Get to know your amazing Ambassadors!

OK, I actually really love answering questions, so I'll answer some more now to procrastinate my other work! :)

Question: If there's one wish that could come true involving 7Cups, what would it be?

Answer: This is a really heavy question, and I'm not sure on what scale to answer it. Because, like, if I can answer on the grandest of scales, I would love for it to spread across the world and be a known resource so that no one needing support was left behind. If it's on a more tangible scale, I think my wish would be for us to reach sustainability so that we can all feel comfortable knowing that 7 Cups is here to stay and we can refocus resources and energy towards some of the enhancements that are so wanted (like fixing search in the forums!)

Question: Do you have any advice you would like to share with new listeners?

Answer: Don't be afraid to set boundaries. Boundaries and self-care are definitely things that don't come very naturally to me, but I think to do your best work and to make sure you don't burn out, they are critically important. And frankly, almost everyone I chat with respects that. It can feel mean to sign off when someone is still upset or to say that you need to set an appointment, rather than just chat as soon as someone messages you, but taking care of yourself is important, and frankly, I am a better listener when I am mentally and emotionally prepared and energized, not when I am tired and upset and just staying because I think I have to.

Question: What do you like to do to relax in your spare time? (Apart from 7Cups, duh)

Answer: I have lots of hobbies. I sing in an a cappella group, I love to cook, I'm super into mixology right now, I am an avid reader, I watch WAY more Netflix than can be healthy, I spend time with my roommates and other friends, I like to call my parents and catch up, and I am very into watching sports, especially college football.

Question: Crucial question coming up which will determine your future... What's your favourite TV show? ;)

Answer: As I said above, I watch too much tv, but a few favorites are Top Chef, The West Wing, and Veronica Mars

Question: If you could watch only one movie for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Answer: Picking just one is hard, but I think I might go with A Philadelphia Story. I love that movie!

More to come soon! :)

Awww! These questions are so fun and you are doing such a good job! :) I'm so gonna watch over this thread.

Time for some more! The first five are old questions from round one of this, and the next five are ones that came in yesterday - I'll keep answering like that until I'm caught up! :)

Question: How does it feel to have so much responsibility on your shoulders?

Answer: At times a little overwhelming, honestly. I am very passionate about this community, so anytime I feel like there's a way that I can help do more or help someone out, my immediate instinct is to do it. I've had to get a lot better at balancing that instinct with recognition that I can't actually do everything and get better at prioritizing where my time can be best spent, as well as taking care not to internalize absolutely everything here because it's easy to get sucked in fully. But it also feels pretty amazing to know that I am able to have some impact and am in a position to help people - from members to listeners - to feel more comfortable here, to understand the site better, to give suggestions, etc. So like any responsibility, there's good and bad, but obviously the good far outweighs the bad for me or I wouldn't be doing it!

Question: What's your favourite forum thread?

Answer: I have so, so many! And really, what kind of a forum team member would I be if I didn't? :) I'll give two - the first is a 'getting involved on 7 cups' thread that I think is pretty great. @ZaraSmiles put together this guide on Dipping You Toes Into the Forum. The other one is one that I started that isn't as used as I wish it was, but I still think is a pretty lovely one to hang out in - it's in the Eating Disorder's forum, and focused on Small Victories and a while back someone made a version in self harm, as well.

Question: What chatroom do you like best?

Answer: I don't spend much time in the chatrooms, but I do love hanging out with the teens in the Teen Listener Room! Such amazing energy and so much kindness for an oldie like me!

Question: What are your wise words of wisdom to those who aspire to be like you?

Answer: Find what you love and focus there. I think it's pretty easy to start to feel like you should be doing absolutely everything, from 1-1s to peer support to group support to forums to feed and seven teams, but doing that is more likely to burn you out than anything else. Instead, give some real thought to what you're passionate about - that could be an area of the site, like the forums, it could be a topic area, like LGBTQ+, or it could be a concept, like listener quality. Whatever it is, focus in there and let the things you care less about slide.

Question: What's your favourite nickname?

Answer: I have gotten A LOT of nicknames on this site, but there are three that definitely stand out to me, mostly because they are specificly from a particular lovely listener who I think is absolutely amazing. I got Nommie from the incredible @Cadence which I think is just about the cutest version of my name, Liavely from the wonderful @ZaraSmiles which makes me smile every time I see it, and Anolily from the marvelous @221Skye which is beautiful and also combines my favorite flower and display picture in with my name, which I love. Otherwise, I get called Ano, Anom, Malia, Lia, Noma, and Oldie and am happy with any or all of those!

