Meet Gemma
WHEN YOU’RE WORKING IT'S QUITE EASY TO SLIP INTO THIS PATTERN OF I’VE GOT TO WORK HARDER, I’VE GOT TO DO BETTER, I’M NOT DOING ENOUGH
Gemma is 19 and over the past year a lot changed for her. She had to spend a lot of time in hospital and ended up dropping out of her A-Levels. Shortly before her Skills for Life Award she made the spontaneous decision to accept a job abroad. Coming back to the UK to take part in the Award gave her a break that she needed; time to reflect and remind herself of her motivations and interests.
“Nobody really wants to go to work every day necessarily, I mean, I do like my job, but the [Skills for Life Award] reminded me why I took the job in the first place. I went out on this massive adventure up the mountains for 19 days in Wales and obviously whilst I was up there, I was thinking about work. I had time to think about the reasons why I decided to just up and leave the UK and the reasons I decided to go abroad, what I’m passionate about and what drives me and gives me motivation.”
She left the Skills for Life Award feeling ‘in control’ of herself and comfortable with her abilities.
“You need motivation when you’re climbing up 1000m mountains, you’re thinking about the things that motivate you, the things you want to achieve -it’s very grounding. Taking this break away, especially for 19 days and then coming back.