Journey To Success

The dictionary definition of “success” is the accomplishment of an aim or a purpose. Most would characterize a person’s success by focusing on what their final product or goal is, such as buying a new car, graduating college, or getting a new job. Yes, those are all amazing achievements. However, I believe the greatest part of a person’s success is their journey of how they reached their goal. Trying to achieve a goal is not always a linear path; you may go through hurdles, such as rejection, lose some motivation, or might even want to give up. Therefore, as gratifying as it is to celebrate the achievement of a goal, it is also just as important to honor and celebrate the battles fought to obtain it.

To help frame this approach of success, it is important to acknowledge success as learning something new every day and believing in yourself. These two attributes of success helped motivate me through my internship. I am also human; one moment I am feeling proud of myself, then I am suddenly swimming in an internal sea of self-doubt, feeling like I am not doing enough. This alternation of thoughts is a common experience of many and is a demonstration of a person’s perseverance and grit towards their success. There is always going to be a lesson learned and these lessons will help shape a person towards their next endeavors.

To go along with the theme of learning and growth, one career competency I have used through my internship this summer is communication. Communication is the exchanging information, ideas, facts, and perspectives with fellow peers and mentors. One example of how I have used communication is asking for help. No one knows everything, and it is not a sign of weakness if you do not know something. During this time of physical isolation and with my internship being remote, I sometimes felt that I needed to complete my tasks on my own to demonstrate that I can work independently. This led to me putting a lot of pressure on myself. The moment during my internship when I realized it was okay to ask for help was during a check-in with my mentor, where I asked for their feedback on a thank you email to a donor. The mentor said the email was great and I replied, “Thank goodness, I wasn’t really sure if it was good or not”. They asked how I was able to draft the email and I said I searched ‘how to write a good thank you letter’ online. They then told me that next time, if I needed help writing an email to ask for a sample template and reassured me that I was not alone in this internship. This conversation with my mentor allowed me to further expand on what communication meant to me: communication also includes knowing when to ask for support. With this mindset, I was able to feel empowered in asking questions because it demonstrated that I am learning something and that I am growing with the support of my peers and mentors.

One of the greatest accomplishments during my internship was fostering relationships between the non-profit I intern at with other small businesses in the neighborhood, including my other full-time restaurant job. One of my objectives of my internship is to explore creative ways to strengthen the non-profit’s relation with Chicago communities and neighborhoods. A project I am doing is coordinating clothing drives at different Chicago businesses. In these clothing drives, customers and other community members will be able to donate children’s clothes and books so that they can be given to families that need them for the upcoming school year. It uplifts me knowing that I can help build a space for community building with groups I already have strong connections with.

One advice I have for future interns is that self-care is also self-love, and that success also means taking care of your needs. We are not robots, and it is okay to take a step back and either say ‘no’ or ask for time. When I started this internship and other internships in the past, I was eager to take on many projects because I wanted my peers to know that I am committed to work and that I am not a ‘bad’ intern. There is no such thing as being a ‘bad’ intern, but it is important to know your working limits, as your state of mind will dictate the type of work you will produce. It is better to take on tasks you know you can accomplish to your best capability than to take on too many and risk not completing them or possibly burning out. If you know your boundaries and limits, you will be able to enjoy the process of completing a task, without the looming fear and pressure of possible failure.

This summer was a transformative period for me; taking on this internship, summer classes, a full AND part time job was a lot on my plate. Despite my busy schedule, I was still able to make great friendships and connections with my peers. I want to thank everyone at Cradles to Crayons for allowing me to join their team as a Development Intern. I would not have traded this experience with anything else.

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