It has been approximately 86 days since my first day as a new Fellow at the Creativity Exploratory. That’s 7,344,000 seconds, 122,400 minutes, 2040 hours, or just under 12 weeks. I can remember walking into this office on the third floor of Linton and having no clue what tasks I was expected to perform. Someone (myself) just decided to drop me in the water with barely a swimming lesson.
Seven-thousand-three-hundred-and-forty-four seconds later I feel like I’ve found a comfortable rhythm in this space, and I’ve concluded that of all the student workspaces on campus, this must be the place. With the support of this office I’ve been able to host my own cooking class, and although I was terrified that it would all go wrong and I would only succeed at burning down the house, the participants all responded with great comments and seemed to really enjoy the event. This was the first CE event I was in charge of, and prior to the event I was tense and nervous; I couldn’t relax. During the event however I realized there was nothing to worry about. Just cooking and sharing another language, two of my favorite things, with other students. Same as it ever was. Overall there were some good points, some bad points, but it all worked out and I truly could not have imagined the actual amount of fun we all had. It was a pleasure to be able to share my favorite things with such a responsive group of participants.
Beyond cooking with other students, I’ve learned a great deal about myself and future careers. Being an English/Secondary Education/TESOL student, I felt like I was on a narrow career track, but the Creativity Exploratory has shown me that as an English major I have developed communication and information organizing skills. In other words, I can advertise and publicize. I’ve also learned that advertising is more than just transmit the message to the receiver, hope for a message someday. It’s a multi-faceted endeavor where one truly gets back only what one puts into it. Although being event coordinator ain’t no party and ain’t no disco, it’s a pleasure to be so busy.
Overall, it’s only taken me 2040 hours, but I am truly grateful to have been able to become part of the Creativity Exploratory, as it’s helped me uncover and develop latent skills, build new ones, and learn how to work in a more professional atmosphere, and I have the sincerest thanks to the person who helped me obtain this position.
-Drew