Hello Prof. Jorge,
Here is my reflection on external and internal factors that shaped me. Have a nice day ahead.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
Family
My childhood days spent mostly in the province of Nueva Ecija, where I lived with my grandparents together with my eldest brother and cousins. We called our grandparents as "Nanay " and "Tatay". We had a specific duties and responsibilities at a young age, which we shared in each one. Before going to school, we need to make sure that the house was tidy, the dishes were cleaned and the plants and trees were watered. We had lunch break in school that we ought to go home, which means we don't have enough "baon" to spend on stuff. Good thing to look forward was my Nanay was a good cook; her "menudo" and "sopas" were the best. When Nanay was tired, she would let us cook for dinner. It was a simple dish like "diningding" which some of the ingredients came from our backyard. These were "talbos ng kamote" and "kangkong" which I planted due to boredom. As a normal kid growing up, my brother, cousins and I usually had petty fights. To manage the disorder, Tatay would discipline us, sometimes with force. He was really sweet but it he was an exact opposite when he was angry. To manage the tension, my Nanay would come to rescue and consoled us.
When I was eleven, I'm already in Pasig together with my parents and other siblings except with my eldest brother who was still in Nueva Ecija. My dad fondness in cockfighting made him not reliable financially. My mom took care of all the bills, necessities, and our school fees. My parents weren't even sweet at each other, which I questioned back then why didn't they just get separated. My mom said it was my Nanay's advice that it would be hard for children to grow up in a broken family. She was tough to endure that and even managed to send us all in college. When I started earning, I felt oblige to helped her financially to ease some burdens. Having my beautiful sisters around, I need to maintain my physique. My mother and my sisters were very critical when I started to gain weight. It was like a mortal sin being fat. I felt the respect of being "Ate" with my younger brother and we could talk and laugh with anything.
School
I was petite and thin on my early years at high school, which at first glance could be easily bullied. My seatmate was part of a brat girl's group in our section where everyone wanted to be part of. She brought her guitar in class and she wanted to put it under my desk so she could sit comfortably. I felt aggrieved and talked to her that it was wrong. She just said it was just for a while. I stand to my opinion that she could not let other suffer to ease herself. She was astonished and removed her guitar so my incoming teacher wouldn't notice our commotion. After the class she tried to bully me again together with her group, but they felt that I was fierce so they stopped. Everyone who saw our commotion came to me and they were inspired with my courage. They were no longer threatened and wanted to be part of that group. They were lots of bully stories I witnessed during high school and this one was the most vivid, and thankfully I conquered it all. <anak kasi ng pulis>
In college we already built our own block section and unfortunately during our summer class, I and my other two classmates got separated from it. It was the first time we met our Professor and we got scared on his first introduction of himself and his strict expectations. While on the other class, the Professor was known for her kindness and overwhelming appearance. We asked our Professor if he could release us and he agreed, but when we talked to the registrar only the two among the three of us got approval. We could not leave the other one so we decided to talk again to our Professor to accept us back. We told him the truth that we got scared from him. He said were already on our adulthood and we should not be impulsive when it comes to decisions in life. We couldn't just run because we're scared, we should have the courage to face our adversity. It took an hour of sermon but luckily he accepted us again. The sermon that he gave to us on the dangers of being impulsive still holds true to me up to now.
Work
I started as Sales and Technical Support Engineer in Syrex Corporation right after I passed the board exam for Electronics Engineer. This company was the main distributor of Optical Mark Reader scanner on most schools in the Philippines including the scannable paper. If I'm not mistaken, the AGSB entrance exam paper and probably the machine they used for checking was distributed by this company. They also have E-Instruction products used for interactive session. In this company, I was exposed to people with different professions. I met Presidents, chairmen, heads, and secretaries of most schools, universities and review centers here in Metro Manila. I was involved also with some of Pharmaceuticals Company in the Philippines where I used to travel all over the Philippines except in Mindanao at that time. I've learned to communicate and present to other people but there were so much to improve. Maybe if I stayed, I would be more confident with myself but I felt it wasn't the path I wanted. I found my job not too technical so I decided to
quit.
I wanted to find a company suiting my technical desire and have an opportunity to practice my degree.
There Allegro Microsystems and my current company MTI Advanced Test Development Corp. came into picture. Both are semiconductor companies, the reason I moved to latter aside of course from salary difference was the work schedule. In Allegro I worked six days in a week and it really tested my endurance physically and mentally, while in MTI I was on five days flexi-schedule though the job was technically excruciating at times. Both jobs gave me the opportunity to apply my degree and fed my desire to share the technical knowledge I have.
