News of the final approval of my paperwork and J1 Visa to travel to the United States of America came with so much excitement. I was going to be based at Albany, the capital of the state of New York which is also one of the coldest places upstate New York with temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius (- 20 o C ) during peak winter.
This trip was a long-term work training, so I rented a car from Hertz and an apartment in Clifton Park, a very nice and quiet town in Saratoga County inside Albany.
The training started in September 2013 and was held at the prestigious GE Energy Learning Center in Schenectady, famous and known to be where Thomas Edison founded the General Electric Company.
I was all over the place enjoying myself traveling from one state to the other at weekends and on holidays, visiting friends and family, going on sight-seeing to some of the major tourist attractions and centers, having very good and sumptuous meals and occasionally, some HFSS foods. I was indeed living the American Dream.
Most of these activities happened in September and early October when the weather was a bit friendly and humane. Then came November and December leading to the Christmas period, when the weather started getting colder and colder. I began experiencing severe weather conditions of high cold winds, snowstorms, and sometimes black ice on the streets.
I had never ever imagined the existence of such extreme weather conditions in my excitement and thoughts during the planning prior to traveling to the States. All my thoughts and imaginations before entering USA were focused only on the good and nice things.
Most of the time, we always plan our lives with only good thoughts, pleasant expectations, positive out-comes, more wins, success stories and continuous enjoyment. We do all these without factoring in the hardships, failures, adverse conditions, sad moments, and unpleasant situations.
Many give up when their expectations are cut short or when reality of life hits them especially the tough times. I would have given up and returned to Ghana during the adverse weather conditions because I was extremely cold, uncomfortable, and worse of all, having developed winter dermatitis.
But I had to complete my work training, ensure that I passed my final certification exams and achieve the ultimate DREAM. So, I developed a positive mindset and encouraged myself amidst the severe cold and finished the course, graduated, and got certified as a Heavy-Duty Gas Turbine Technical Advisor.
You must always have a positive mindset to be able to adjust to environmental changes as well as the variations, deviations, and diversions to your plans in life.
A POSITIVE MINDSET produces positive results.
I am The Chief Encouragement Officer (CEO),
I Encourage People To Live Their Dreams.
