Alex: At Long Last
Alex came into the world ten years after his two elder brothers. Being the last child in the family, he had a very pampered childhood.
He grew up in a small house in Vacoas until he was eight years old. In 1998, his family moved to a house in Albion where they stayed for four years. Alex attended a secondary school in Moka before his family finally moved to a larger home in Black River. By then, his family had done reasonably well, and he believes that gave him some financial safety and allowed him to have more options in life.
In 2006, Alex left Mauritius and moved to Sydney. He was 16 by then, and his elder brother acted as his guardian. It was tough for him to leave all his friends and family behind. It was through Facebook that he got to see his friends complete their graduation instead of being there with them.
During that period, he became aware for the first time that life is not that simple. Nevertheless, when he looks back, he feels that moving to Sydney was the right choice because it gave him better opportunities for a career and to develop as a professional.
When Alex completed his studies, he met a girl and went with her to England for a few months. The relationship, however, did not work out as planned and Alex came back to Mauritius. He completed his studies in Hospitality Management before going back to Sydney to start his career in a restaurant.
Alex had to clean all the dishes, among other responsibilities. One day, the head chef gave him three large bags of potatoes, three large bags of carrots and three large bags of onions to peel and cut. It took him 7 hours to complete this task. This incident made him realize that it was not a job he wanted to see anybody doing, let alone himself.
He came back to Mauritius and started as a management trainee at Paradis hotel, working in the kitchen. At that time, he developed a back problem and could not work for a month. The lay off again gave him time to ponder over his life. He no longer wanted to be away from home, missing all family events, including Christmas, New Year, and birthdays.
After some time, Alex took up work as assistant Restaurant Manager at Club Med. For one year, it proved to be very challenging; working through breakfast, lunch, and dinner and hardly having time for sleep. His whole time clock got messed up.
Alex later left Club Med and moved to a big chemical company where he worked as an assistant storekeeper for two and ½ years. He could, at last, work while having a social life, enjoying time with his family and friends. He realized that you shape your life by the choices you make and that some people were not as lucky as he was because they didn’t have a similar option.
For a short period, Alex got the possibility to work as a salesman and was always in the streets, going to meet people. After that, Alex left Mauritius to try to extend the services of the chemical company in Seychelles. He had to start from scratch and grow a business that did not exist, learn to get people to trust you in another country, to adapt to their way of living. It took Alex a full year to find some stability. He was facing many situations that he had never experienced before, including depression, anger, and loneliness. On the plus side, he learned to handle pressure, to set up processes, develop the virtue of patience, and to build trust.
From this phase of his life, Alex learned that one should never have regrets; it is what leads to depression. He believes that bad experiences are the best experiences because life is a pursuit, not a destination. He is convinced that the journey towards finding your truth starts with being satisfied with what you are doing. Having a team with you is a source of satisfaction and is what gives you motivation. Success, to him, is teamwork, not a one-man show.
A production of XTM Mirror ; 2019
