known exactly what I wanted to since the age of 17; I just didn’t know the position existed. It’s crazy that it took 15 years later, life, and a trip St. John’s, NL, to make the word “go” as clear as day.
Those moments of clarity and inspiration didn’t end there. That afternoon some would call “work,” but I could only call it “fun”! A professional make-up and hair artist came in and glammed us up so we could be camera-ready for professional photo shoots and video interviews—it all made me feel like a bit of a celebrity!
Getting ready
Saturday was a day of tying up all the loose ends. We had now received some amazing starting points, some incredible tools, but how do we implement them—what is the next step? It was also the day we had to say goodbye to the remarkable team who had spent the past two and half days guiding us, and goodbye to the YACC headquarters. It was sad in that respect, but it didn’t really feel like goodbye as I now felt like part of the team.
I spent my last afternoon in Newfoundland touring the shops along the downtown harbour, and just trying to come down from some incredible highs. I was excited to return to Saskatoon, but similar to the survivor retreats and conferences, I found it difficult to incorporate myself back into my real world. It can be really hard to explain to people on the outside exactly what we get to experience on these trips. Impossible to describe how each and every time I meet up with people involved in this organization, I leave with a sense of clarity, inspiration, and realism that I don’t always get in my every day life. The difference at the end of this trip is that this time it feels a little more like a beginning.
