On a bright day, Pedro, who is a translator, was dealing with many dilemmas in his life. One of his thoughts was about how to get new clients. He knows very well that when he works alone, he has to be strategic and really creative to find opportunities out there.
The next day, he started to subscribe to new courses and freelancing websites, listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos made by experts in the industry. He thought it was going to be really difficult to implement all of these suggestions at once. So, he was patient, learning every day and practicing all the knowledge that he acquired.
Fortunately, a job offer appeared to work in a sports journal, and with no guarantee that this client was going to hire him, he gave it an opportunity. In this case, he got the opportunity that he was looking for, and the client wanted to work with him.
The next week, he met another client, but he got no good results unfortunately. After a while, he understood that every day that he worked harder, he would find new opportunities in his field and new potential clients.
This was not the end of the story though, Pedro also thought where he could practice more his translation and language skills. So, he watched a video on social media about ProZ Pro Bono and decided to participate in this non-profit organization to get more experience and also give a bit of his time to people in need.
He thought that it was going to be challenging because he would have to work intensely and have less time to work with his clients. Otherwise, working there, he found time to collaborate on simple projects from time to time. Besides, he joined an excellent community of translators and interpreters from the same organization who have great virtues in languages and strong professional ethics.
On a rainy day, Pedro felt connected with the community when he had troubles. He shared his difficulties with technology and terminology, and the community supported him with many suggestions.
On the one hand, he realized that the moral is, he has to pursue his dreams, and doesn't have to give up, and just move forward because he will find that opportunity that he is looking for. Life is uncertain, but if he really believes in himself, he will achieve his goals.
On the other hand, the moral is also that he doesn't need to be perfect, or a tech guru to work for Proz Pro Bono. But, he needs to be curious, desire to learn new things and share that knowledge with his colleagues. Over time, he will become that professional translator he dreams of.
Hi guys, I also love teaching Spanish with short stories. So, you can visit my blog to read and listen to this short story in Spanish by pressing this link: https://sites.google.com/view/espanoamigos/mi-blog-personal/la-historia-acerca-de-converstirse-en-ese-profesional-que-sue%C3%B1as
Thank you for sharing this blog. You write from the heart and I wish you all best in your future career as a translator. As you quite rightly say, it's not easy but your attitude is the right one and I'm sure your perseverance and openness to learning will pay off. All the best Pedro/Oscar!