Ani Kalayjian

I would promote the workshop as a way to connect our painful past to a hopeful future. It is a forum where participants can openly express their emotions and their reactions to their traumas. Underneath all layers of feelings, this workshop will help attendees discover diamonds in the rust. Workshop goers will leave with a broader perspective of their ancestry and of themselves.

This workshop shouted from the roof-tops that we can transcend the denials and transform our lives on our own terms. The workshop was an experience of empowerment. The workshop leaders were excellent and worked well as a team. I look forward to attending the next workshop! Thanks so much.

The workshop allowed me to discuss many of the emotions that go unsaid among many people in a comfortable and open setting. I was surprised by how many others had the same thoughts and experienced the same tensions in being an American today. The connection to their experiences allowed me to discuss and debate issues critical to us without the anxiety normally associated with these topics

I did not know what to expect and was a little apprehensive since I did not want to express myself at first. The round table setting and informal atmosphere helped peel the deep layers of sadness and mourning I carried in my heart.

“When I first signed up for the workshop, I wasn’t sure what I would gain, if anything at all. I asked myself if it was even that important to me. I was sincerely surprised after a couple of hours in the workshop after hearing from others older and younger than me, and similar and different than me. I was able to share feelings that I didn’t even know I had, and in the process, both negative and positive feelings emerged about my experiences as woman, my liberties, and my individualism. To put it more succinctly, and rather bluntly, I received a great therapy session for only $95!”