|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I am nineteen right now. I am working as an entrepreneur and a politician - a tricky combination, You might say, as I was elected to the Pärnu City Council during the fall of 2002. Last but not least, my passion for show dancing has not left me – although my schedule kills me as it is, I still perform with our group every weekend. Although it might sound a little childish or naïve, if you will, I have always liked to compared my story to that of Saint-Exupery’s Little Prince. Le petit prince demonstrated to us through easily understandable examples – such as the famous hat versus elephant story, that life is really what you make of it, that beauty (as also all other things) is literally in the eye of the beholder. As a businesswoman I suppose I started out three years ago, when I elected President of a student company. Running a company before we had any ideas what to do, why and for who, was quite funny, now that I am already able to look back at it. Then, after a massive brainstorming, the idea of the soft reflector sprang into my mind. We prepared some samples, demonstrated them to the Highway Department and came to the conclusion, that I might, just might, be on the brink of something big. We managed to get the production going and eventually won the “Best Student Company” prize (in Estonia, of course). In August 2000, one of my many dreams came true. I went to study in the United States for a year, as a Rotary exchange student. Working towards getting into the program in Estonia was a long journey for me, but everything worked out in the end. Things tend to, I have noticed, if you really want to. After graduation in the States I came back home. Being away from Estonia for a long time made me really appreciate Estonia, as it is, with its small flaws and imperfections. That very same year I was also elected Chairman of the Board of Estonia’s Student Councils Union. I had some distinct ideas of what needs to be done on the Estonian high-school education landscape and that was the perfect opportunity to actually influence policy-making. Blowing life into my business was quite difficult in the beginning. Being young and inexperienced, has also some disadvantages, it turned out. But as I also hinted in the beginning, at some point I realized, that it can be a powerful marketing weapon – being a young woman, that is. I was able to generate quite a media frenzy – a young inventor and a businesswoman, employing people and generating profit – the media helped me a lot, in the end, as people from the street got to know me. In November last year, I got another idea – reflective knitting – which I also registered as a Utility Model – and turned that into a product as well. I have only had my very own business for a year now, since June 2002. I am sure that during this time I have cried a small river, trying to figure out what to do with all this responsibility, whereas at the same time, people of my age usually take time off, drink beer and party a lot. Then again, looking around in the streets, noticing young boys and girls, actually people of all ages wear my reflectors, makes me realize that I haven’t lost a bit and I wouldn’t change a thing in the way I have lived the last years, if such a chance presented itself. But why politics? Well, a wise man once said, that “politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong”. I felt, that I had some clear ideas of how to help my home town grow and develop in the right direction. As of now, Pärnu (my home town) does not provide too many employment opportunities to active and young people, not too many leisure activities are organized. Partly led myself, we are in the middle of creating a City Council for the Pärnu Youth, a shadow council of sorts, with the same political division of that of the real council, with the difference being, that in the Youth Council the members are 17 to 24 year olds from the respective political youth organizations. We are educating the young in public speaking and other necessary skills. Hopefully, the Youth Council will grow into an advisory panel to the real council, to provide ample feedback and perhaps also advice, on how implemented policy-decisions affect the lives of ordinary young people.
This map requires Flash Player 8 or higher.
Click here to get the latest Flash Player.
|
 |
2,638 TIG profile views
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Over Mij
Vrienden
Actieve rang #17639
Karoli Hindriks's Bijdragen