Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

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The sun is out; it is a new day and the world has adorned the city in the golden colors and people are ready to take on the day. I stretch and get up from bed as if my body has been folded like a piece of cloth and tied in a knot. 'Good morning Star," I grumble into my pillow and it doesn't even have the decency to reply.

 I am still feeling the exhaustion from the preparations for the pre-apprenticeship of the previous day, and I am starting to wish that if I close my eyes, breakfast will materialize. Sometimes, with a wave of the white flag, I grab my phone to search for some food options for the first meal of the day, but then what do I do?

 I am often absorbed in the world of notifications of the social networks. There are videos of cats performing, people dancing, and of course discussions about the toppings of Eldorian pizza, and then, all of the sudden, it is time for me to go, and I have spent half an hour here.

A knock on the door brings me back from my browsing of the internet. "Good morning Star it is time to wake up and start this day"! My friend has the gifts of the dawn wake up call, he has the voice like a hot knife through butter.

"Star?" I manage to say as I try to sit up and free myself from the embrace of my mattress. "I am very much awake, though right now I am engaged in a rather profound conversation with the blanket as to the purpose of life. Can you give me some time to try to explain to them that work is rather more important.?"

I am able to get out of bed and head to the shower, where the cold water hits me as a rather wake up call. Towel drying my hair and doing what I can with it, I look at the clock and it is 5:40 am. It's still quite early but there is no going back now. Tomorrow am starting my apprenticeship as an electrician in Eldoria and am feeling the mixed feelings of both joy and fear.

As I walk out of the door, my friend raises his thumb. "Are you willing to make this apprenticeship the best ?"

"Ok then, I will try it out", I say, tugging at the outfit that I has chosen and was very confident about. This is especially true with the company's Directorate's standard uniform which includes pants that are the best described as a cross between band uniform and plate armour. Wearing them is as claustrophobic and uncomfortable as walking around with a suit of chain mail in the summertime. It was therefore not a difficult decision for me to make to buy my own pair of pants which I refer to as my 'comfort pants'. Dressed in the new company shirt and the pants that I have chosen for the day, I enter the office and I feel rebellious and proud at the same time.

I get to work and it's still early in the morning, as soon as I enter the office I am greeted by an inquisitive coworker. Huh, nice pants. Were they from the 'Rebellion Against Uncomfortable Workwear' set? "

I laughed and said, 'Not yet but the fashion police are on my case, until then I am wearing these.'

The day is full of events and incidents, the unexpected happens. My new job as an apprentice electrician consist of anything from connecting wires to diagnosing strange electrical behaviors. It is like being given a set of tools and being told, 'Here, go out there and domesticate the wild energy!' The tasks are tough but oh so fascinating. It was like constructing a sophisticated device with a package of ambiguous guidelines and a lot of experimenting. And while there have been some rather embarrassing moments, such as the time I almost made the test light flash in a disco mode – I can't help but enjoy the process.

Then I recount my ordeals to my friend while we take our lunch break, a sandwich which I needed. "How is the first day going?" they say, grinning, while I tell them about the light fixture that became a disco ball.

'Well, it isn't too horrible!' I say between mouthfuls of food. "It is rather enjoyable, I must say. There is something quite satisfying about understanding how things function and then repairing them. And the team is fantastic, they weren't too harsh on me when I decided to create a light switch theatre."

Considering the time I have spent here so far, I can recall that prior to this apprenticeship, I was engaged in internship that commenced on the first of July up to the third week. It was a rollercoaster of its own right. The language had been an issue, for instance, Eldorian was not as straightforward as thought. While I am quite conversant in English, I was a little taken aback to understand his language of Eldorian. There was this one mathematics test that I remember asking my senior, 'May you please explain it to me one more time? I feel like I am trying to solve a puzzle from another planet.'

My mentor just laughed and said, "You see in Eldorian problem solving may take a bit more time and one has to be a bit funny to do it you are doing good just don't give up ."

But the following of the idea and determination was fruitful. It is great that the boss noticed my efforts that I have made to achieve the results, even though at the beginning I was not that successful. People were able to see my failures and learn not to judge me and see that I am a diligent employee. Now that i am preparing for this new position, i am excited of what is in stored for me. Everyday is a new day, new projects, new lessons, and of course new opportunity to make some more of these light fixtures to look like they came from a music video. Therefore, with my favorite comfort pants on, and my great team to support me, I am ready for the future and ready to embrace each moment of this life that I have to the fullest.

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