Seeking Your PassionIn early 2011, I was undergoing a student crisis, where I was undecided with my chosen major, B.A. in Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough.

As a first generation university student, my biggest challenge was facing my parents about my sudden change of career path and the dilemma, that I had already finished two years of hard earned work. Unfortunately, with this decision on my belt, I had to explain myself repeatedly to my parents and pledge that my decision was made with much critical thought and was not the end.

During the first few months that I wasn’t in school, I did much research in fields that I could be interested in. However, that wasn’t going to be enough to determine my true passion, so I decided to look for jobs. The first step I had to do was finding an employer and since I haven’t had any major experiences, I applied through an agency, Manpower. Shortly after doing so, I underwent training, WHMIS & Safety seminars and landed a student part-time job at Estee Lauder in Production. While I was working the regular 7:00am-3:00pm hours of work at minimum wage, I realized that I was working a dead-end job. Although, it was only a summer position, it became apparent that I needed to go back to school and get an education in a field that I would love.

The beautiful part about this experience is that my hard labored position awakened my strengths and weaknesses in a job setting. I looked at my surroundings and realized what I wanted to study. It was bittersweet when my contract had ended, but it was a life changing experience and has brought me to where I am today. If there is anything I learned, if you are unhappy with your current position, find your passion, face your fears and live the life you imagine.

Defending ChampionsI had been gone for 7 days after a vacation from

Cuba, the following day that I arrived, we had a

volleyball championship game that I had to be

ready for.

Our team was the defending champions, and on

that day, our main goal was to defend our

trophy. Unfortunately, the opponent we had that

year were skilled and tall volleyball players.

The key to success was to block and play as

much ball as we can. Since they were great and

powerful hitters, our team was getting bashed.

As an outcome of our passion for the game,

teamwork and meeting all of our strategies, we

were able to defeat our opponent.

As for many team sports, you cannot win a

game with just one skilled man, but with the

harmony of the rest of the players. Winning two

years consecutively proved that we were true

champions, whether short or tall.

I was working cash one day at work and was cashing out a customer, who

picked up over $500 dollars worth of merchandise. He passed me his credit

card to ring in his purchase.

Adamantly, I swiped his card and the credit card went through. However, it

was unusual seeing an overused fading credit card, that didn’t have a

signature at the back. It was quite tense that time, as I wasn’t sure how to

approach the customer without offending him, since I was never trained or

told as to what to do if such situations occur.

After a brief examination, prior to returning his card, I kept calm and I kindly

asked the customer if he had a government issued identification card, as his

credit card did not have a signature. Unexpectedly, the customer claimed

that he forgot his license in the car, left and never came back.

Fortunately, I didn’t give back the credit card and was able to keep it for

head office. Due to my keen knack on detail, I was able to stop fraud from

happening and was praised much by my superiors.

Fraud Stopper

The Traveling Party

For fun, I used to make invitations for my nieces and nephews’ special functions. Guests started to

take notice of my work and inquired about them. Since then my whole family has encouraged me to

launch my own business.

The biggest obstacle I had in launching my own business was capital, equipment, creativity and clients.

Before I could start my business, I had to learn not just one, but many other design softwares, make

several designs and purchase basic equipment to get me started.

Once I became more comfortable with the softwares, I had to do market research on how much my

services would cost, basing it on my experience and the quality of work I produce. I also had to factor in

my cost of materials and find whole suppliers to cut costs.

The outcome of my research and compromises, have been fruitful. Although, I’m still growing, I’ve

learned that having your own business does not come easy. It is crucial to know your service’s worth

and factor in your costs, without breaking the customer’s bank, simultaneously. Understanding these

allowed me to make reasonable profit, with returning customers and referrals.