I've been working for exactly one whole work week now and boy...oh boy.
My friend #small would tell say if I were any Disney Princess I'd be Mulan, ehem, #queenofracism. But I kind of feel like I best relate to Bambi, especially in this clip of her trying to walk on ice. At this point, Bambi has learned to walk, but never during winter and especially not on ice. Similarly, I'm young and while I've got a few years of school and interesting experience behind me, working in the agency world is a thing of its own, and there's nothing quite like experiencing it first hand.
Note: there are no Thumper-like characters show-boating at my work. But I, like Bambi, do admire the experts before me who operate with such confidence and ease.
And to be candid, being new and (unreasonably) slow, doesn't feel great. I haven't really been feeling myself - not as confident or secure in my abilities or ideas. Although, like many Gen Yers I know, little keeps our spirits down for long. We're creative, tech savvy, entrepreneurial, equate our work with our lives and most importantly, we will always go that extra mile.
While the learning curve appears unforgiving steep and I've had a few blips already, it's necessarily humbling. As Malik once told me, "You don't know what you don't know", which is somewhat frightening, mostly exciting and a great ego check. I also need to remember to be patient with myself, set realistic expectations, and feel comfortable asking questions - all of which are things I seem to be struggling with a little. Asking questions is for some reason extra awkward for me, but remembering that people would rather you bother them then do something wrong is the key.
Also, it's comforting to know that I'm not alone. Everyone is new at some point, and mistakes aren't great but are expected. I accidentally made a call to a client overseas, and @sharonya shared a similar story of her call to Egypt, "they were busy. #revolution" - Sharon.
For now I'm going to simmer a little in this feeling of incompetence, which is completely melodramatic but motivating and will get me out of this funk! I can't wait till I'm good at something, anything!
