Oregon State University|blogs.oregonstate.edu

Self-Reflection

  May 31st, 2024

1. What am I good at?

I remember last term I had a class where I was required to reach out to a wide variety of people in life to ask what my strengths were. I asked coworkers, friends, family, mentors, and the results were astonishing to me. Across the board, almost to the exact percent, I had an even split of everyone saying I was good at working with people, and that I am good in stressful situations. This tells me I do well when working interpersonally or with a team, and then I do well in high intensity jobs.

2. What do I value?

I value people and connection. If I have a good group and we are all working together, sometimes it doesn’t matter to me how dry our difficult the job is; I just want to be able to bond with a team. I find in firefighting that being able to connect and help the community by working with a team is extremely rewarding. Being able to drill and get excellent as a group and be able to tackle the job like a sports team is extremely fulfilling.

3. How did I get here?

A lot of my choices weren’t very intentional in life. I went to Oregon State because my brothers were, and I started a painting company because I saw some of my friends did that to help pay for college. On the other hand, I started pursuing music purely based of inspiration. I started pursuing firefighting because I was seeking a job that would be more fulfilling. Thankfully, I would say where I am now is mostly shaped based on what inspired me and what I valued most.

4. Where am I going?

In my current trajectory, I am going to get a job in the fire service and have a hobby of music on the side. I am motivated, so I might pick up a side job that would do well alongside firefighting. This might be an online sales, marketing, or insurance job. Also, I expect whatever job I am working on the side, along with firefighting, will eventually be what I switch over to in about 10 to 15 years which will take most of my focus, and I would probably retire from the fire industry around that time.


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