Sometimes You Need to Take a Step Back to Move Forward


Somebody once told me, "Sometimes you need to take a step back to move forward." And I will never forget that sentence. In 2017, my family and I immigrated to the United States. Two months later, I found a job at an Asian seafood market. During this time, someone advised me that my age was still eligible for high school, and high school would prepare me for college. I was 19 years old at a time. That person told me that sometimes I need to take a step back to move forward. One week later, although I had already graduated from high school in Vietnam, I decided to go back to U.S. high school. Back to school, I felt extremely difficult to communicate with my teachers and classmates. I was unclear in the words and sentences I constructed, and most importantly, I did not understand what people're speaking. "Can you repeat that, please?" "Could you say that again, please?". These were the most frequent sentences I spoke of at the time. Sometimes people had to repeat three or four times so I could understand them. They were friendly and patient with me, but I was angry at myself. Then I knew that I had to make a strong determination to improve my English skills. I watched American movies, TV shows, although I didn't understand anything without the subtitle. I listened to podcasts, Youtube videos in English day by day. I tried my best to talk with my teachers, classmates, cashiers, or Uber drivers. Two years later, in 2019, I graduated from high school when I was 21 years old. And I started my college journey when my friends in Vietnam were college seniors. Currently, I'm in my third year of studies towards a bachelor's degree. Looking back on my journey, I realize that sometimes the best way to move forward is taking a step back. Thank you for your listening!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Disciplines That Contribute to the OB Field

Image
  Disciplines That Contribute to the OB Field 1.3  Identify the major behavioral science disciplines that contribute to OB. OB is an applied behavioral science built on contributions from a number of behavioral disciplines, mainly psychology and social psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Psychology’s contributions have been principally at the individual or micro-level of analysis, while the other disciplines have contributed to our understanding of macro concepts such as group processes and organization.  Exhibit   1-1  is an overview of the major contributions to the study of OB. Exhibit   1-1 Toward an OB Discipline Behavioral science Contributions Unit of analysis Output Psychology Learning Motivation Personality Emotions Perception Training Leadership effectiveness Job satisfaction Individual decision making Performance appraisal Attitude measurement Employee selection Work design Work stress Individual Study of organizational behavior Social psych...
Read more

There are Few Absolutes in OB

  There are Few Absolutes in OB 1.4  Demonstrate why few absolutes apply to OB. Laws in the physical sciences—chemistry, astronomy, physics—are consistent and apply in a wide range of situations. They allow scientists to generalize about the pull of gravity or to be confident about sending astronauts into space to repair satellites. Human beings are complex, and few, if any, simple and universal principles explain human behavior. Because we  are not alike, our ability to make simple, accurate, and sweeping generalizations about ourselves is limited. Two people often act very differently in the same situation, and the same person’s behavior changes in different situations. For instance, not everyone is motivated by money, and people may behave differently at a religious service than they do at a party. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we can’t offer reasonably accurate explanations of human behavior or make valid predictions. It does mean that OB concepts must reflect si...
Read more

Challenges and Opportunities for OB

Image
  Challenges and Opportunities for OB 1.5  Identify managers’ challenges and opportunities in applying OB concepts. Understanding organizational behavior has never been more important for managers. Take a quick look at the dramatic changes in organizations. The typical employee is getting older; the workforce is becoming increasingly diverse; and global competition requires employees to become more flexible and cope with rapid change. As a result of these changes and others, employment options have adapted to include new opportunities for workers.  Exhibit   1-2  details some of the types of options individuals may find offered to them by organizations or for which they would like to negotiate. Under each heading in the exhibit, you will find a grouping of options from which to choose—or combine. For instance, at one point in your career you may find yourself employed full time in an office in a localized, nonunion setting with a salary and bonus compensation pa...
Read more