Speaker: Finn
I’d like to talk about my friend Alex, who taught me how to cook a few basic dishes before we both left home for university.
To be honest, I was pretty hopeless in the kitchen back then. I could make instant noodles and fry an egg, but that was about it. I knew I’d have to cook for myself at university, so I wanted to learn a few simple dishes rather than rely on takeaway food all the time.
Alex, on the other hand, was quite good at cooking. He’d been cooking at home for years, so one weekend, when I went over to his place, he offered to teach me how to make his go-to chicken stir-fry. He said it was cheap, easy to make, and difficult to mess up, which sounded perfect for me.
He showed me how to prepare the ingredients and when to add everything to the pan. The funny thing is, I was so worried about burning the food that I kept turning the heat down. As a result, the chicken took forever to cook, and the vegetables came out a bit soggy. Alex had a good laugh, but he didn’t make me feel bad. He just told me to turn up the heat and give it another try. We cooked it again, and the second time around, it actually turned out quite well. After that, he showed me a few other simple dishes, and I gradually became more confident in the kitchen.
As for how I feel about Alex, I really appreciate his patience, and I admire the fact that he’s always willing to help others. He could easily have cooked everything himself, but instead, he took the time to explain things and let me learn from my mistakes. I never felt embarrassed about being a beginner, which made the whole experience much more enjoyable. It also made me realise how lucky I was to have a friend like him.
I’m still not much of a cook, but at least I can make myself a decent meal instead of relying on takeaway, even when I’m busy with university work. I’m genuinely grateful to Alex for teaching me this skill, because it’s made living independently a lot easier.
Speaker: Blondie
I’d like to talk about Marina, who was a senior director at my first company and someone I learned a lot from early in my career.
When I first started working there, I used to think that if I worked hard and did a good job, people would naturally notice. But that wasn’t always the case, and I often felt that my contributions were being overlooked, especially when important projects came up.
Marina noticed this and decided to help me. She taught me a skill called self-advocacy in the workplace, which basically means being able to speak up for yourself and communicate the value of your work.
She showed me some practical ways to do this. For example, she encouraged me to look back at what I’d accomplished each week and focus on the results, rather than just listing all the tasks I’d completed. Before important meetings, she’d also suggest preparing one or two key points I wanted to get across, so I wouldn’t just sit there quietly and hope someone noticed my work.
At first, I found this quite awkward. I was worried that talking about my achievements might make me sound arrogant. But Marina helped me understand that there was a difference between bragging and simply explaining what I’d contributed. She gave me feedback after meetings, and little by little, I became more comfortable speaking up and sharing my ideas.
I feel really grateful to her for that. She could easily have focused on her own work, but she took the time to help someone who was just starting out. I also admire her because she was successful without making other people feel small. She made me realise that being good at your job isn’t always enough; you also need to be able to communicate what you bring to the table.
Even now, I still think about her advice whenever I have an important meeting. I’m much more confident about speaking up than I used to be, and I’m glad I had someone like her to guide me at the beginning of my career.
Leave a Reply