Question: How does it make you feel when you witness the teens aging up to the adult side!? Happy? Sad? Denial....or this just cant be happening!

Answer: I cackle with joy as they join the dark side! No, but actually, it's a bittersweet thing - I think it's really amazing to watch our teens grow up and to come over to the adult side and meet so many more people and get involved in new ways, but it's hard to see so many who don't feel ready to age up and who miss the other side. I want to see what we can do to make that process easier, since transition is never easy.

Question: Is it true the teen side makes you feel young? ♥

Answer: Sometimes the teen side makes me feel young. Other times they make me feel absolutely ancient! Especially when they don't recognize pop culture references from my childhood. I'm not that old, guys!

Question: Where you ever put into a situation were you just can't help a listener anymore and all you can do is encourage them to talk to a community manager? Deep down in your heart did you feel so sad as you couldn't help that person?

Answer: Yes, this has happened a few times, for one reason or another, and it's always hard. I want to create a safe and supportive space for anyone who comes to me and to be able to help them through whatever is on their mind, so it's always tough to recognize and admit when I just can't give them what they need and it's easy to feel guilty about it. But I remind myself that just like listening to members, sometimes it's not about being able to get to the solution, but about being heard, supported, cared for, and respected, and even if I can't solve a problem, I can still do all of those things.

Question: Ambassador's are seen as an authority figure with lots of power, how that makes you feel? Do you wish to change it?

Answer: It makes me sad, but I also understand where that comes from. I very much view my role less as authority or having power, but more as a service position. My role exists for me to support members and listeners and to serve the community, and I try to show as best I can that those are my focus. I think I am successful in my role when I help raise other people's voices and feedback, when I can support someone through a tricky moment, and when I can create transparency to help others be more comfortable and informed. I would be a pretty bad ambassador if my focus were on anything but serving the community.

Question: This one came in just for me from @PoliteCup86 (who is, by the way, a superstar in the forums!) I have seen you kindly always always offering member to leave you a msg and talk to you if they feel the need to, and obviously you get tons of msgs from other listeners and questions about forums, ur currents members.... etc so i wanted to ask, how can you keep the balance between 7 cups and your real life? like how many hours you give 7 cups from from your day?

Answer: Warning, long answer ahead! It can be hard to keep that balance sometimes, and I'm not always good at it, but I am lucky to have a couple people who keep reminding me to keep up on my self-care and help me take that step back when needed. In terms of how many hours I give, it varies quite a bit day to day. Some days I'll be on here or doing something 7 Cups related for 5-6 hours, other days I barely even check my notifications. My best guess is that I put in somewhere around 20 hours a week here, though with much of my time being quick 15 minute pops onto the site to respond to things, I'm actually not sure at all.

There are a few things that help me find balance. One is having a strict rule for myself that I don't say no to 'real life' plans for 7 Cups, so even if I know I need to catch up on messages or something, I am not allowed to cancel plans, I have to find the time elsewhere and trust that it will be okay if I'm a bit delayed. Relatedly, I tend to take much of Friday and Saturday off from 7 Cups - I check in if I have time, but I don't schedule myself for anything on those days and generally let people know that my responses will likely be delayed on those times.

Another is requiring people to schedule time with me if they want to chat live. Every once in a while someone will message me and I'll have time right then to chat, but pretty rarely, so all of my members schedule time with me, as well as any mentees, which helps me plan my commitments and know when I need to be here and when I can sign off.

Another is related to my advice above for others - I try to focus in on what I'm passionate about: supporting members in the forums and 1-1, especially on eating disorders; general forum love, responses, organization, and engagement; feedback and making sure people feel heard; and mentoring other listeners to help them better support our amazing members. I put a bit of my time into other things, but the vast majority of my time sits in one of those areas, and when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I examine what's on my plate and see if anything doesn't fit one of those areas and try to let that one go.

