By: Sydney Houseman
Shine. The single handed thing through high school that has developed my confidence and sculpted me into the female I am today. I started out feeling small. I was one girl, in a very large school, surrounded by those older and younger than me. I was a no one. However, being a no one isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is where you begin to find who you are and what you want to make of yourself. That all started with Shine.
I began my journey within Shine by walking into Denver First Church as a sophomore in high school. I didn’t really know what to expect or what I was going to do. I ended that day by being completely taken over. I left with zero doubts in my mind that that was exactly where I needed to be at that second. It’s funny how those moments are so blurred at the time, but become so clear later. You realize after the fact that you are where you are meant to be 24/7. That is where I was with the Shine Summit 2018. It’s almost like I was just meant to be there. It was bound to happen. It was right and it was all worth something. Well, after I did leave, I invested much more time into Shine. I applied to be on the planning committee. I knew that I needed to do more. I couldn’t just attend the conference and leave it at that. I found my passion when I walked out the doors of Denver First Church that afternoon. I found that I needed to do this. I needed to do something, anything to help young girls to empower themselves and those around them.
Those next few weeks, I applied and became a Shine Squad member. I was fulfilling what I was put in that moment and that exact place to do. I started Shine Squad my junior year. What a crazy time! It feels like absolutely forever ago. I was put onto the social media committee and the sponsorships committee. Being on the sponsorship committee taught me more about myself than I ever would have imagined. When I started, crafting emails to local businesses seemed like the most difficult task on the planet. But, after a lot of practice, I scored about ten sponsorships for the 2019 conference. I emailed, called, went in to local and large companies and made them feel my passion for Shine. I learned that if you are passionate enough about something, you can convince those to be passionate about it too. That is precisely what I continued to do. I found it easy to talk to people when you enjoyed the subject. Lucky for me, Shine is my favorite one.
The next year rolled around and I did it all again. I applied for Shine Squad and I thankfully became a member for the second year. This time around, I knew exactly what I was doing. I was no longer worried if people questioned what I was doing or what I was asking. My confidence within myself was indescribable. I had watched girls walk into the Shine Summit, just like me, and feel changed for the rest of their lives. That girl that had felt so utterly small, was a giant. I walked around knowing that what I was doing was worth it all, and no one could make me believe differently.
Fast forward and here we are. Shine Summit 2020. About two full years later from that first crucial moment. No longer a nobody. Through Shine, I have found myself and my purpose. I have found what it means to be a part of something so much larger than myself. I have found my values in empowering others and introducing them to their true potential. For some, the Shine Summit may just be a day to listen to amazing speakers and have a great time, but it is completely life altering for others. Shine doesn’t just mean finding your strengths, but also embracing others. It’s about stopping the competition between females, and finding the support to create a tribe among them all. Shine is where females of all ages meet in one building and just completely accept one another. For me, shine showed me the path to my future. It gave me the courage to be nothing but completely me. So whether that may still mean I am a nobody, I'm somebody to me.