When my family and I arrived to Winnipeg 5 years ago, I accepted the fact that I will not be able to do the job that I am doing back home. Aside from thinking of concentrating of taking care of my then 2 kids, I have this fear that my knowledge and work experiences are not enough for me to compete with those people who are born, raised and who studied in Canada. I just felt that they sure have all the advantages and there are also stories of people I know who migrated to another country and did an entirely different job from the profession that they have in our country. These made me feel that it’ll be a tough competition – and I may not win.
Fast forward to 2014 – my family and I are now in Canada for 5 years. I now have 3 kids who are 9, 6 and 3. Our journey was not easy but it is all worth it. With the high amount of taxes that you have to pay, the child care issues that we always have to consider, the struggle to brave the -40s temperature on winter and the times that we miss our family and our way of life back home – yes, there are still times that I still ask myself if it was a good decision that we moved here. But, I have learned to love life in Canada – most specifically the way of life here in Winnipeg (I guess I have enumerated the reasons in my past post – Winnipeg it is! (The Reason Why I Will Stay in Winnipeg).
And my “fear” and that thought of doing a different kind of job, they’re all gone. I am happy to where I am now, I have a job that is similar or related to the job that I know. Since I left the university I have always been in the field of human resources – this is what I love to do, this is where I want to be and this is where I know I will excel.
On my fifth year, I thought of appreciating five people who made a big impact to me and made me realized that I can do better than what I thought I can. I believe that a person needs not to be famous to influence or create an impact to other people’s lives, sometimes all it takes is a good deed, an inspiring word, or even an arrogant attitude to touch another person’s life and that person can either remember you in a positive or negative way.
So for my “MY FIVE” – I chose to list the 5 people who in their own ways have inspired me to work harder and motivated me to choose to be where I am right now. Of course, one of the first person that I should be thankful of is my cousin, Helen (and her family) who was my “passport” to Winnipeg and who have been there to help my family and I to settle here in Peg. She is not my list because she will always have a special spot (she is my 0- zero, insert smiley here). However, the following people are the ones whom I met here in Winnipeg and who made a big impact (especially in my career) in my first 5 years here.
Ivy. She did not actually do anything good, in fact, she is the worst supervisor that I met! But I decided to include her in my list because I have to acknowledge that the “rude attitude” and “poor supervisory skills” that she showed me on the first day that I worked with her motivated me. And I must say that the reason why I tried my very best to learn the job was because the humiliation that I experienced challenged me to be at my best, I did not quit my job and showed her that I can deliver an excellent performance.
Amandeep. She was the manager at the coffee shop that I worked for. When I was at the edge of giving up because I feel that no company here in Canada will accept a newcomer like me, she opened her doors for me and trained me. She helped me gain my confidence back and has been very considerate to my “mommy duties.” I know that working in a coffee shop or in a fast-food is one of the first and fastest jobs that a new immigrant can get, this may be a no big deal to others. But for me, if not for the chance that she gave me, I won’t be able to get by on our first 2 years in Canada and I will never discover that there are other jobs that I can do… and the best bonus that I got out of this opportunity is I met new friends from this work place and they have remained to be my closest and trusted friends until now.
Ronald. He hired me to work for a travel agency as a reliever. I admire him for being humble, he knows what he is doing, but most of all he was never afraid to share his humble beginnings. He was also one of the reasons why I realized that I shouldn’t feel intimidated, by showing his confidence with my skills, knowledge and with what I can do I felt that it was really wrong for me to think that the knowledge and skills that I have with me aren’t enough. I just need to know what direction should I be heading to… I know, I could have learn more from him had I not backed out from the opportunity to work for his own company.
Sol. She is a friend and a big sister to me. And because of her confidence in me she was able to convinced me to submit my application to the company that I am working for right now. Because of her referral, I am working for Canada’s largest food retailer/company right now. She was one of those people who saw me and my husband when we are starting our lives in Canada and even if she has decided to move to another province, she is still one of those people who never fail to make me feel that she is genuinely happy for what my husband and I have achieved.
Natalie. This hot momma happens to be my boss right now. The first time I met her on the day of my interview, I knew that it’ll be fun working with her and I was not wrong. She is the type of boss who can make an employee look forward to going to work in the morning, I truly admire her for giving importance to achieving work-life balance. She continuously gives me a high degree of latitude to get on with my job while giving me the assurance that she’ll be there to back me up in a difficult situation. She is brave and smart, she was never afraid to share what she knows and she knows how to appreciate people around her. I have learned so much from her not just about our job but about life for the past 2 years. She inspired me not just to work my way up in the workplace but she is also one of the reasons why I went back to bloggers world. Indeed, she is a great boss and a good friend.
These are the people who made a big difference in my life and motivated me to give my best shot while finding my right place here in Canada. I hope that someday, in my lil’ way I can provide a positive impact in other people’s life as well… How about you, was there any particular person who made an impact in your life?
