As I jump into my first official month of Praxis they’ve asked me to do something. They want me to blog about my top 3 skills. Now at first, it had me stumped what are my skills? How do I figure them out? Then I thought about it and it hit me. My skills are what I love to do most. So here are my top 3 skills!
1. Researching
Researching is such an important key to life these days. So how come not many people actually use their everyday resources to research anything? My love for researching is formed from having a curious mind. I want to learn and I want to know everything there is to know. A great example of this is when I built my computer. I knew practically nothing about computers.
This hit my curiosity like nothing before. Such intricate machines that everyone uses in their everyday life but how many people actually understand how it works? I had to know! So I decided to research everything and anything there was to know about computers. I found reliable sites that explained every intricate part of what every part in a computer does. I learned about RAM, CPUs, GPUs, Motherboards, and the difference between an SSD and an HDD. It was all so fascinating.
Before long I’d decided I was going to build one for myself. How was I supposed to do that though? I had no previous knowledge of HOW to build a computer. So I researched it. Before long I knew exactly how to build a computer and how I was going to build it. Through my research, I’d even noticed that the prices for GPUs were rising so I bought one for $300 and sold it for $400 not even 2 weeks later!
I’d made a plan of attack and I’d used my research and new found knowledge to understand every component and how it all fits and goes together. If you’d like to check it out here is a Link
2. Communication
Ever since I was a wee little lad I’ve been a big talker. Talking to anyone even if it’s some random person I’ve never met has never been a problem to me. While I’m at work or simply in line for a ride at six flags or anywhere else I’ll bring up a conversation with someone else in line. I love meeting new people and getting learn new things about someone.
A good example is one time around the holiday season I was at GameStop. It was packed and crowded like every store during that time of the year. I was just casually browsing seeing if they had anything good on sale when I saw a woman standing on the phone. She didn’t seem like she knew exactly what she was looking for. I walked up and asked her if she needed any help with what she was looking for. She looked at me with a face of relief and said “Yes! I’ve been looking all over the store for something for my sick son who I’m on the phone with” so I asked her what she was looking for. Her son had asked for a game that he didn’t have the correct console for. She asked me what differences there were and why they mattered.
So I explained to her all of the differences and what kind of games were on each console and what she wanted her son to be playing. After talking for a good fifteen minutes I’d had her decided she was going to buy 2 different consoles and a couple of games all adding up to around 6-7 hundred dollars in one purchase. She thanked me for my help and that I took the time to explain everything to her and was surprised I could know so much about multiple products.
3. Team Work
As a lifeguard, athlete, and gamer I cannot stress how important teamwork is. As a lifeguard, I make it a point for my fellow guards to know they can rely on me in case of an emergency. As an athlete, my team knows that I’m going to be where I need to be and get the job done. Showing you are reliable and an important part of the team goes a long way. If you’re the weakest link it’s important to remember you have a team for a reason. They’re there to help.
A good example is from lifeguarding: As a lifeguard, you have to go through training before you can even get the job. Part of that training is learning sea spine. C-spine is every guard’s bane of existence. It’s when a patron in the pool or outside the pool has a head, neck, or back injury. C-spine consists of entering the pool without causing any ripples into the water and making sure the pool water is calm by evacuating everyone out. You then have to go under and put the victim in a head chin splint underwater and slowly bring them up at an angle as to make sure you don’t damage their spine or anything else more then what has already been done. It is now up to you and your other coworker to successfully strap a person to a backboard while swimming in water. This procedure when first starting out can take a half hour to an hour depending on the people doing it.
We trained and trained forming our team and communicating with each other to successfully perform sea spine without any problems or taking too long. The victim’s life depends on you and your coworkers’ teamwork so it’s an important role to have. Working with a team is also one of the most beneficial things you can do in the first place. I know my team can rely and depend on me being there and I can for them too.
Toby Lopez 