FIRST DAYS ARE ALWAYS THE WORST!!!
I have been longing for this day since I first sent my application. I would say I have been working tirelessly to prepare myself and I indeed was well-prepared. Well, not quite prepared for all that happened on my first day. I expected my day to start with the conference call during which we would breakdown our week and allocate tasks (divide-and-conquer). For me, the call would be solely for introductions and scheduling but well, not all of that happened. Instead, it was a Pandora’s box of information, elaborately broken down tasks and expectations all with strict and unforgiving deadlines. I am still adjusting to this learning design. “You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” a popular saying that I am very well aware of yet somehow assume as if only wise men could utter it. I suppose I have grown a little wiser from all the experiences I had today. I have always had electricity at home and even more privileged to have access to the Internet. I am blessed with such resources yet to me they have become norms. Even so, life always has a way of teaching us the importance of the things we subliminally overlook once they become normal. By now the inclusion of the phrase “first days” in the title is somewhat confusing. Is it the first day I have ever realized that things do not always go my way? Of course not! The first day in subject is Day 1 of the Andela Bootcamp. Soon after the morning conference call (even before it ended), the world broke loose on my end. The internet connection dropped and soon after the electricity followed suit. It was a mixed feeling between karma, bad luck, and the end of the world. This comes shortly after one of the self-learning clinic facilitators mentioned it in one of the resource videos. How could the same thing happen to me? Fate! That was when I realized the applicability of the only thing I have managed to go through today; Growth Mindset. Whilst the electricity and internet disconnection only represent obstacles, the most important thing is what comes after! So, even now as I sit here, ten minutes to time for the submission of more than three exercises for today, I will hold my head straight and face the challenges set out for me today. The blog post might be the only thing I submit on time today but it is for sure not the last thing I submit. I will keep on keeping on, because I know that first days are always the worst but they are just that…FIRST DAYS!
