don't wait on opportunity | blogmas day 4!
on the fourth day of blogmas, I'm reminded that nothing is guaranteed, year over year
šWhere is coriils? A quick blog post today must be. I have yet to pack for my flight tomorrow and have vlogmas to watch. So much to do, but I know exactly what I want to say today.
š welcome to blogmas day 4! This is a lesson that I learned long ago. Itās the story of discovering opportunity on the internet. In 2011, my entire life changed. Even as a self-proclaimed opportunist, sometimes, you forget to follow through.
You must understand, my Substack audience is probably more millennials like me. 2011 was an entirely different time on the internet. The 2010s are an era that teenagers now are trying to understand. The 2010s are nostalgic, with the early days of Facebook and a chronological Instagram, the golden era of Snapchat, a thriving Tumblr community. Social media to me is like a portal, the platforms and their cultures have evolved but at their heart, theyāre portals of information, like boxes in boxes, babushka dolls.
This frame of mind leads me around the internet, even today. What can I find beyond website homepages? In 2019, I found free 25 year+ wedding anniversary certificates that you could request from the Prime Ministerās office. I returned home that Christmas to it framed in my parentās house.
In 2011, I found myself on the Glen Eden website, surely looking for anything about the upcoming winter season when I stumbled onto their Careers page and found a posting for āApprentice Instructors.ā
Without this program, I doubt I would be the snowboarder or the snowboard instructor I am today. I was on the hill twice a week that season, one evening for training, and one weekend day to shadow instructors. By the end of the year, I was a certified snowboard instructor and somehow since, Iāve made it half my personality.
This year, I made three mistakes. I turned down sponsored opportunities for my AST-1 (avalanche training), WFR (wilderness first aid), and AOG (assistant overnight kayak guide) certifications. In an era where all I had was time, my priorities were all out of whack! Bogged down by the lengthy job search, time bound by upcoming group travels, I said yes to plans in the order they came to me rather than ranking them by novelty.
We still made the most of it, traveling with your high school friends to Asia, overnight sea kayaking and camping around Desolation Sound, being a snow school supervisor for the first time.
Today, I received an email from the Outward Bound Training Academy about the end of their government funding. Iād even allocated 5 PTO days next year to do my AOG, now something to reconsider.
If I could redo 2024, Iād do all the courses in a heartbeat. The rumours were there and true, funding was running out and 2024 might be the end of the bespoke program. Funding is finite. Ah! Iāve worked in non-profits before, how could I forget?
Seize the opportunities that come. Don't delay them especially when you know you want to do them.
Alas, mistakes come back around to remind you of your strongest beliefs. And although weāve missed a few opportunities this year, that just means thereās more searching ahead.
Onto the next opportunity! See you tomorrow! š«