A day to relax? To celebrate? To think about anything but work?

No, today I encourage you to consider your professional achievements, your development, your goals and aspirations. To be grateful for the opportunities you’ve been given. But in these difficult economic times it’s also essential to find ways to advance your skills, because you never know what’s around the corner.

I started working as a translator about six years ago. Quite unexpectedly, actually, because at university I wasn’t too fond of translation lectures. I used to skive off all the time. I graduated in interpreting, but soon realised that in Malta my language combination wasn’t all that useful. Everyone speaks English here, most people also speak – or at least understand – Italian, and Dutch is totally useless on my tiny rock in the Mediterranean. Passive French can be an asset, but only in combination with active Maltese. And my Maltese is still quite basic. I knew I had to diversify to survive in this tough sector. So I let go of the whole idea of becoming an interpreter (more on that here) and tried to be the best translator I could possibly be.

I was lucky enough to be offered an opportunity to work with probably the best translation agency in the world, Blue Lines Translations. A young, dynamic team that allows me to make mistakes and learn from them, to explore different topics to find out what suits me and what doesn’t, to get a taste of project management and so much more. I’ve discovered that I’m not good at dry financial texts and that lifestyle, fashion and beauty are precisely my cup of tea. That managing translation projects is not challenging enough for me; I prefer working backstage, where the action is. And last but not least, that young people, right out of university, deserve a chance. I’m glad I was given that chance and I’m proud of myself for using it to the full. Of course, I still have tons to learn. I’m a perfectionist, yet sometimes I don’t deliver, particularly when I have to translate French health care texts into Dutch. I don’t mind sharing my weaknesses, because I think it’s important to identify them, to highlight them, otherwise you can’t move forward. No one is invincible. If you think you are, you’re not on the right track.

On this journey, I couldn’t have wished for better colleagues. So today, on Workers’ Day, my heartfelt thanks go out to them. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for your patience, your dedication, your friendship. Work is work, I’ve said that before. It’s not the main reason for being – let’s be honest, we all like weekends and holidays. But if you enjoy doing what you do, and if you’re surrounded by like-minded people, the in-betweens become more bearable, fun even. You maximise your potential and become a happier person. And if you’re lucky, you even make friends along the way!

Workers’ Day is not simply another day off. It’s a time to contemplate and be grateful. Keep that in mind today!