Achila

A shy and quiet young lady stepped into Phoenix in 2015. Seven years later, a very different woman strides into Phoenix each day.

This story is about our protagonist Achila, a self-confessed introvert who was not very talkative when she started working at the company, fresh out of Wayamba University. Her early years at the company contained all the emotions of a best-selling novel. “I will never forget my first days in the Planning Department,” she says, “whenever I made some early mistakes, I would be so afraid of what was going to happen”. 

But her time at Phoenix gave Achila the opportunity to grow through such experiences and learn lessons that she carries with her till today. Working in the Planning Department required Achila to interact with people from all sectors of the company, and this taught her how to work with a variety of personalities. The biggest lesson has been to come back stronger after each stumble, and to never, ever lose confidence in one’s abilities.

Throughout this journey, her number one confidante has remained her mother, with whom Achila shares the joys and strains of life at Phoenix. By spending time with family and playing with her two nephews over the weekend, Achila feels rejuvenated before a new work week begins. 

Working at Phoenix also helped the once introverted Achila find firm friends in her co-workers, the people who can best relate to her experience of being a part of the Phoenix family. There is never a dull moment with her colleagues, whether it is during office hours or when they are off-duty. Like Achila, her friends love to travel and the group enjoys taking excursions and trips around Sri Lanka. While trips to the beach are always something to look forward to, Achila’s favourite place to visit has always been Nuwara Eliya. Not only do the mountain views much needed reprieve from life in the city, but the cold weather and natural beauty of Nuwara Eliya provides the ideal escape from the stresses of daily life. “I really want to travel the world someday, and visit places where I can witness more of nature” she says.

A Nuwara Eliya getaway is incomplete without a book to get lost in, and Achila has always found a quiet comfort between the pages of a new novel. Her all-time favourite book series is Sherlock Holmes, and she often finds herself returning to these stories. She also enjoys listening to Bollywood music and re-watching her favourite Bollywood movies. There’s something about going back to the books and movies from our childhood; each time, we discover something new about the characters, as well as about ourselves.

It is easy to forget that we are the main characters in the story of our lives. But if we pay close attention, our lives offer more dramatic twists, emotional scenes and epiphanies than the best movies. With co-workers who became best friends and family members who always have her back, Achila’s story promises to be a blockbuster!