A Pause to Reflect – How AI Reminded Me of the Human Side of Learning

Every now and then, technology does something surprisingly human.

Today, Google Memories surfaced a photo of me from more than 20 years ago — and it stopped me in my tracks. An algorithm, designed to surface content, had facilitated something deeply personal: a pause to reflect.

Here I am, more than 20 years ago,— a dancer and teacher of Ballroom and Latin American dance. Looking at this photograph made me nostalgic — not just for my long-lost figure, grace, and poise — but for a time when life felt simpler and filled with possibility.

And as I sat there, prompted by AI, I began to think about the journey I’ve been on over the past two decades — the steps, turns, and pivots that brought me to where I am today.

Now, while that might seem worlds apart from my current life as an author, leadership development advisor, and learning strategist, looking back, I can now join the dots perfectly.

The Early Steps

I began teaching ballroom dance while completing my Honours degree in Psychology. Since the studio only opened in the afternoons and evenings, it allowed me to earn an income while pursuing an art form I had always loved.

All my life, I wanted to dance. I was blessed with agility, flexibility, and movement. Dancing, to me, was more than performance — it was transcendence.

I didn’t yet know the word flow, but I knew the feeling: when body and mind merged with music, time dissolved, and everything existed in euphoric harmony — a living gestalt.

A Crossroads

After completing my Honours in Psychology, I found myself at a crossroads. I’d done enough free work as a trauma intervention counsellor to realise two things:

One: Seeing patients all day was not the path I wanted to take.

Two: Most people I encountered in trauma needed tools to adapt to life after the event — and those tools could often be found more effectively through learning than therapy.

So there I stood, like the lone Belle of the Ball — all dressed up with my Honours degree, but nowhere to go.

The Professor Who Changed Everything

It was here, on the sprung studio floor, that I met the professor who would change my trajectory. In a twist of fate, my student — The Professor — became one of my greatest teachers.

On the edge of the dance floor, she told me about her Master of Education program. I applied, was accepted, and suddenly, a whole new world opened before me.

Through that program, I discovered the power of learning — and in my own “Aha” moment, everything clicked.

The Choreography of Transformation

The intersection of learning and psychology revealed itself as the choreography of transformation — the blueprint for change.

These two disciplines held the power to change not only individual lives, but the world itself.

My role was clear: to be the guide. Just as I once taught others the steps to move gracefully across a dance floor, I would now help people navigate the dance floor of life — learning to move fluidly through change, challenge, and growth.

Always a Student

I am a teacher. I have always been a teacher. But I am, and always will be, a student too.

Learning — like dancing — is never truly finished. The music changes, the rhythm evolves, but the joy of movement remains.

Author’s note: I now help organisations and leaders navigate transformation through learning, adaptability, and curiosity — the ultimate dance of our time.