– My support network is helpful to me because they… encourage me to continue working hard, both in/outside of school. Since I am currently in grade 11 I am also trying to keep up a good GPA. This year I am working two part-time jobs to expand my experience/range of skills and help my community. In addition, I am continuing to do competitive gymnastics to stay physically healthy and as a way to clear my mind from stress caused by school or work. Due to the fact that I can get very busy with both school and work, I depend on my support network to help guide my way through the stress, achieve my short-term goals, and even take a break to clear my mind when it gets too overwhelming. A goal I will be setting for myself is to also be there for my support nework. I try my best to encourage and support my friends and family as much as I can, but I feel like I can find more ways to help them out when they’re stressed or need some extra support.
– I think my experiences such as… going to cooking classes when I was younger and doing competitive gymnastics for 11 years has influenced my choice of course/hobbies/ teams because… it taught me many life lessons such as time management, how to be independent, how to make myself and/or my family meals, many safety protocals, and much more. Through gymnastics, I got the chance to volunteer and learn how to be a coach this past year. By the start of this school year, I just began as a certified coach at the gymnastics club I still train at. In addition, after taking all of those fun cooking classes when I was younger, I also gained experience about the kitchen environment, and valued skills to work in the food industry. Now, I am working as a server/waitress at a restaurant called Float30. In the past two years, I have worked at three different restaurants (serving and cooking) and have learned so much from each of them. Moving forward, I want to keep working at both of my part-time jobs while keeping up good grades in school so my experiences grow and create even more opportunities. This requires good time management skills so I can complete any homework or studying in my spare time before or after I have work.
– What goals have you met that you are proud of? A goal I am proud of is being able to get my first job at fourteen years old and using that experience, plus previous volunteer experience, to be working the two jobs I have now. I am very thankful for the opportunities I’ve been offered and I am proud that I went out of my comfort zone to begin this school year with two part-time jobs. A goal I want to achieve is being able to stay consistent in my school work and sticking with the jobs I have now. Even though I know it’ll be a challange for the rest of high school as all of this hard work can be difficult to balance with my mental health and social life, I feel that it will have a positive impact on my future (after high school), hopefully opening up more and more opportunities.