As I approach my leave date on Monday, I've come into a time of reflection. This past year has been a bit of a blur but I've had the opportunity to learn some new things, strengthen relationships, and learn more about myself. Starting with the biggest and most important lesson I learned, to accept failure and use it as motivation to move forward.
Coming home so soon after I left for Ireland last year really crushed my spirits. Mismanagement and lack of preparation left me in a rather undesirable position and my only option was to come home. Although this originally destroyed me, I learned a lot from it as well. Coming home, I knew I'd return the following year so I knew I had to learn from my mistakes and make sure this time around went so much better. Failure is an unfortunate part of trying new things and it can really dampen your spirits, but it's important to look at the failure as an opportunity to improve and a reason to still be proud. You tried something! That's a big deal! I couldn't be more proud of myself for leaping into something so drastically different than anything I'd ever done. Until then, I'd never flown let alone visited a country overseas. Despite the failure of coming home early, there were so many things I succeeded at that I couldn't allow myself to be dragged down. I learned about resilience and determination. I knew I was going back and I knew I'd have to work harder and save more to make this happen. I went back full swing into both of my jobs and worked my tail off this year to get ahead and save enough money to make this opportunity happen. It wasn't easy asking for my jobs back, but I was so grateful that both of my bosses welcomed me back. Without them, I couldn't have ended up in the position I am in now. I am so grateful to them but also super proud of myself. I left a good enough impression on them that they welcomed me back without pause. That meant a lot to me for sure. Nothing like feeling like an asset to a company! I also realized this year how important relationships are. I did a rather terrible job of making and sticking to plans with my closest friends and I now realize that no amount of work should come between relationships. I recently had a falling out with my brother and his family and it kills me every minute of the day that I'm losing out on my nephews. With that being said, I know how hard I fought for that relationship so I refuse to allow myself to feel sorry about it. When I return, I'm definitely going to work harder to maintain the relationships that I still have. Attend more of the social functions, visit unannounced, and just try to be present more often. I know they know I was busy because I was trying to go back to Ireland and really enjoy the experience, but it still stung that I was so unavailable. Lastly, I think I learned just how strong I am. I can truly achieve anything if I put my mind to it and that's exactly why I'm heading back to Ireland on Monday. I'm getting a 2nd chance because I fought for it, I worked hard for it, and I should be especially proud of that. Working one full time job is hard, but adding in a part time job as well was so much effort, but well worth it in the end. Here I am, moving back to Ireland in 3 days, and I think I'm actually ready this time. :) HAPPY VEG
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