Another, and maybe the most important, is trusting the people around me. I am super lucky to have @MonBon as my co-forum ambassador because she is an amazing balance for me, crazy awesome in everything she does (which is a lot!), incredibly reliable, and understands when I will and won't be around as much. I have a crew of incredible mentors surrounding me in the forums, as well as such strong forum supporters and forum friends who make the forums fun and whose capable hands I often leave things in when I need a step back. The rest of the ambassador team and admins are super supportive and great resources when I need some help or advice. And everyone from my members to my listener friends or mentees, and so on, are just so gosh-darn wonderful that I generally feel like if I need to step back for a couple days, it will all be okay.

Basically, it's a process, and one that at times I'm better at than others, but I've found a balance that tends to work for me, which is pretty great!

I seem to be the only one posting right now, but I'm having too much fun, so here are some more answers! :D

Question: To any new members of this site, are there any tips or tricks you'd like to share that help with site navigation? (Because let's be fair, it can seem like a maze here sometimes!)

Answer: When in doubt, go get lost in the forums! :)

Question: How many PMs do you get a day, on average? And how do you answer all of them?

Answer: It varies a lot day to day. A normal day, I probably wake up to messages from 10-15 people, then I get messaged by another 5-10 throughout the day. But right after suggestion box reports go out and I update everyone, my PMs get a little crazy for a few days! And when I take a day or two off things get intense. But my policy is to try to sign in at least twice a day and get caught up, if I can (usually once in the morning and once in the afternoon). Sometimes I'm too busy, in which case my goal is to answer everyone within 24-36 hours, if not sooner, and I tend to set aside an hour to just respond to them all at once because if I don't get caught up all at once, I never will.

Question: What's your favourite animal?

Answer: Currently I'm a little obsessed with otters, but I also adore pandas and koalas!

Question: Who do you aspire to be like on 7Cups? (Here's your chance to spread some looooove and shout them out!)

Answer: Definitely @Roadie who was my first and strongest role model here and still an example to me of what it means to be a listener and a mentor. He is unfailingly supportive, wise, and encouraging, and ultimately is the person who helped me grow into each of the roles I've taken on at the site.

Question: What's the cheesiest joke you've ever heard?

Answer: I am the QUEEN of cheesy jokes, but my two favorites both came from a 7 year old, so you know they're good! Q: What's brown and sticky? A: A STICK!!! *cue maniacal laughter* and Q: What's green, grows, and has wheels? A: Grass. I lied about the wheels.

The next five all came from @Cristiana33

Question: Do you ever think you should be paid for how much you put into this role?

Answer: No. I didn't take the role for money, for power, or for recognition, I took it because I wanted to be able to better serve this community and the mission that I believe in. 7 Cups has always been a volunteer project for me, and is rooted in the strength of its volunteers. Ambassadors are just listeners with different responsibilities, so there's no reason for them to be paid when listeners are not.

Question: What is something you really love about the role? What is something you struggle with?

Answer: I really love that since I've been an ambassador, I've had more people reaching out to me and that I can more proactively work on some of the things that I want to see for this site. I'm pretty passionate about feedback and improvement, so I really enjoy being in a position to help bring people's feedback together and raise it up to help get to change that people can be excited about and feel heard in. I've struggled lately with the perceptions that ambassadors are 'part of the machine' or are 'power-hungry' or whatever else. It's hard to feel painted by a brush that doesn't feel fair or true, even when I know it's coming from a place of frustration or hurt and not a personal attack. I internalize a lot, and when there's upheaval in the community in general, I feel it pretty deeply, especially since taking on this role, so that's tough. But I also feel very lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing and supportive people who let me vent when I need to, encourage me when I need that, and reassure me that it's okay to take breaks when I need them. <3 to all of them (too many to name and I would surely forget someone in my tags, but hopefully they know who they are!)

Question: If I was interested to become an Ambassador, what is something you think I should know, based on what you wish you knew before taking the role?

Answer: Even though you'll feel the same as you did before in terms of it just being an extention of your other roles (mentor, listener, etc.), and even be doing mostly just the same things you were, you will be viewed differently all of a sudden. Sometimes for good, sometimes for bad, but it definitely can impact how you feel on the site sometimes. But also know that you have people to support you who you can lean on when you need to.

Question: What do you do for fun? :)

Answer: I sing, I watch sports, I read, I cook and practice mixology, I spend time with my roommates and friends, I enjoy being crafty (though less of late due to time), and I love to travel and adventure, whether at home or somewhere new

Question: Would you choose a black/white t-shirt or a colourful one? Why?

