Speaker
Description
Despite revolutionary social and technological changes in the past decades, the "what do I want to do when I grow up" approach to life still dominates our thinking: Go to school, get a degree or vocational training, start working, build more and more expertise in your field, climb the corporate or academic ladder, retire, and then enjoy life. Such a life path may feel secure and predictable and promises reputational and financial growth.
But what if your interests change? Or if life throws unexpected things at you, or your abilities require a different approach? What if you discover hidden talents at a later stage of life?
In her talk, Patricia challenges the single-track trajectory through life by telling her own story - which took her from being a physicist, working in professional hockey, becoming a mother to a disabled child, to unexpectedly starting ballet at age 37 and now, ten years later, getting her teaching diploma from Canada's National Ballet School.
Patricia will also speak about her experiences as a caregiver to her now 18-year-old disabled son, and why the educational system and the participatory aspect of life made them decide to move from Germany to Canada.
Patricia shares her conclusions from this path and postulates that different stages in life, as well as our unique responsibilities and abilities, may not only benefit from but require new expressions of our selves. She will also touch upon how integrating our personal tragedies and pains into those expressions can deepen them and allow us to become more responsive and less attached to one particular way or the other.
