I’m Zoe Lynes, Babbasa’s Assistant Services Manager I will be working with the Trailblazers and developing Babbasa’s offer for them, as well as supporting the wider delivery of Babbasa’s services and projects. I would describe myself as: tenacious, vivacious, courageous!
I have always admired Babbasa’s vision and the amount of hope and inspiration that this inspires in people. The team here is so dedicated to supporting young people and I am very fortunate to have worked with some really resilient, unique and talented young people through Babbasa. Personal highlights so far have to be all of the Challenge Programmes I ran in my previous role, those were a real high point for me, seeing the recognition and reward that our young people deserve and the hugely positive impact they created for other young people and leaders in our city. What I am enjoying in particular at the moment is seeing young people who were perhaps on those first few programmes really starting to evolve and take the next big steps in their ambitions.
The biggest thing Babbasa has taught me is the importance of an authentic voice and a genuine listening ear, these two things are vital for meaningful work.
I’m not sure where I see myself moving forward but I find that exciting! I know I like to help create positive change in the world, so I am hoping that will guide me (and Babbasa!) onto interesting and meaningful projects in the future.
My three pieces of advice for young people:
- Comparison is the thief of joy – there is no timeline to life. Whenever you feel like you’re behind compared to others, remind yourself, this is your life! You get to set your course, your speed, and you get to define what’s important. Don’t let someone else set the parameters for your life. And remember the ultimate end destination of life is the same for everyone, so although it may feel like a race, we all get to the finish line in the end!
- Be guided by what interests you – your interests may wane and change over time, even better! Pursue anything that brings you enjoyment, meaning, or satisfaction.
- Don’t invest your self-worth in external goals – sometimes despite our aims and talents, misfortune or setbacks may strike at us. If that is the case should we treat ourselves harshly? Of course not! It can be easy to over invest in a particular outcome or goal that largely sits outside of our control, but try to remember that your worth as a human being, your talents, your qualities, and your abilities remain the same regardless of whether a goal is achieved or not. If it doesn’t happen now, it may happen in the future, and if it doesn’t that’s fine too!