Answer: Depends a lot on what's on it. I really love cool designs in black and white and the combination of the intricacies with a very minimalist color scheme. But if it's a plain thing, then I want colors because I love bright colors. :)

I just can't stop! :D

Question: What song lyrics have resonated with you in particular and why?

Answer: Oh man, so many! But a few that stand out are Christina Perri's Arms (How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around / I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown) and Macklemore's Starting Over (If I can be an example of getting sober / Then I can be an example of starting over) both for how they relate to my recovery journey and the number of times it took before I was finally ready to get there. Also pretty much all of Dessa's lyrics because she puts words together in such a beautiful and intelligent way - Bullpen (Forget the bull in the china shop, there's a china doll in the bullpen), Mineshaft (The list of things I used to be / is longer than the list of things I am)

Question: What is your ultimate ultimate favourite book?

Answer: I love so many books. Some of my favorites from when I was in high school that have stuck with me through the years are the Tamora Pierce books (real feminist awakening for me, but also just excellent fantasy novels), and lately I've been really into Joshilyn Jackson. The book I can't stop recommending to people right now is Americanah. And the book that I always use for 'favorite book' type questions that want a classic is To Kill a Mockingbird

Question: Share with us one person's feed that you always love seeing!

Answer: I have a few here - @Prayfortheheartless @LittleLotte and @Moj always have things that just make me smile and are a great start to any morning. @Celaeno is consistently giving such amazing support to others and is really inspiring. @QuickJazz has started so many amazing feed trends that I love to follow.

Question: Can you shout-out 5 amazing listeners who have been a fantastic part of your 7Cups journey? ❤

Answer: Since I mentioned Roadie and MonBon yesterday, I'll stick to other listeners who have had a big impact on me today, though they are both definitely a huge part of my 7 Cups journey. @Cadence is one of the first people I noticed in the forums and I continue to try to be as loving and supportive as she is. She's also one of my biggest encouragers, which has meant so much to me. @ZaraSmiles is my little sis and the sweetest and most supportive person ever - she has made my time here amazing. @Luka isn't here anymore, but made an enormous impact on me as the first person on this site to give me really open, honest, and constructive feedback - it was hard to hear, but he was 100% right about what he said and he helped me to grow as a listener and mentor and ultimately became one of my closest friends here. @EternalFlute10 was one of my first mentees and helped me learn a lot about what it means to be a mentor, as well as a friend. @MayaRainbow2 was such a welcoming force when I ventured into the teen side and is always just so delightful to talk to! I could go on and on and list 50 more listeners who have impacted me, easily, but I'll stop here. :)

Question: Is there a member that you particularly admire? If so, who and why?

Answer: There are tons! Many of the members I listen to regularly have been incredibly inspirational for me to work with and watch them grow, but because I want to protect all confidentiality, I'll focus on members I've interacted with elsewhere on the site. @Celaeno as I mentioned above is one of the most supportive and encouraging people I've ever seen in the feed and makes so many people feel warm and welcome. @TortueDesBois writes some of the most insightful forum posts and has taught me so much and made me think about so many things differently. @AffyAvo and @Squib are both so focused on helping 7Cups grow and improve and I am always excited to see their suggestions in the forums or in the suggestion boxes because they are always so well thought out and brilliant. @PoliteCup86 shows such love and support to others across the forums and never ceases to blow me away. @CatPlum24 is so strong, so resilient, and so passionate, which are traits I admire deeply. @ImaginativeMelon7014 has taken the forums by storm with so many amazing suggestions, support, and really running with the stigma warriors in particular. Again, I could go on and on, but I'll stop with one last massive shout-out to all the members of the forum team and the stigma warriors for their passion and their love!

Question: What is the most challenging thing about being an ambassador?

Answer: Maintaining the right level of balance, emotionally. I think I mentioned this on another question, but I tend to throw myself emotionally into the things I care about, which is good to the extent that it helps me do better work here or offer more support to members and listeners, but at times it's hard not to take things personally or to feel like I'm not doing enough or like I am personally responsible for everything

Question: What is your wish for 7cups?

Answer: For it to grow and spread and fulfill its mission of being the emotional support system for the internet. And also for the forum enhancements! :)

Question: If you work full-time, how do you manage your life between your full-time job, your life commitment and 7cups?

