My name is Jake Douglass, I recently took part in a project with everything is possible which involved me flying to Aruba where I would work on a resort named De Palm Island.

There my job as a trainee was a lifeguard but I did much more. My training work always varied on a day to day basis as each day a schedule would be released and would give us the chance to go and work on all the different stations that the resort offered. This ranged from operating slides, to helping with equipment and also being able to personally take guests on snorkelling tours.

The work we did was amazing and I loved the time I had in Aruba. The programme was perfect for me as each day I would meet new people with new stories and new backgrounds which I could learn about through communicating and getting to know them. This was amazing for me as it allowed me to be even more sociable which is for me my best trait. It helped me to be able to learn to communicate even better and work on my skills with people one on one.

I can’t even put into words how this project made me felt each day when I went to work. It’s by far the best thing I’ve ever done and the best way experience of my life. It’s something with my background I never thought was possible and it makes me so proud to be able to say I was able to leave my area and get to travel and work in Aruba (which by the way is my favourite place in the world).

I haven’t ever been able to visit many places but I’ve always had this side of me that wants to travel and I think now this project has influenced what I want to do with my life. I now would like to travel the world or get into a profession which allows me to do so and I think this was a good stepping stone in helping me to do so with the experience it has given me. It’s also helped to find what my passion is and this is why it has influenced my decisions what I may make in the future.

Through being in Aruba I was able to realise that having new experiences with new people and seeing new things everyday is something I want to be able to do for the rest of my life. I don’t know how or what this exactly is right now but what I do know is the time spent in Aruba has been a very important time for me and has changed my life. My free time on the island was also amazing, often we would go out with friends and see different attractions around the island or sometimes just enjoy the insane weather and relax on the beach all day!I had so much fun when being able to just be free and explore this amazing place. Guess what this was two times every week also which was great.

Professionally also, I learnt how to present myself better and how to deal with all different types of people and personalities as each day we could be communicating and helping anywhere from 200-700 people. This was by far my favourite part of the job! The variety of people we would meet. All this was important for me but the best lesson was what I learnt personally.

Personally I learnt how to be more independent. This involved being in the house and sometimes having to clean the property. Also I learnt how to have to cope with feeding myself and washing etc. All of this sounds rather boring but is very important for later life and for now as it learns me to be able to rely on myself and this is by far one of the most comforting and nice feelings.

I think this project is going to help me for the future as i have said it has shaped my thoughts on what I would like to do when I am older and as a career. Nothing is certain yet but I know a role similar to what I did at de palm where I would meet new people is something I would love to do for the rest of my life.

Project part of Discovering More, organised by Everything is Possible.
Project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union – The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.