Chapter 21: A mountain man goes to the hills to trap and trade.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”-Henry David Thoreau
My first camp job was as a cook at the camp I grew up going to. At my interview, the director said, “Is there anything I need to know about you that may affect your ability at this job. Such as, are you afraid of knives?” He was kidding, but what he didn’t know was that I really had very little kitchen experience with knives. I believe my answer was that I wasn’t afraid of them, but that I had a lot to learn. My college roommate’s boyfriend was a fantastic cook. He laughed a bit when I told them what my job would be in the summer. He asked, “do you even know how to peel and chop an onion?” While I had spent many hours in the kitchen with my mom, and while I had cut up fruit and made a few dishes, I was in no way an expert in the kitchen, and my roommate’s boyfriend knew this. He immediately got an onion and taught me the proper way to cut it up. That first summer camp job was one of the hardest and most rewarding jobs I have ever had.
When I accepted that position, I knew the basic requirements. It was my job to plan and stock the salad bar, assist the lead cook, and do lots and lots of scrubbing of pots and pans. Much of the job fell under the, “and other duties as assigned or needed.” For a college kid, this was wonderful because I learned many other parts of the operations of camp- both in and out of the kitchen. Since then, there have been a few jobs where the, “and other duties as assigned” seemed more prevalent than the job description lists. I’ve even worked several jobs where, partway through the year, we had to write our own job descriptions. This wasn’t a task for us to see what all we could or were doing, but an actual “write your own job description so we can use it for other hires.” While writing a job description is useful to see what all staff can and are doing, it shouldn’t be used to determine what staff should be doing for future hires. Obviously, the best plan is to have the job description laid out ahead of hiring the staff.
Life doesn’t come with a job description, unfortunately. Most of life is in the clause of “other duties as needed.” When we traverse through life, we are more or less making it up as we go. There are some who plan out their future desires and some who reach those plans. There are some who see what they want and go for it, and some who just muddle along, not going backward in life, but not really progressing either. I have always loved reading Henry David Thoreau. His quote about progressing confidently and living the life you are dreaming of to reach success is very inspirational. Thoreau dreamed of living the simple life in the woods and he did. With that dream came a great success that has since enlightened and inspired many people.
When we try a new job or task, it is important to do your research into the company. The internet has both helped and hurt in this task. It gives almost too many reviews of a business and influences your opinion unfairly. The best research for a new job is to pray. God knows the plan He has for your life and is in charge of directing your paths. If we, at the very beginning, lay all of our thoughts and concerns before God, He will ease our minds and guide us to where He wants us to go and what He wants us to do. Our next step is to discuss the options with our family or a close confidant. They know us better than most and can offer honest opinions and thoughts. The last step is to prepare. In my first job’s case, it was to practice my kitchen knife skills! No person should take a job that they are completely unqualified for, but it is a great growing skill to stretch yourself and try something that will challenge you. Allow Thoreau to challenge you to live the life you are dreaming of and to advance towards those goals. Meet success in the unexpected common hours.
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