The journey to discover what I want to do as a job has been enjoyable, yet challenging. From my original idea of becoming a veterinarian, to my recent interest in building terrariums and aquariums, each step has taught me more about things that I enjoy and don’t enjoy while learning about them at DHS.
At first, I was drawn to the idea of being a veterinarian. Caring for animals and ensuring their health seemed like his perfect dream job. Motivated, Rivera enrolled in a nursing program at DHS known as HBSA, convinced that this would help him get a firm understanding of nursing equipment and similar aspects of working in a setting with patients, besides animals. Though two weeks into navigating the new program and learning a little of the basics, Rivera decided that this was more difficult than expected and decided to drop out of the program. Even though it was a tough decision, I later joined Journalism Honors 1 at DHS.
My next journey in finding what he enjoys began with journalism. After dropping out of the nursing program, journalism looked for a fresh start to find something I could quite enjoy and take as my major in college. The first school quarter went great, and as time passed on to quarter two, I enjoyed the self-paced article writing, until the article ideas started to die down, and nothing became of big interest. Once quarter three hit, the class required you to write four articles, and that’s when I decided that journalism was fun, yet not something he’d like to major in. Understanding that even though I liked the class, it was not ideal for him to major in, he decided to take a new shift in finding something else that he would like to do. And that was becoming a nail technician.
The next job idea I sought was to be a nail technician. The idea came to me when my counselor at DHS, Mr. Holm, had a presentation in the LLC at DHS about what juniors should start considering after high school. As Holm continued his presentation, words struck to me as he said, “You could even be a nail technician and take classes at Abbott Tech High School.” These words were eye-opening as I tended to often look at nail products online and how to apply acrylic nails. As time went on, I told all my friends about my new passion for doing nails. My friend Jasmine supported my idea and decided to give up all of the acrylic nail products she had, including a test dummy hand. It didn’t take long for me to get most of the materials I needed to start practicing nails. Two days in, I learned how to apply nail dip powder and even did a full set of practice nails. As nails continued to be used, I ran short on nails. The results of my painting the nails looked horrible, and I couldn’t stand the fact that they looked weird. I struggled every time trying to perfect the nails, and as I ran out of nails, I decided to stop completely, as that wasn’t fitting for me any longer. I then took a break from trying to find out what I could enjoy as a job, until watching a YouTuber named Terragreen.
Finally, the end to my journey had come as I started to watch a YouTuber named Terragreen. This YouTuber enlightened my eyes as I watched what he did. He makes enclosures and simulates ecosystems and focuses on explaining what, how, and why he is doing the actions he is doing. This channel was intriguing to me because I finally found something that I would love to do as a realistic job. It might not be as good as being a nurse, vet, journalist, or even a nail technician, but I knew that this was what I wanted to do shortly. Watching him use empty tanks and transform them into amazing-looking enclosures was satisfying and also taught a lesson as he tells us what he uses in the enclosure and why he uses those products to make the enclosure safe for the random pets that he buys. My journey of finding what I thought I would fit into has finally come to an end. I enjoy learning how I could make an enclosure for an animal or insect, and I would love to start building enclosures soon for people who need enclosures for their animals or insects. My time at Danbury High School has allowed me to explore my career choices.