Answer: I'm lucky right now to have a very flexible schedule at work, so while I work (more than) full-time, I can fit 7 Cups in throughout the day when it makes most sense. I think that most helps me is to be very deliberate about planning and scheduling things in work, life, and 7 Cups, which is why I listen almost entirely on appointments and even schedule blocks in my day to deal with different tasks for 7 Cups.

Question: Did you go further and study at university? If yes what is your degree? If no what are you studying currently?

Answer: Nope! I got my BA, but have not done any advanced degrees. For what I was interested in doing, experience was more helpful than more education, though I know that varies for every job.

Question: What is your favourite colour and why?

Answer: Purple! It's the color that seems to keep coming up in my life, from it being the color of my university to the primary color in two of my largest philanthropy commitments (outside of 7 Cups), to my mom's favorite. And it's just a lovely color in general. :)

Thought I would answer some of the questions that have been sent in lately

How does it make you feel when you witness the teens aging up to the adult side!? Happy? Sad? Denial....or this just cant be happening!

I always feel happy when I see a teen listener age up to the adult side. I see it like a new chapter in the 7 Cups journey for them. I can imagine that the transition isn't easy. I think to myself, "I hope they enjoy being a part of the adult side of 7 Cups and I hope that their transition is as smooth as possible!" The biggest sentiment for me is that I hope they find as much of a home in the adult listener community as they did in the teen community.

Is it true the teen side makes you feel young? ♥

It really depends! Having fun times and seeing the energy of the teen side really makes me feel young. When I don't understand the chatspeak abbreviations being used, then I start to feel old!

Where you ever put into a situation were you just can't help a listener anymore and all you can do is encourage them to talk to a community manager? Deep down in your heart did you feel so sad as you couldn't help that person?

I always want to provide the best help possible and I wish I had all of the answers but I don't. I have had to accept that. When I don't have an answer, I either refer the listener to the right person or I go and find the answer for them. Sometimes that involves referring to a community manager but not always.

Ambassador's are seen as an authority figure with lots of power, how that makes you feel? Do you wish to change it?

This is a hard question to answer. Some people think that ambassadors have more abilities than they really do. Some people think that ambassadors are paid for their role, which isn't true. For myself, I just want to help out. Sometimes authority is necessary when enforcing rules, but I didn't become an ambassador with the purpose of enforcing rules nor having power. I became an ambassador because I want to help out the listener community in whatever way I can. I exist as an ambassador to serve the listener community, not the other way around.

__________________

These next five are from @cristiana33

1) Do you ever think you should be paid for how much you put into this role?

Haha I don't think so. It's true that there is a lot of work to do at times, but I like being a volunteer and being able to decide how much work I put in and when. I've volunteered in positions where there has been an honorarium for the volunteer work put in though. I probably wouldn't turn down a small honorarium if I was offered one, but I don't think it is necessary either.

2) What is something you really love about the role? What is something you struggle with?

Something that I really love is being part of a closely knit team that works together to achieve a common overall goal. I struggle with public communication and forum posting.

3) If I was interested to become an Ambassador, what is something you think I should know, based on what you wish you knew before taking the role?

Sometimes people take their frustrations out on me, particularly when I am enforcing a site rule. It's not something I expected, but it is not something that deters me.

4) What do you do for fun? :)

I write music, socialize, read, and watch Netflix. Sometimes I play video games too. :)

5) Would you choose a black/white t-shirt or a colourful one? Why?

Black t-shirt with a slight V-neck probably. I just like the way it looks.

__________________

What is the most challenging thing about being an ambassador?

The first thing that popped into my mind was, "being an ambassador" because the whole role can be challenging for me at times. If I had to narrow it down, I would say that the most challenging thing for me is taking feedback when it comes in the form of an angry, upset, or negative message. It can be hard to extract the right details out of that and process them. For me anyways :P

What is your wish for 7cups?

I want 7 cups to become the solution for global mental health problems and emotional well-being.

How do you practice self-care?

Mindfulness, leisure activities, and spending time with family & friends.

If you work full-time, how do you manage your life between your full-time job, your life commitment and 7cups?

I don't work full time but I do have two part time jobs. In total, my work hours are about 75% of full time. Managing work, life, and 7 Cups is an art that I am still learning. The most important thing that I have learned is to keep them all separated as best as I can. For example, when I am at work, I try not to think about 7 Cups or what's going on in my life. When I am doing life stuff, not to think about 7 Cups and work. Etc.

