Crossing over

I reached a milestone in my work last week! I realized that I haven't posted about actually training since my first few trainings. I've probably done two dozen trainings since then. I know the material, but there are still facts, figures, and statistics that I am acquainting myself with and because of this, I nearly always get really nervous before each training. Any-who, I wasn't really looking forward to the 8 hour training I was scheduled to do on Wednesday, partially because it was 8 hours long and partially because of my nerves. I arrived and went through my normal introductions, still a little bit nervous but making it work. Then, while I was showing a short video, something clicked. I realized that I was standing there because of my expertise. The 24 people in that room weren't experts in the field judging and critiquing my knowledge and abilities. They were there to learn from me. It's okay if I don't have all the answers. It's okay if I don't have a million facts, figures, and statistics memorized. I know my material. I understand domestic violence. I am able to teach and explain the information in a way that is easy to understand. I've worked with victim/survivors first hand. I know what I'm talking about. The video ended and the following 7 hours turned out to be the best and most dynamic training I've given so far. The group filled out evaluations afterwards and they were the best evaluations I've ever received. It feels good. I feel as though I've crossed a threshold. I've gone from being the rookie trainer shaking in my boots to the confident and friendly trainer who isn't afraid of the "hard" questions. It helps that this job is the most empowering and supportive work environment I've ever been in. There are jobs out there where you can be treated like an equal! Can you believe that? It's great.