Alaina Jones

Growing up was full of instability and uncertainty for me; every day felt like a challenge that needed to be resolved. It was my being adopted and given the structure of a normal life that gave me the courage to try new things and live for more. Ultimately, I was given a space that allowed me to experience the different possibilities of life, and this developed into my success with the pathway I've chosen for myself thus far. Having the space to decide what I want to do pushed my ambition further as I discovered new opportunities in my field.

Though I don't remember who spoke these words to me, I will never forget the message that was delivered. The advice was to say yes as much as possible while maintaining my values. Looking back on everything that I was able to accomplish and all the opportunities I have experienced, it reminded me of the purpose of that message. Saying yes means that you're open to learning more and willing to step out of your comfort zone. It was hard for me at first, but I learned that growing means being uncomfortable with complacency.

Drawing from history, I would like the rising generation to know that they are more than what the world has decided they are. Being raised to think one way about yourself and applying limitations to what can be achieved hurts you more than it helps. The world may tell you that you are not enough, and statistics may say you will never make it, but it is the willingness to try that determines the results. In short, try something before you let the world tell you not to.

As a college student, I find my hardest challenge to be the student/work/social life balance. There are so many new things happening around me, and I want to experience everything while I can, but I need to stay on top of my classes. Having to schedule out what I can and cannot do while maximizing my time is exhausting, but so very worth it because it sets me up for life in general. As for more career focuses, learning the ins and outs of accounting has been interesting in my pursuit of study. Along with this, getting internships for the summer so that I may gain on-the-job experience has been stressful. On the other end, I have had a pre-course on what an accountant would do through an internship the summer of my sophomore year. Following this, I obtained my QuickBooks certificate through my school and joined a club that allowed me to learn about tax accounting. Unfortunately, taxes were not something I saw myself doing, but I enjoyed learning about the process.

Having a separation between work and life is a value in itself, because a mix between the two causes unimaginable and unnecessary stress in an individual. On a more specific note, family and self-care are my biggest personal life values; it should be my health and family come before anything that I do. This plays into work life; my values are to provide my employers with the best service that I can perform and show up on time and ready to work. I find that, with anything in life, showing up and respecting the time of others is the best way to show that you care about the person or position that is given.