Melanie Page

After finding a list on The Good Trade of positive affirmations to read through in the morning, I realized I could use each one as a springboard to accentuate the positive. The first affirmation states, “Every decision I make is supported by my whole and inarguable experience.”

Wow, what a bold statement! Every decision. I had to think about this one for a minute. Here is where my brain can get tangled up: I am a new interpreter, working for pay for only ten months but interpreting for two years now. I consider myself a “professional” interpreter because to label myself “unprofessional” is wrong, and I’m not an apprentice in the sense that I always have someone with me while I’m interpreting.

Then again, I come with a lot of life experience compared to my classmates, many of whom graduated in their early twenties. I graduated the weekend of my 40th birthday. Before I was an interpreter, I worked briefly at a library and a civic theatre, I spent eleven years as a college professor at private and public universities, community colleges, and, for one year, inside a prison. I was raised before home internet, listened to my dad talk about machinery, picked up my mom’s secretarial and customer services skills, and watched about eleventy-thousand movies. (You’d be surprised how often movie knowledge helps with interpreting).

Therefore, when I think about today’s affirmation, I realize that I have a lot of tools in my box that came before interpreting, but that makes them all the more applicable. Interpreting requires fluency in at least two languages and a strong understanding of the meaning behind each message, whether it’s implicit or explicit. My exposure to various industries, people, and life lessons buttress my language abilities while interpreting. So yes, I do understand how each decision I make as an interpreter comes from my experience, which cannot be denied. It feels positive to pause, stop struggling internally, and trust the experiences I’ve had.

How might you apply today’s affirmation to your life?