Grateful

Look back to appreciate and move forward to grow.

I immigrated to Canada with my family a couple of years ago. I started University 3 months after I took my very first step on Canadian soil. I got my very first job a month after that and the rest was history until I graduated where reality hit me. The whole change was one of the most emotionally-draining and challenging yet transformational and rewarding experience yet.

There is nothing I would change. I may not have travelled the most conventionally accepted path by having worked at 3 companies the past 2 years due to circumstances but those led me to where I am today. Every opportunity taught me a priceless lesson, let me tell you all about it.

You don’t know what you don’t know

School gave me an understanding that discipline is important and support is available when sought after, that is through the instructors, available tutorials, caring classmates, great extra curricular teams, and those student resources right at your fingertips. Grab them all, fill up your schedule and be a sponge!

When I got my first job, I did not know what to expect but I enjoyed where I was so I took on whatever tasks that was given to me, I was basically helping out 4 departments which seems a lot but definitely worth doing. It gave me a perspective on what I enjoyed doing and what I didn’t. After that, I was able to immerse in the agency environment that taught me true grit and persistence on top of being able to manage my time and priorities well.

The world is your oyster, it is filled with limitless opportunities for you to nurture and take advantage of. With that being said, explore what strikes your interest and narrow it down to prioritize what must be mastered because that will in turn be a few of the crafts you will be grateful to have worked for.

Without those, I will not be lucky to have been part of this wonderful and amazing organization I can call home surrounded by people I can call family. Without those, I will not come to a realization that I want to pursue programming as a second career despite my limiting beliefs because I have seen it, I can make it with focus, persistence and confidence. It will not be easy but nothing wonderful comes so easy nowadays so I was willing to put in the work.

Surround yourself with learners and positive human beings

Enough said. Who you surround yourself with will impact your soul and energy so pick the right people who will lift you up as much as you will lift them up. Give and take, what goes around comes back around.

It is important to take breaks

This can be overlooked due to how our society works. To get to the top, they say you must work, work, and work. People tend to forget the significance of doing nothing, which helps in sustaining creativity and increase self-awareness.

I learned this the hard way. It was at one of my University organizations where I gave my 200% because the sense of accomplishment was so addictive that when my term finally finished, I crashed, hard. I was exhausted and had no energy left nor had any idea who I was without that identity. It was not healthy nor sustainable but lesson learned. What I am doing is one dimension of my over-all identity so as much as I am at 100% with my work, I must learn how to pause to appreciate what I have accomplished and replenish my energy.

This way I am able to give more.

Be honest and stay kind

Be honest.. more than just to others, be honest to yourself. Do not force what cannot be forced, be courageous enough to step back when you do not know what you do not know so you can sit down and act on it accordingly. Think of the marathon, not the sprint. Detach yourself from the outcome but also consider your growth at the present, be in a place where you feel alive of being able to contribute and also challenged.

Be kind to yourself, learn from mistakes and don’t be too hard on yourself. In most situations, there are no wrong or right decisions but there is your decision so listen to that and follow through. Be kind to others because you do not know the crosses they are carrying. Kindness does not equate to sacrificing your values rather it means consideration of others while caring for yourself.

I believe that you will cross paths with the persons you have interacted with so have those honest and kind conversations.

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Three months left in 2018 and that only means, we have so much room to make the most out of it. Do not let your disappointments stop you from enjoying your NOW. As you hit the day running, look back to who you were a year ago and be thankful for every step back because if it weren’t for those, you would not be where you are right now.