“Don’t shrink. Don’t puff up.” - Brene Brown.

I repeated this quote to myself over and over as I anxiously walked toward the Welcome Ceremony for the C-Retreat in Jasper, Alberta. I had spent the last couple of hours settling into my hotel room at the JPL, passing time by reading all of the attendees’ bios and found myself in a major imposter syndrome spiral. The truth is, showing up on that first night was a huge step for me. The C-Retreat attracts highly successful women in business, entrepreneurs, CEO’s, lawyers, etc. Along with their impressive accolades, many of them also have philanthropic endeavors on the side, sit on Boards and somehow also find time to raise families. These women were straight up fantasy characters, your modern day “Wonder Woman”, if you will.

So...how did I end up here? I asked myself the same question on that first night. I was lucky enough to be sent to the C-Retreat by Archetype to be the Wellness Provider, and also to take part in the weekend’s events. We had an initial sharing circle, where we introduced ourselves and were asked to share something that we were proud of in the last year. Cue the anxiety and rapid heartbeat, I tossed between things to share; I wanted to look impressive in front of these women but that Brene Brown quote kept circling in my head “Don’t shrink. Don’t puff up”. So, I decided to put myself out there, after all I was already feeling anxious about it so why not share those struggles. I announced to the full room, of then strangers, that I battle with catastrophic worry and that I was proud of myself this past year for stepping out of my comfort zone. Almost immediately after, I had a small wave of shame wash over me which quickly faded when the woman next to me whispered, “Thank you so much for sharing that.” It had resonated with her and sharing it made both of us feel less alone in our struggles. The weekend continued with a mix of heartfelt conversations, interactive talks to help encourage better leadership, and dreamy yoga sessions, nestled in the middle of snow-capped mountains.

The C-Retreat reminded me what it means to be a strong woman and that success looks different for everyone, so trust the path you are on. It also showed me, once again, the power of vulnerability. It facilitated beautiful moments of connection and realizations; that I am not so different from the person sitting next to me, that our struggles and hardships are actually quite similar. I was reminded that we are all human, no matter what our title is or what we look like. We are all doing the best we can and we all deserve to be here.

Written by Angie Clark
Photographs captured by Nicole Constante

Crew Experience: Angie — C-Retreat