Did you go further and study at university? If yes what is your degree? If no what are you studying currently?

Up until recently, I was studying at university. I am currently taking time off of that to work in order to pay for university, but my background is in German & French Language and Literature. I've also studied sciences, secular religious studies (meaning in an academic sense, not in a spiritual sense), and computer science.

What is your favourite colour and why?

Green. I don't know why. Maybe because it is the colour of evergreen trees.

Do you have any children of your own yet? If no, how many children you would like to have?

No children yet. Maybe someday! I don't know how many. Lots of things to figure out before that :P

How did your journey start on 7cups?

I signed up to become a listener and absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed being able to listen to other people and help them out :)

What is your wish for everyone living on this world?

Something to do with compassion and care. What exactly, I am not sure. Can't narrow it down for 7 Billion people.

What is your most valuable lesson you learnt as a listener?

Never make assumptions.

Tell us something we may not know about you!

I used to do theatre and musicals in high school. I used to be into it quite a bit. Acting was a fun hobby for me :)

During a month period do you pick a request from the general request? If yes how many? If not, do you wish you can pick requests more often?

Yeah I do take requests. Sometimes general, sometimes referrals, sometimes personal requests. I usually do around 3 - 5 each month. Sometimes I just pick a day where I won't do ambassador-related work and I'll take requests. I wish I had more time to keep members on long term.

Now now now! This question requires some honesty ;) Which part of the site you enjoy to be active on more the teen or adult side!?

I'm more active on the adult side. Most of my work is involved with the adult side.

What does ambassador do over here? - @shelock

Lots of things! I work on a few projects involving listener quality and I try to help where I am needed.

What's the most important lesson you've learned from being involved with 7 Cups of Tea? - @IndigoRoses

Self-care is a very real and important thing. Taking care of myself is very important. That means all the basic things like sleep, eating well, etc, and then stress-relieving activities, fun activities, and that sort of thing.

______________________

Well I think that's it for now! I'll take a look at answering some more questions later :)

Hey friends~ I decided to only answer questions that were posted in 2016, but I might go back through and read any I find particularly interesting :)

How does it make you feel when you witness the teens aging up to the adult side!? Happy? Sad? Denial....or this just cant be happening!

Kind of... surreal? When I first joined this site the fact that I couldn't talk to teens seemed so weird. I was a freshman in college and had turned 18 while in college. I felt closer to teenagers and teenage issues and very removed from most of the "adult" issues. Now almost 2 years later I guess I finally have to accept my fate as an established oldie so seeing teenie weenies evolving is just mostly surreal. Not bad, by any means :)

How did your journey start on 7 cups?

If you've read my profile, I used to help a lot on novni. It's also a mental health support site, but more in the style of individual blog posts that people respond to -- also anonymous. However, I kind of have a distinctive typing style and replying was not anonymous and a real life friend was also on there. I had seen posts about this place on tumblr so I kind of gravitated toward here instead. And now I'm an ambassador and have been here for over 21 months so I guess it all worked out.

What is your wish for everyone living on this world?

This might sound very "first-world" minded. But many of the issues we encounter on this site or "first-world" minded. So, my wish for everyone is to learn to be okay with yourself. It's a long journey, but it is worth it.

If you can stop something what will it be?

This is pretty vague so I guess I'll go with time - assuming that I can still work on things while time is stopped.

What is your most valuable lesson you learnt as a listener?

The overall knowledge about the variety of topics through the trainings and the forums has been invaluable for me.

Something you may not know about me

Uhm... I'm very short and sound like a squirrel to some people.

During a month period, do you a pick up a request from the general request queue?

No, I get about three new members a month somehow despite already having regulars so I literally can't. Maybe if they were literally just one-off chats like a guest but I haven't done that in a while.

Now now now! This question requires some honesty ;) Which part of the site you enjoy to be active on more the teen or adult side!?

I am more active on the adult side - but I try to go on the teen side at least once a week and I consider the forums to be neutral territory and as you know they are my forte.

@shelock What does ambassador do over here?

Well, I run the forum team with @poeticguy, and run forum clean-up as well as forum mentor trainings and meetings with @Anomalia.

I'll answer the rest at some later date. Thanks for asking and I hope you've enjoyed my answers :)

Back from vacation and ready to answer some more questions!

What's your favorite mentor track and why?

