“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” –Frederick Douglass.
After my sophomore year of college, I decided that I needed a change. At the time, I was enrolled in a small university that was very similar to the school I attended in my youth.
These private schools provided me with intimate communities that boasted small classroom sizes, easy access to professors, a walkable campus and convenient eating facilities. There are many benefits to being comfortable, but I wanted to challenge myself. I needed to be more independent and to develop new perspectives in life.
Transferring to another school ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made. I could have been nervous about the change. Instead, I approached the opportunity with an open-mind. While at my new school, I took advantage of the opportunities to mature. I sparked conversations with new faces, navigated a confusing bus system, improved my grades, cooked my own meals, and grew to appreciate eating alone. I forced myself out of my comfort zone to make these small yet notable personal achievements, and in return, I became more confident and comfortable tackling new things.
When graduation came around, my peers were anxious about the next chapter in their lives. On the other hand, I was prepared for this next phase because of my previous life transition with transferring colleges. I knew that I would be able to handle the switch to post-grad life. While I had to adjust to working a fast-paced, full-time job along with other adult responsibilities, I learned to balance my time and maintain a schedule. To stay on top of these busy days, I set my alarm clock early, exercised daily, created detailed to-do lists, made plans in advance with friends and prepared meals ahead of time.
While my periods of transition taught me the importance of being adaptable in life, my work experience at Trevelino/Keller has even further confirmed this. The agency environment is very fast-paced so I have to be ready for anything. This also means that I have to be open-minded to the assignments that are given to me. For example, I was recently assigned research on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for a client. I was initially intimidated because this is an industry and a client I knew very little about. Despite my uneasiness, I eventually became better educated on the field and the opposing views of credit. After this, I realized how important it is to be confident in my abilities to tackle challenging tasks at work.
I have learned that change is never easy, but the confidence I have built up during challenging situations always allow me to be successful. While I’m not sure of what other changes will happen in the near future, I am eagerly anticipating the next opportunity. In order to mature and progress in life, you must be willing to embrace change.
