Giving thanks for life's teachers, good and bad

Even though I know the origin of Thanksgiving is far from being the heart-warming story of settler kindness that is taught in most schools (if you don't know what I mean, please look up why many Native Americans indeed celebrate it as a time of mourning), I must confess that I have come to appreciate this day as an opportunity to reflect on what life has given me and be thankful for all the good in it, and even appreciate some of the not-so-good. There is often a bright side to most things if you are willing to put in the work and find it — Don't believe me? Tilt your head, spin around a little bit, hands on your hips, bend your knees slowly… hold it, yes, eyes wide open, yes, almost there… now smile! There! Can you see it now? (I hope you got the metaphor, otherwise, nice workout!)

This year marks the 25th anniversary since I started working as a translator, so this Thanksgiving, much of my reflection has been about this wonderful professional journey and all the great people who have been critical in getting me where I am today. I thought I should send them a letter, perhaps a private message, but then I thought it could be worth sharing my thoughts on LinkedIn so that I can acknowledge them publicly and also perhaps inspire some of you to do the same. In some cases, I waited too long to tell them, and I missed my chance. Don't wait.

The teachers we get in life make all the difference in the quality of the choices we make and the beliefs that become the foundation of our adult selves. In my case, I had mostly remarkably good teachers all the way through high school, and it was only when I started university that I started to doubt myself and struggle. Most of my peers had grown up in a multilingual family, had lived abroad, or had gone to fancy language schools. I had just taken the mandatory hours of English in high school, and I got serious impostor syndrome. Just a month from starting classes, my first-year advisor at university must have noticed, so she decided to pull me aside one day and told me that I "would never make it through her classes unless I went to live abroad for a couple of years first". Little did she know that I'm one of those who get really stubborn when you tell them they can't do something. I was glad to prove her wrong. Thank you, Allison, you sure saved me from a lot of wild Erasmus partying, but, to this day, I do not appreciate how you did it; I know it didn't come from a good place, so no @ mention for you.

The counterpoint to that advisor was Dr. Mariana Orozco , the professor who made me realize that translation can be fun and that it's not all about just knowing languages. She was friendly, caring, engaging, patient, and a successful professional herself. She was inspiring, and she helped me find the "translator competence" in me. In one of her classes, Mariana also invited as a guest speaker Dr. Olga Torres Hostench , the person who first introduced me to localization and blew my mind forever: a discipline where I could combine my passion for computers, software, and language! Thank you, Mariana and Olga; without your inspiration, I would have likely walked away and done something else for a living. Thank you.

Then, of course, was Dr. Pilar Sanchez Gijon , who saw how much I loved messing up with tools and solving problems, and trusted a guy with a lot of attitude, to start teaching others, and helped me connect with companies looking for geek talent. Thanks for opening so many doors for me, Pilar.

After university, things got easier, and I have been blessed to work in so many environments and with so many great companies and professionals. Today, I would like to call out some of the kindest amongst them, who I continue to cherish as dear friends to this day. If you haven't met them yet, I really hope you get a chance soon in the future.

Cristina Trivi?o Castillo , thank you for keeping me so busy and on my toes through our years working for Apple. Thanks for making me feel appreciated and for your strong but kind leadership, and thanks for all the good laughs in spite of all the drama around us. You continue to inspire me, like a true amazon ;-)

Eduard Simón , my brother in arms, brother in heart. Thank you for teaching me so much about engineering, tinkering, and running a business. Thanks for trusting me without hesitation and for making me feel I was always working with you rather than for you. Every time I decide to "make an executive decision" to unblock a situation, I think of you. Please keep teaching me new tricks; the scarier, the better.

I wish my great friend Alvaro Rocabayera could still read this; he left us way too soon. Thank you, Alvaro, for seeing a spark in me and believing that I could be great at anything I set my mind to. I wish you could see me speaking in public these days, you'd be proud. And I promise you, I've got a lot better at Sales than when you hired me at MSS. And a lot more humble and level-headed, too. I wish you were here and I could tell you all my ideas for starting an AI company together. I know you'd love them. You are deeply missed.

K?re Lindahl , I will always be grateful to The Institute of Localisation Professionals for bringing us together as President and Deputy President ;-) You have been a friend, a mentor, and a pretty darn good boss. Your explosive combination of cold-headed, down-to-earth businessman and sarcastic, funny, kind-hearted, loving human being is one of a kind. Thank you for teaching me how to run and grow a business, for believing in me through thick and thin, and for always making me feel welcome. I'm forever in your debt (I hope you accept IOUs).

Sincerely grateful,

Jose