I mean, I feel like this one's pretty obvious for me...forum love all the way! Forum worms are my favorite animal (bug?) and it's such an amazing place to hang out with such a cool team. Plus, forum team has mentors, listeners, and members all involved, which is pretty awesome to see!

What badge means the most to you?

Funny story on this one...I had been hoping for AGES to get the Sage badge (25+ upvotes on a single post) because I have always admired those crazy amazing posts that you see from some people that are so informative and helpful and just all around fantastic that get a bajillion upvotes for overall brilliance, but my style has always been shorter posts (other than here, clearly) to answer questions or give support, rather than master threads, so I wasn't sure I would ever get it. And then recently my first hot list post for the suggestion box was coming close and I got so excited, only to find out I already had the badge and have no idea when I got it. So I'm excited to have it, but I really wish I knew which post it was!

Other badges I adore are the Einstein badge for suggesting something that creates change on the site because impact is important to me (and because now I get to award this to anyone whose suggestion box suggestion goes through and had one created for members, too!) and the Relationships Badge which I just got recently and is a nomination badge by other listeners, so it meant a TON to know that people thought highly of me.

Keeping my fingers crossed to one day get a couple other SUPER AMAZING AWESOME badges, like Knight of Smilehood and Encourager. :)

What's your favorite quote?

I have a few, but because I have my favorite recovery quotes already posted in my profile, I'll go with another quote here:

"Never doubt the ability of a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Also an important reminder for everyone here:

"You are worth far more than the value you place on yourself"

What's your biggest accomplishment?

Honestly, this has always been a hard question for me, because I'm not sure I have anything that I think of that way. But I think if I had to choose, it's been recovering from my eating disorder and being able to use that experience to help others through theirs. It was important to me to create meaning out of losing so much time to my disorder, and nothing feels more incredible than watching someone I've supported work towards recovery and ultimately thrive.

What's the most important lesson you've learned on 7 Cups?

That it's not always about finding an answer. I tend to be very solution oriented, so my instinct is to want to find an answer to every problem, but 7 Cups has taught me the value in just being there, listening, and supporting, even if you don't have answers or solutions. Which has been invaluable to me here and in life outside 7 Cups.

Do you have any children of your own yet? If no, how many children you would like to have?

I do not have any children of my own yet, but I definitely want to one day. I'm not sure on the number, but I do ideally want to be a foster parent and to adopt, moreso than I want to have my own biological children.

How did your journey start on 7cups?

I was interviewing someone for a job at my company and they had 7 Cups listed on their resume. I then promptly forgot about it for about 4 months before remembering that I had meant to check it out. I signed up, started listening, and the rest is history!

What is your wish for everyone living on this world?

Happiness.

If you can stop something what will it be?

Not totally sure how to answer this, but in honor of all my #StigmaWarriors, let's go with Stigma!

Tell us something we may not know about you!

Hmm...that's tough. I feel like I share a lot about me. But I guess I don't know if many people here know that I am actually super into mixology and have become quite good at it!

'Oh geez...when will we stop hearing from her?!' - All of you

NEVER!!!!

Here are some more answers to the delightful questions you all have posed. :)

What's been your favourite update on 7Cups so far?

That's tough to say. My immediate instinct is to point to something forum related, but I'm going to actually go with something I was initially SUPER skeptical of, but have since realized how incredible it is: The Feed. I was pretty opposed to it initially, thinking it didn't fit with the supportive intent of the site, that it would just be used to spam or harass, and that likely it wouldn't even be that popular. But I am THRILLED to have been very wrong and now I love checking in on the feed and seeing the awesome support and inspiration posted there and getting to post some of my own. PS...my current favorite thing is recognizing the incredible reviews people are getting with the hashtags #HighFive #RockstarListener - feel free to join in the fun and remind other listeners how awesome they are!

How many hours a day do you spend on 7Cups?

That varies a lot day to day. On a busy day, I'll be here 5-6 hours, but then other days (especially Friday or Saturday), I might be on here less than one. It all depends on what I have scheduled that day, what my other commitments are, and what else is going on in my life at the time.

What does being an Ambassador mean to you?

