8 Major Life Lessons in 8 Months

8 months in HSSE, SRCPD has changed my life. It made me more matured and independent, and most of all: to believe in myself.

I think I could sum up my internship cum life experience in a short post. I hope to reflect here in the future and always be reminded of how blessed I've been :)

Lesson #1: Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Or else, you'll never venture beyond your normal cliques and meet even more amazing people. You'll never venture into unknown disciplines of work and realise it suits you. 

The world is full of genuinely nice people who care about you. They're not just filled with the ones who hurt us...they're filled with the ones who teach us how to eat lots of durian and still be able to play futsal like a champ afterwards.

Lesson #2: Learn How to Listen, then Talk...

And I mean, really observe and listen to what people are and are not saying. Most of the time, what makes me engage with people much easier, is to pay attention to their body language, facial expression and general aura towards a situation. 

Always spend time to understand where people are coming from, and how they might feel behind it all...

Lesson #3: Never Be Afraid to Laugh a Little....

Life's too short to be too stressed out about everything. Always work hard, make sure you play harder and indefinitely laugh the loudest....

Lesson #4: Embrace Conflicts

They're good! They make you more mature, they make you reflect on your imperfections, and they make you improve. You might think you're not much of a value, but in the end...it's those conflicts with people that make you believe in your own capabilities (and my ability to tame cats).

Lesson #5: Expose Yourself to All Kinds of Work

And I mean all kinds of work. Technical, legal procedures, administration, event management... there are so many knowledge out there for you to grab. Why degrade one from another? One might give you amazing soft skills while the other just makes you look more of a nerd. 

Balance between the two. 

Lesson #6: Treat Others Like How You'd Treat Your Family

 I think I'm lucky in this aspect in the sense that we treat everyone like family here in SRC. People in the 20's age group are my siblings, between 30's & 40's are like my older brothers, and above 50's are like my parents. It's a good base to give everyone the respect they deserve. And hey, some might treat you just like a trainee...but it really shouldn't bother you since you're the brat of the family.

Lesson #7: Have an Outside Life, with Anyone. 

Just like Lesson #3, never get too stressed about anything. Even when you're on a horizontal streak while playing bowling. Always remember, to have fun and enjoy life.

Lesson #8: Carrot Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are Always a Good Way to End an Internship

Seriously, what's not to like? It's a vegetable dessert that's sweet and sinful :D

It's been an amazing 8 months, and I think I got more than what I bargained for :)

Love for Books!

Hey guys! It's been weeks since I've updated anything here. Work has been hectic but not quite like pre-Ramadhan work. It's the holy month again and despite some setbacks which I prefer not to talk about because it's quite depressing (Gaza & #MH17), I am learning a lot during this month. There have been many times I was being tested of my patience and ability to stay calm in annoying situations. I think it's a good month to improve yourself without being influenced to do anything sinful. 

Other than that, I don't think I've done a book-themed post in a long time!

 I have been pretty active on my book instagram (@BookLoves_ lately.

I'm really attached to this project. I get to post book reviews, recommendations and cool book art projects they randomly do on Instagram. And let me just say, there are so many nice booklovers online, I find it pretty cool engaging with them!  :D 

Books read for this month. Highly recommended by me, I enjoyed them so much. 

The new book by Rainbow Rowell, Landline, is a good one I must say. It's a big shift for Rowell from Young Adult to Adult Fiction. Her writing can be improved but Landline is still great a read. 

May We Be Forgiven by A. M. Homes is a dark family-themed novel which surprisingly I enjoyed very much. It was so sarcastic and witty after the depressed first part of the book.

One Day (David Nicholls) was a bit slow but the ending was worth it, I think. It was sad and I love the One-Day date annually concept. Was a very unique story-telling concept.

After Ever After (John Sonnenblick) was kind of a like a mini version of TFIOS for kids. It's a great and sad read which was also light and incredibly easy to read. 

Other than that, I must say baking honey-covered cornflakes is a great weekend activity, besides reading of course :D

I hope they turn out alright!

Before I end this post, here's a photo of (most) of the books I've read in 2014. It's a great thing to reflect on books you've ventured in, and what possible future reads are available next.

Have a great Sunday!

Wrapping Up Week 21

Well, life certainly has kept me busy. We moved into a new, beautiful environment, I started my Student Industrial Project (SIP), on the last few weeks left of my internship.

I must say, the past few months have taught me so much about creating an impression on people. From being just a trainee, to someone not afraid of asking questions and even suggesting some ideas. It taught me valuable social skills, and for an introvert, that is pretty priceless. I've become more engaging with others, and I can hold longer conversations than I used to. And I am pretty happy about this improvement in myself.

I realise that your experience in your internship depends on how you treat it. A staff once told me to treat it with respect and like a real working experience. To always be open minded, and prepared to be thrown into the ocean for my limits to be tested. Can't say I enjoyed being tested more than the other trainees in my department, but when I assess the person I am now, and the person I was at the early of the year...I am grateful for the late nights, stress and fatigue experienced. Because I truly felt at place in Shell working alongside the others. 

Shell PD is such a good platform to learn, and with so much current issues going on, there's always so much at stake and everyone is being more aware of their decisions. This really helps you in thinking critically and predicting all the outcomes that could either jeopardize or help your position. You can't help but to want to be involved and contribute as much as possible.

I think what drives me to work hard is I wanted respect. And I knew that respect is hard to earn or win. You have to prove that you're not here temporarily (even if that is true) but that you're here to stay and give it your all. And as much as I aspire to be a 'giver', not a taker, I know that is solely up to the rest of the staff to judge me. I can only try my best to perform and volunteer whatever services is needed.

You definitely can't be picky when put in a situation. Like someone told me, Allah has given you the best opportunity to take from it positively. It's up to you to determine what would be the best way to learn from it. 

You can't just wait for people to give you something. You gotta ask for the opportunity and prove you can handle it all. But it does take time and it does take perseverance. What makes me motivated is to banish the expectations some might have towards typical girls like me. It's common to find people who wants to see you fall or hate your job, so they don't feel bad about theirs. And they hate it when they themselves feel demotivated about their work.

Well, tough luck. Cause I'm here to tell you that you won't bring me down so easily...

Looking forward to wrapping up my last 8 weeks here :)