The Story of Self.

Today was the first day of my professional career. Officially. Astonishingly, it was great.
Before arriving on the site, I anticipated a long day of paperwork, reviewing policy and procedure, and sitting awkwardly next to strangers that were to be my colleagues for the next year. What I received, however, was far from that.

We had a morning of laughter, team collaboration, and organizational development; all while getting to know these wonderful strangers. The thing that impressed me the most was the fact that the executive director, the head honcho, and all current staff members, worked side-by side with the new college grads. The entire team benefited from this workshop!

One of the assignments given to us was to write a "Story of Self." Basically, we needed to reflect on the choices that brought us to where we were today so that when others asked us about who we were, we could recite a succinct synopsis. Our stories today, however, were to be as detailed as possible. We were given 20 minutes to write this story.

When I applied for this position, a letter of intent was required in order to be considered for the job. I wrote, what I felt, was the most detailed story of who I was by means of telling where I came from. When looking at the assignment given to me today, I tried to avoid rewriting that letter of intent. Today, my 'Story of Self' went like this:
~Let's go back to one year ago. I was starting my last year in college. I had completed every leadership position I pursued on campus and I was now facing a year of being a regular student. An unfathomable concept. In addition, I hadn't the slightest idea of what my purpose would be outside of my academic safe zone. I knew that I was going to graduate with a business degree but what did that truly mean? What was I going to do? What was my purpose, aim...destiny even. These questions were my constant companions. So, naturally, I did what any normal 20 something-year-old would do.  I took up a frivolous hobby; I began to scuba dive.

This, incidentally, was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself. Not only had a found a new love for the extreme sport but I got the opportunity to meet and interact with a whole new culture of people. From this new friend base I was connected to even more friends. This, in fact, is where I indirectly met a very inspiring person who shared with me her story of service with Americorp.

She, her name will remain unknown, was part of a literacy readiness program in the D.C area a couple years ago. Upon telling me her story, I noticed her demeanor which revealed to me the type of person she was. On the surface, we were very different, her and I; and yet we shared some commonalities that I wouldn't have detected had she not shared her story. (Incidentally, the purpose of this assignment.) She was soft-spoken, yet created an air of openness and friendliness. Not an inch of shyness could be detected anywhere; which, in my experience, was unusual because usually soft speakers possessed a severe case of shyness. After hearing her story, I had found that tingle of inspiration that had evaded and bewildered me for months. I wondered if I too would be able to reach a similar experience as she had, for you see, we had backgrounds that were as different as night and day. ~

I wrote for another ten to fifteen minutes about my background and how, despite the odds dealt to me, I was able to rise above them and fulfill any venture I chose. And how, given my background along with the inspiration my new friend gave me, I arrived to where I am today.

I am very pleased with my choices thus far and am excited to face the new challenges this new job will bring me. The beginning of this chapter is looking very promising.

Until next time,

RTIII