I feel like I've answered a related question already, but in case I haven't, I'll answer here. To me, it means being a voice in service to the community. I think I've been pretty clear about the fact that feedback and transparency are basically my favorite things and top priorities here, and I love that being an ambassador puts me in a position to better raise other voices, whether through the suggestion boxes, from what I see in the forums, or from what people PM me with. I view the role 100% as a service role where I can (hopefully) help people feel heard, explain things when there are questions, raise suggestions, feedback, or concerns up higher, and generally do what I can to help the community. And nothing means more to me than when people tell me that they feel heard or that they feel like they can come to me with concerns. I may not always agree with what people say, but I will always respect it and try my best to understand it, and I hope that comes through to those who come to me.

What's your favourite characteristic in yourself?

Hmmm...tough one! I think probably my passion. It can be a disadvantage at times, but in general, I love that when there's something important to me, I will go 150% at it, and I think that tends to make more more effective at things (but only when I care a lot...otherwise I'm super lazy...)

Hello lovely Ambassadors! I was wondering, would any of you like to share a challenge that you personally overcame related to your active listening technique (or more generally in your role as a listener) here on 7 Cups, and how you managed it? Thanks very much!

Absolutely! One of the biggest challenges I faced was that at the beginning, I was so afraid of hurting someone that I would never set any boundaries and would end up in 5 hour long chats that left me exhausted, upset, and ultimately didn't necessarily even help my member that much. I was terrible at self-care and couldn't figure out why I found listening so hard. Ultimately, it wasn't until I had a chat where I actually had to sign off to get to a meeting that I was able to say I needed to go and when it was well-received, I realized that I hadn't been giving myself or others enough credit - we would all be fine if we stopped talking after an hour and picked up again later. Now I am not quite expert level at boundaries, but at least getting a passing grade. Almost all of my chats are on an appointment basis, because that's what works best for me, and I gently but firmly enforce boundaries when I need to. And I'm both a better listener and leading a much more sustainable path now because of it!

Tell us something we may all not know about you?

I love to sing and often get my emotions out by writing songs that have never (and probably will never) be heard by anyone else, but get stuck in my head all the time. :)

During a month period do you pick a request from the general request? If yes how many? If not, do you wish you can pick requests more often?

Not usually. Because I spend a lot of time in the forums, I tend to get about 4-5 new member requests every week already, and while I will never turn down a request from someone who reaches out to me, it doesn't leave me with a lot of time for general requests on top of that plus my many regular members. So while I spend at least half, if not more, of my time on the site in 1-1 member chats, I don't take general requests very often. I would love to be able to do more of those, but for the time being, at least, feel like my efforts are best spent with personal requests which also more often are on topics I am stronger at working on.

Now now now! This question requires some honesty ;) Which part of the site you enjoy to be active on more the teen or adult side!?

It depends a lot on the day. I think the teens can be so fun to hang out with and always energize me so much. But sometimes I'm trying to wind down before bed, and I can't afford to be reenergized. :P

@Shelock asked: What does ambassador do over here?

Each role is slightly different, but it's a combination of general ambassador duties (being a resource for the community to come to with questions and concerns, helping mentor mentors, discussing any potential issues arising, etc.) and specific ambassador duties (in my case, working in the forums with @MonBon and managing the suggestion boxes and the feedback loops within that). And, of course, we are all still listeners and mentors, as well, and keep up with our members and mentees regularly.

@IndigoRoses asked: What's the most important lesson you've learned from being involved with 7 Cups of Tea?

I've answered similar questions here with setting boundaries and with the fact that sometimes it's not about finding a solution, but being there to support and listen. And I think those are still very true, but one other important lesson that I've learned is that honesty really is the best policy (which you might think I would have already learned...). I tend to be a people pleaser, and my instinct is to agree with things, even if I don't, but where I have found myself most impactful and also most respected is when I am open and honest and vulnerable. Frankly, you don't need to agree with someone to understand and respect their view, and you both gain more from an open conversation than from trying to just make everyone happy. Similarly, I have an instinct to always pretend I'm doing great even when I'm not, but when I am vulnerable and honest about when something has me down or I am feeling overwhelmed, that's when I can actually receive the support I need to move forward. And that's a big deal.

Is there any teen and adult moderators that stand out to you? (Here's your chance to spread some looooove and shout them out!)

I don't spend enough time in group support to be able to answer this well, but I will say that I think being a great mod is a very unique and challenging skill and one that I don't possess, so I commend each and every one of you for doing such a hard and often thankless job to work to keep the community safe, while still creating an open and friendly environment. Way to go!

@Anomalia I love hearing from you :O