My name is Veronika, I'm a 20 years old confused and insecure individual and since February I consider myself a member of a cult. Among other things.
And now let's be a little more serious, shall we? Pretty much all my life I've been a very adventorous and curious person. And pretty much all my life I've been struggling with understanding others. Logically speaking , I always knew there was a reason why a certain person did certain stuff, and I could somehow relate to other's emotions, yet I never really paid any extra attention to them.
I also never saw it as a problem. And usually, I don't like to admit this but I'm a pretty selfish individual too, I can be.
Since last February, I decided to join AIESEC in Denmark, an NGO with a premise of helping other young and confused individuals like myself to understand the world better - as to get them thinkng in a certain way, be more aware of themselves and the world's issues and in this way make them able to share their knowledge with other people.
And this is all I knew when I joined. Plus the fact it was an NGO and will look fairly cool on my not so cool CV and the fact I'd be forced to socialize and put myself out there was another plus. Not mentioning it is closely related work to what I study.
And pretty much ever since I joined AIESEC I realized my life has began to change in many ways. I realized my anxiety was slowly coming back, in small pieces of course yet it was obvious it's there again. I began to prioritize and slowly realize my schedule is different, many times I had to compromise with myself and important people around me - just so I can get the most out of the moment.And pretty much ever since I joined AIESEC I began to realize how messy , unstable, silly and unimportant my life is. And pretty much ever since I joined AIESEC I slowly began to realize this has to change , otherwise I'll get stuck and never move on and live up to my full potential.
1) AIESEC will teach you to always be solution-oriented. This might be easy in regards to group tasks, right? It's easy to see a solution , when the problem doesn't really affect you. But what about your own problems? I am a person, who really likes to overlook the problem and bury it very deep, so no confrontation needed. But have you ever tried fighting for what you want? I can tell you, it's worth it
And here you have an idea to look at a problem, identify it , name the causes and with the help of other people, who usually have a point - this problem will eventually be solved. I promise.
2) AIESEC will make you self-aware. Way too much. You'll understand your own strenghts and you'll get many chances to improve them. People will put trust in you , and more and more you'll put trust in yourself . I failed, and I failed big times already. But I know what my problems are - I know I'm late a lot and today I spilled coffee on another guy. (and he was Slovakian too and who knows, maybe I made a friend.) Everyone deserves a chance, and everyone deserves more than one. Because we fail, and we fail again, and again , and oh hey, again. But it's the failures that will make you grow, because eventually , you'll succeed, and you'll learn from each and every one of them :)
3) AIESEC will make you less judgemental. Definitelly more open-minded. And why? It's because you'll learn to understand. There is a story behind every and each of the people I encountered. Instead of being an asshole, try to be an inspiration. I met a lot of people this month, from everywhere and I can tell you , we're not that different.
Everyone needs a role model to follow in one way or another, and everyone wants to be looked at as human. A person, who makes mistakes. A person who fails. A person who deserves to be given a chance.
AIESEC took shit loads of time away from me. It annoyed me to pieces.
It also showed me my own potential, and problems that I'm beginning to understand, and I know I'm very able to fix them. Problems with myself. Problems with others.
It gave me access to make other's dreams possible by accessing possibilities they wouldn't think of, I woudn't think of .
Because that's all that matters. Be an inspiration , rather than someone who chases others with their own personal issues. Be kind when you have to be , not when you want to or when you have a good day. And give yourself and other time , when you think you should. Don't rush things so much, slow down and give yourself time to breath, to think, to observe. And try , just try treating others the same. And perhaps this isn't the AIESEC way, or any other organization's way - but this should and will be my way.
I know I sound super cheesy and I get it, chease is generally very tasty ;)
I hope you had a good day.
Veronika ♥
P.S.: if you really want to know more about my cult, and want more information: https://aiesec.org/
