In the last 24 hours I have been offered an amazing job, and an interview for what is quite possibly the most incredible job in the world. I have also resigned from my current job and am still able to pay rent and afford food.
As I sit here trying to work out what the heck to do next it occurs to me just how unbelievably lucky I am to be in this situation. Many of my friends and family have struggled for months, or even years, to find jobs in fields that interest them. I had someone call me to offer me a job that I didn't even know was available.
That's right folks, at the age of 22, I have been called and specifically asked if I will take the role as 2IC at a major event venue. Admittedly I have worked there on a casual basis in the past so the owner knows me and what I am capable of but DAYM that feels good.
The interview I was offered I will have to turn down as it is at the same time as an exam that I really, really have to pass but I am absolutely flattered to have been offered the chance.
Now naturally I didn't get these through my sparkly personality alone, I have worked darn hard in some rather depressing jobs to build up my skills and experience. I have been working since I was 15 and have been volunteering for far longer but none of those opportunities would have been available to me if it weren't for a three key factors.
My mother, my father, and the amazing country I live in.
My parents have always supported me and allowed me to do all of the weird and wonderful activities that took my fancy. From financial support while I was learning to fly small aircraft, to helping me fold and deliver adverts to people's letter boxes. Later they let me use their car to get to my job as a waitress, and drove me out to the million and one scout camps I helped lead.
They have been firm believers in my abilities, even when I was a crumpled mess of tears and frustration and have been my sounding board through my hours and hours of rambling on about the choices I faced.
Without them I would never had many of the experiences that have changed my life.
One of the biggest ways they have improved my future prospects was their incredibly brave decision to move to New Zealand. Neither of them had ever been here before, they had no friends in Wellington and mum didn't even have a job when we arrived. I can only imagine how hard it would have been for them to make the choice to leave all they knew, and their friends and family, behind. I will never be able to thank them enough for this sacrifice.
New Zealand has offered me so many opportunities and the wonderful people I have met here have challenged me in every way possible. University here is subsidised by the Government and I receive an interest free student loan which includes living costs. My brothers go to a government funded school that offers them all kinds of opportunities (the younger brother is going on a school trip to Vietnam to volunteer next year). Organisations like Scouts offer leadership courses and a supportive learning environment for all kinds of life skills.
It is also possible to get a job here while you are still at high-school because the Job market isn't bad. In Namibia, where I grew up, it is incredibly hard to get a job as an unqualified teenager because there are just so many people wanting that same job. The expectations are also different and as a white teenager there is a bit of a stigma against having an after school job.
Here things are completely different, if you don't get a job people will constantly be encouraging you to. They know that the sooner you can start getting experience the better you will be in the long run. They know that earning your own money and learning the value of hard work teaches valuable lessons. And they know that you will value things more when you put the work in yourself.
This kiwi 'hard work mentality' has helped me so much and has put my career on fast forward. I can never be thankful enough for this.
Now to choose from one of the many subsidised universities available to me so I can get my degree and take on the world.
xo Cait