INTERNAL FACTORS
Values
Faith & Relationship with God
I was a born in a family of Christians although I wasn't that active on church activities. But I see to it that I have a personal relationship with God. I never missed to communicate with Him. God would be the first and last in my mind, right after I wake up, before I lay to bed and in between. I also have a daily journal addressed to Him where I put my inspirations and desperations. I have my complete dependence with Him. Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. - Psalm 55:22
Demand less, instead have Preferences
I realized that there are really things beyond our control. Instead of being frustrated and disappointed, I look forward to other opportunities that might be presented. Having preferences meaning being positive with the change of our mindset. It's not what happens to you that determine your happiness. It's how you think about what happens to you. –Anonymous
Strengths
Perseverance
When I start a vision, I am determined to its realization. Even situation gets tough and becoming uncomfortable, I would still be persistent to its fulfillment. I have this zest to challenge the status quo and think outside the box but my focus would always be the end goal.
Integrity and Honesty
I have this sense of wholeness with myself and I would not depart with my characters from one person to another. I have this courage to do what I think was right no matter what the consequences will be. I valued the trust that others gave me and not to falter with their expectations.
Weaknesses
Communication
My way of communication in my current field was designed to say only the main thing, what was the problem, what were the solutions and the preventive actions. I would just show them the circuits, programs, numbers and calculations and everyone would be on the same page without the need of further elaborations. That's why I expressed my thoughts in a succinct way which sometimes could lead confusion to some. I was astonished with my co-leaders here in AGSB on how they expound with their ideas well. It was something I'm looking forward to achieve.
Emotionally Aloof
I'm not anti-social but I keep my distance on being too close to others. I guess being tough was just my façade because I'm vulnerable to those people I started to care. The validations I got from them have a great impact on how I perceived myself. It would take me lots of realizations before I could finally entrust my emotions to other people.
How do they prepare you for your future challenges?
External and internal factors influence our decision and can have a significant impact on our ability to work with people effectively. These two factors intertwined as I prepare to the future challenges:
EXTERNAL
INTERNAL
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Family
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School
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Work
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Values
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Personal relationship with God and complete dependence with Him.
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Courage to stand to what I think is right.
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Having a positive mindset in face of adversity and learn to explore on other opportunities.
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Strengths
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Being determined to the realization of my vision.
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Being dependable and trustworthy.
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Think outside the box and challenge the status quo.
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Weaknesses
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Learn to thrust people.
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Not to be indecisive in decision-making
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Learn to expound my ideas and able to communicate effectively.
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What is the new learning? What is the relation to what I already know? What have I done, am doing, will be doing for this topic?
Our conceptions of what are considered good and desirable and what are improper or disagreeable built the foundation of our leadership. Our external relationships and our inner values influenced our aspect in life. Our decisions are affected by personal choices on what are important to us and what are worth fighting for.
I've learned to be responsible at a young age with my family. We have tasks to complete in a day but were successful to delegate and share it to each one. We have different personalities but we managed to work as a team. My grandfather taught me to respect authorities and obey the rules. My grandmother showed how to genuinely care for others.
Being tough, my mother taught me what perseverance is. When I have something in mind, I am determined to its fulfillment. My mother sacrificed her wellbeing for the sake of the people she loved. She may not be emotional but her actions dignified her good character. She has been the greatest influence in my life; I was able to endure hardship for the welfare of those I love. I've learned humility with my father, to forgive and respect people despite their shortcoming. I may not owe it to him, but I owe it myself. My siblings were my biggest critique on being physically fit. I learned to take care of myself in order to perform at my fullest.
I've learned to be brave and found the courage to stand to what I think is right at school. There were lots of bullies but we must know how to defend ourselves and those people who couldn't. Despite the experienced I had with my professor, I noticed that I'm still impulsive at times. And this reflection showed me that I should not be indecisive when it comes to decision-making.
My passion started to formulate at work. I should be satisfied to what I'm doing. I've became aware with my strengths and I was able to utilized it. I constantly look for opportunities that could enhance my potentials. I wanted to develop myself in order to impart the knowledge I've learned and be able to develop others as well. Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. - Confucius
Our values, strengths and weakness were shaped by our environment. Our values define our behavior, our attitude and disposition that we considered worthwhile. It built social relations with other and how we evaluate their actions. Maximizing our strengths help us to lead and see the best in other people. We must know each individuals capabilities to assign roles and responsibilities more strategically. Our weaknesses gave us the area of opportunity to grow. Admitting that we are not good in everything would be a humble step towards improvement.
The journey towards a better leadership would always be our continuous self-reflection. Our preferences were shaped by our values and should align to the vision we have. Our experiences help us to become a better version of ourselves. Live in such a way that it counts beyond your life. – Ps. Paul Chase
Regards,
Leader Rachel Lopez
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