Two weeks have gone by so far since moving into Dublin, and what an experience it has been so far. After the first week of sightseeing, my job finally started, and I felt I was finally getting into the swing of things in regards to public transportation, cooking, and branching out more into what the country of Ireland truly holds in store. But, what’s important to remember is you truly never know when experiences can completely change in an instant, and you have to be ready for that. I was a victim to this clueless moment, you are not immune, and that’s okay!
My trip did not start on the smoothest of plans. Only around five days into my program, I had the unfortunate experience of needing to learn what European health care is like. While in the city center of Dublin, I suffered an incident walking on the side of the road in which I ended up missing a step and “twisting” my foot. This ended up in a complete fracture of bones in my foot in multiple places; Although devastated as I felt trapped in a new version of living away from home, this also was the first ever bone I had ever broken in my life. I have been extremely lucky my entire life, but luck isn’t always on your side. Now, I am living the whole “abroad” life in an entirely new perspective. However, that is not stopping me from continuing to enjoy the life I have built here in this small amount of time.
Before I explain more, I’d love to discuss this past week. Not only have I continued to make some lifelong memories, but with that, I have officially begun my internship for the summer at Jobcare. Throughout my time so far, it has been a whirlwind of experiences, each coming with its large sets of positives and negatives. The first day of my internship was very stressful and took some calming down to get used to the daily life of the workplace in Dublin. The worry of my possible incompetence, to what my supervisor and co-workers would think of my injury was running through my head with multiple possibilities of firing at once. However, my pretenses about the workplace were entirely wrong, and I’m so grateful my supervisor and the entire team welcomed me with open arms. The group is incredibly social, caring, and understanding, and now almost a week in I am fully confident not only in myself but the work I will do to better the future of the company.
Since my work started, my time management has been tested to its limit in the workplace, to an extent that I have never experienced before. I work primarily in the client support and administration team with another college intern from the Philadelphia area. Since our work commenced, we have been tasked to go through all the career coaching content Jobcare has to offer and begin to point out details in which as an outsider we believe need adjusting or don’t fall in place anymore. However, given the fact I am still an intern, my supervisor is extremely aware that I must experience all departments of Jobcare to fully get the educational experience I desire for my future career. I am always willing to help out a fellow co-worker when tasked with a problem, but with this comes more trust and more responsibility, and in my position, given a multitude of projects all at the same time.
With these amounts of projects, all have due dates, some sooner than others. At work, I have learned to speak up much more frequently when tasked with a question I’m confused with. Furthermore, most of my other co-workers have their own space and desk, including myself. This gives me the ability to lock into the projects at hand. I often put some music on in increments of 30 minutes to an hour and work on my projects at hand. I currently have three projects due to my supervisor and other individuals next week. Although very stressful, I am fairly confident that I have been given the right tools to succeed. Even if I find myself in times of stress with my tasks and managing them, I know the support system around me at work will make sure to do everything they can to see me succeed.
Overall, although only a quarter of the way through, I have learned that life is bound to bring you stressors in all kinds of ways. But, if you give up, you are letting yourself fall victim to missing out on what’s truly in front of you: happiness. Things may have taken an ugly turn for me, but I refuse to let that bring me down. My strengths can be adapted(I even went to London this weekend with my boot and crutches!) Remember to continue building new experiences, no matter the disability you may have. It all works out in the end, and it is just the beginning of an amazing summer.