One of the questions I asked my mentor were from the suggested questions in the internship blog assignment, and the second one was one I was curious about.
1) Do you consider your career satisfying? In what ways?
To my mentor (Cat), a job is something she does to make ends meet, but her career is something she does that aligns with her life purpose. I never thought of them as two different things. To her, there's a difference. She told me her career is to help people find and live their lives in a way that is sustainable for them. She enjoys helping people progress in their lives, study farming, find community, and find peace. Being able to connect people to the land, and helping students realize their dreams is the most satisfying part of her work.
2) How has Wild Willow Farm and the staff helped you as a person?
The staff at Wild Willow has helped her be less of an "I can do everything, I will do everything, I don't need any help" person and into a "let's work together to get this done, we can't do it all so what should focus on" kind of person. Until she began at Wild Willow Farm Cat felt that only her way of doing things was the right way. She felt she had to do everything for everyone. From working with the staff she has learned to be okay when others do things a different way and values and respects those ways of doing things. Since changing her mindset, she can see clearly in others how hard they work and how valuable they are to the team. By seeing those traits, she has been able to recognize those traits in herself. She now recognizes her own hard work and takes pride in projects she accomplishes. She appreciates her coworkers for allowing her space to reflect and grow. (That is what this internship is all about huh?)
After reading her answers one key word that struck me was valuable. To my mentor the staff and what they are capable of are valuable. They may not have a price on them but what they bring to the table could potentially be something that one else in the world can bring. I appreciate the amount of appreciation Cat has her for her coworkers.
1) Do you consider your career satisfying? In what ways?
To my mentor (Cat), a job is something she does to make ends meet, but her career is something she does that aligns with her life purpose. I never thought of them as two different things. To her, there's a difference. She told me her career is to help people find and live their lives in a way that is sustainable for them. She enjoys helping people progress in their lives, study farming, find community, and find peace. Being able to connect people to the land, and helping students realize their dreams is the most satisfying part of her work.
2) How has Wild Willow Farm and the staff helped you as a person?
The staff at Wild Willow has helped her be less of an "I can do everything, I will do everything, I don't need any help" person and into a "let's work together to get this done, we can't do it all so what should focus on" kind of person. Until she began at Wild Willow Farm Cat felt that only her way of doing things was the right way. She felt she had to do everything for everyone. From working with the staff she has learned to be okay when others do things a different way and values and respects those ways of doing things. Since changing her mindset, she can see clearly in others how hard they work and how valuable they are to the team. By seeing those traits, she has been able to recognize those traits in herself. She now recognizes her own hard work and takes pride in projects she accomplishes. She appreciates her coworkers for allowing her space to reflect and grow. (That is what this internship is all about huh?)
After reading her answers one key word that struck me was valuable. To my mentor the staff and what they are capable of are valuable. They may not have a price on them but what they bring to the table could potentially be something that one else in the world can bring. I appreciate the amount of appreciation Cat has her for her coworkers.