Roisin is an intern raising awareness of Social Enterprise in East Renfrewshire. Here she talks about figuring out what to do having decided not to become a teacher, and how doing an internship helped.
Will I be able to? Will others notice? Will it be different? These were just some of the thoughts running through my head on my first day.I was so worried about not getting noticed and hiding part of who I am. I was in fact, probably too worried to actually really appreciate the amazing opportunity I had just been afforded. I needn’t have been worried at all, as it turned out! Now I am more than half way through my internship I really don’t want to leave. I feel like part of the team, a valued member of staff and just the same as everyone else. This is all thanks to the whole team, who have welcomed me, and made me feel that way.
My journey probably really began in my last year university when I finally realised that teaching was probably not the right path for me, although the skills learned during my degree course would always be very useful in other fields. Not that I wasn’t able to do it, just that my heart was not truly in it anymore. It was about this time I started to question, well where is my place? If not here, where? I had spent the last few years working towards one goal, and now that was not there anymore. I was just generally lost, if truth be told, and I was now about to go into the big world with only the knowledge I had gained over this time, with no real path ahead of me. So I started to question: Where is my place? What would I do in this place? Where do I see my self?
And over a few months I came to the decision, I want to work with people. I want a job where everyday is a challenge and it provides me with varied possibilities and learning opportunities. I want a job I that can immerse myself into. I really want a job I can be patient about and take time to learn and develop within. After a few months of searching and keeping a few part time jobs down. I came across this opportunity, purely by chance (“what is for you won’t go past you”, as they say!).
At first I was nervous and apprehensive, as the job was nothing like I had encountered before, and once again I was starting from scratch. A newbie! But like everything else in life, you have to start somewhere, so I decided to start, I would never know until I did so.
This has turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Everyday there is a new challenge and a goal to achieve. Everyday I feel valued and part of something bigger. It is not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is! I am learning and growing becoming more confident as the days go on. I once believed that I wouldn’t be able to do a job like this, but in the course of the couple of the last few months I have been here, I have grown to realise the only limits are those that I place upon myself. Now I have a whole new goal and options available that I never thought possible. I plan to make the most of the time I have left in the internship, to pick up new skills, ideas, contacts and relationships, which will hopefully help with any future moves and plans.
I will document the rest of my journey
-Róisín
