Landing this internship finally made me feel grown-up. Signing contracts, monthly stipends, and 'office hours' inflated my so far dormant sense of self-importance. But I didn't know that in order to grow up, I'd have to grow down a little bit first!
My first assignment was to report on the different Peacefest workshops, starting with music. I walked into the workshop space feeling strange, knowing that even a year ago I might have been one of the participants. It hit me- I was no longer in school, I was taking a year off before college, and I was not quite a fully qualified working professional either. For the first time in my life, I was no one. And yet, I was surrounded by a gaggle of schoolchildren who were both nervous and excited about the task at hand, and I knew what that felt like. All grown-up? Not quite.
The workshops turned out to be hugely enjoyable. I made friends, and I realized that there was always something to learn from every experience. I learnt how to hold my concentration over a length of time, and make little notes while doing so, two skills that were only half-developed in school! For the first time, I had to write full-length critiques, and, most importantly, I had to respond to different forms of the arts, from film to theatre to music. Now, I was actually growing up.
By the time the Peaceworks Festival closing ceremony came along, I was thoroughly enjoying being 'no one'. I greeted the participants I had become familiar with during the course of the workshops, wished them luck and chatted with them briefly. I watched the plays being performed and said to myself "I was there when this was rehearsed!" or "This is the scene that I like."
When all was over, I felt buoyant and fulfilled, looking forward enthusiastically to the next 'growing-up experience' my internship had in store.
2 comments:
Thanks for the lovely post, Shamoni. Very straight-from-the-heart, yet very sensible: a good combination, no doubt.
And, if you want to see yourself as a 'nobody' that is totally fine. Unfortunately, the world has its ways of naming every individual's position at every point in their life: you are exactly what, for instance, an 'intern' is meant to be. :)
It's been great having you around in Seagull. I know you are currently swamped with not-so-exciting stuff to do, but that's part of the game. I am sure something really fun and interesting will come up quite soon.
Thanks! and nothing's been unexciting. its all been quite new and useful actually!
will post again soon.
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