One thing that I am always trying to work on to better myself is my confidence and self-advocacy. I learned as a child how important it is to take initiative in our own life and the role that self advocacy plays in making something out of nothing. We're in control of our own life, every situation we find ourselves in, and every decision we come across. For every good thing that happens in our life, we must have had to put in some amount of effort into making it happen. You want to eat an apple? Cool, plant a seed and nurture the sprout that rises from the soil. You'll soon see it grow into a beautiful tree, and eventually, you'll not only have one apple but you'll have 5, 10, even 100 apples ready to be harvested and devoured. Were I not to go through the trouble of securing myself an internship I enjoy, I would be forced to intern every week for a month at some random business that my school secured me an internship at. However, I made sure that this wouldn't be the case. I made sure to make something great of this opportunity and am now having one of the best times of my life working in the kitchen of a restaurant--something I thought I would'nt get to do until after I completed culinary school.
Just as important as it is to take advantage of every opportunity and make good things happen for ourselves, it is crucial that once we have done so, we make the most of it. For example, we could drag ourselves through high school claiming that it's a boring waste of our time, or we could start a fun club, join a sports team, etc... and see it as an educational system that'll open many doors for our future. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I've drawn a little away from the point of this passage, but if you are asking me if I a full advocate for myself what I would love to say is YES. The reality being that, yes I am a great advocate for myself, but I could be better. Then again... we could all be better. It's just about what we're doing, if anything, to become better. In my case, I am doing what I can to strengthen my self advocacy skills and let me explain: I understand that If I need something or have a question, I need to ask someone for help, so in 99% of situations, I reach out for help. I have no problem asking any one of the workers at my internship site to aid me. The only thing that gets in the way that other 1% of the time is complete lack of confidence or certainty. If I have a simple question, like where the vegetable peeler is kept at my internship site, I won't hesitate to ask. But if I have a larger question about something that could be common knowledge, I would hesitate asking it for fear of appearing stupid. It's a silly reason stemming merely from self-consciousness, and I've had every intention of squashing this little worry out. So, since long before I even got my job, I've been asking those questions--doing those little things that scare me--and I am stronger because of it. We must do things that scare us or else we'll never grow.
2 Comments
5/29/2018 07:18:34 pm
I really liked what you said about taking every opportunity no matter what it is. I have had a similar experience working in a new environment. My only advice would be to go a little bit more in depth about what opportunities you are taking.
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Aleida
5/30/2018 07:35:24 pm
Rayna, this is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing :)
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Rayna ChavezHello, welcome to my 11th grade internship blog! I've had a passion for cooking since I was 9 years old, so I knew that for my school-required internship I wanted, more than anything, to intern at a business in the culinary field. Fortunately, I was able to land an internship at a health-conscious restaurant in Vista, CA called The Yellow Deli. Read about my once-in-a-lifetime educational experience here. Business Info:My MEntor: Laura Franks (Neviah)
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