How Do You Dream About Something You’ve Never Seen?
There are many ways to support the organizations doing good work in our community. We can write a check, donate supplies, volunteer at an event, serve on a board, or help raise the money that keeps their doors open. All of those things make a difference, and most charities could not survive without them.
There is another kind of giving, though, that costs little beyond our time and willingness to share what we know. Lately I have been thinking about how powerful that generosity can be, particularly for young women whose worlds may not yet have exposed them to all that is possible. Because how are young people supposed to dream if they don’t know what they can dream about?
Recently, I began asking teenage girls from local children’s homes what they were curious about and what careers they might like to explore. I then began organizing experiences around their answers. I’ve accompanied them on each one, and perhaps the greatest gift for me has been watching their faces light up as curiosity takes over and one question leads to another. So far, they have met three people whose careers couldn’t be more different: a musician, a chef and a thoracic surgeon.
For musician and singer-songwriter Vianne Curiel, music became a safe place long before it became the cornerstone of her professional life. To say she grew up with difficult experiences would be an understatement. Childhood trauma took years to unpack, and music became a place to express what she was feeling, quiet her racing mind and find some sense of peace.
When Vianne led a sound bath for sixty-five girls a few weeks ago, I watched something come full circle. She began by breathing with them, then went around the circle asking each girl to introduce themselves and to name an intention for the experience. I’m not sure many had ever been asked a question quite like that, and you could feel how much they appreciated being heard. Afterward, Vianne sat with them, answering questions and inviting them to play some of her instruments. Their curiosity was palpable, but what struck me most was how seen they seemed to feel.
Chef Emmanuel Campoy offered something completely different. After more than seventeen years working in restaurants and hotels throughout Mexico, Emmanuel founded Emmanuel’s Experiences in Ajijic. As he prepared a traditional meal in his open kitchen, he explained the ingredients, techniques and origins of the dish, weaving in the Mexican heritage and traditions behind the food. One young woman who emphatically insisted she hated onions was surprised to discover she had happily eaten caramelized onions. Sometimes expanding what we believe is possible begins with being willing to try something new.
Finally, there is Dr. Diego Díaz, whose path into medicine took an unexpected turn. While training as a surgeon, he became a patient himself after being diagnosed with a mediastinal tumor. His experience as a patient ultimately changed the course of his career, leading him to specialize in thoracic surgery.
During our visit, I watched two young women who were already curious about careers in healthcare become particularly engaged. Dr. Díaz encouraged them to stay in touch and offered them a hospital tour, potentially even allowing them to observe a surgery. The experience gave them a chance to look more closely at the world of healthcare, ask questions and imagine possibilities they may not have considered before.
Perhaps none of these young women will become a musician, chef or surgeon. But that really isn’t the point. The point is exposure and curiosity. It’s allowing a young person to stand, even briefly, inside a world she has never experienced and wonder, Could there be a place for me here?
We often think of philanthropy in terms of what we can give away, but perhaps we should also think about what we can open up. Our professions, experiences, mistakes, unexpected turns and the roads that brought us here may contain something a young person needs to see.
Sometimes changing a life begins simply by opening a door and saying, “Come in. Sit with me. Let me show you what’s possible.”
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