Fitting In Is Not the Same as Feeling Connected

Born in France to an American father and a German mother, Christine Homolko spent most of her childhood being shy and introverted. When her father decided to move back to the United States, she and her sister chose to move with him to a town just outside of Boston. She started her senior year of high school in a completely new environment, and realized she had an opportunity to reinvent herself in a place where no-one knew her or her history.

She decided that what she wanted was to step up and step out, and be a person who was brave and curious. She took that opportunity seriously, and pushed herself out of her shell.

It’s not surprising that she never felt like she really “fit in,” especially because most of the students in her class had grown up together from early childhood, kindergarten, 1st grade, etc.

That feeling of not fitting in continues to stick with her; she’s finding ways to create a community where she may not “fit in,” but she certainly finds belonging and support.

Sarah’s crest, created by Christine Homolko

Christine is an organizer by nature, and she’s using her skills in her current job and finding great success leading a communications team at the University of Luxembourg’s Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust. Her passion is art, and her illustrations are perfect demonstrations of the combination of her business experience and her love for drawing and sharing complex concepts through her art. She absolutely finds herself in flow when she’s creating art; she also finds a real sense of purpose when she helps other people break out of their shell through her coaching, whether they’re stuck in a career they don’t like or need help overcoming life’s challenges.

Connect with Christine on LinkedIn to learn more about her talents and to follow her work, and visit her website to learn more about her extraordinary talents.

During our conversation, I mentioned a TedX that had great impact on me. Here’s the video: