And so here we are, at the end of this journey, with me staring blankly at my laptop’s screen refusing to believe this cold harsh truth.
I always know this day will come. In fact, I knew it would come the day I started my internship. What I didn’t expect was how fast time seemed to zoom by, with me trying hard to keep my head above the water 99% of the time. Like any other undergraduate, I embrace every semester like a true-blue juggler with readings, projects and assignments in one hand and everything else under the sun in the other (school activities, OCIP trip planning, other social commitments, you name it).
An accurate portrayal of me every.single.semester
Last semester, however, was a little different. I still remember vividly the fateful day I got the email from OSA looking for a marcom intern. A little background about me: I LOVE writing (the love is real, hence all caps J)! You may intimidate me with formulas and numbers but come at me with a writing task and I’ll heave a sigh of relief and proceed to happily type away. But with the busy undergraduate life, I always feel like I’m not writing enough, you know, things other than academic reports and marketing plans. So I took the leap of faith and handed in (well, emailed) my application and like they say, the rest is history. My plate gets a little bit fuller and so does my heart.
Literally my face when I got the confirmation email
The journey has been nothing short of amazing. I finally understood what people mean when they say their jobs take them places and offer them once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to meet people they never would otherwise. My internship with OSA has allowed me to do all that, and more. I had the chance to interview the most inspiring yet humble RAs, RADs and residents alike, eat my way around the great supper places around NUS, hijack cool places like the Industrial Design studio and PGPR Multi-purpose hall (for the most epic Acrobatics workshop) and brush up on my rusted video-graphing and editing skills. Most importantly, I was challenged to get out of my writing comfort zone and experiment with different writing styles and content to always bring something great to the table for you guys. I also went from wondering how people manage to squeeze everything into their busy schedules to actually force myself to quit procrastinating and find pockets of time to finish my to-do list. We all have 24 hours in a day, no more, no less. So it’s all about how you make full use of it J
I also have now cultivated a strong respect for bloggers who manage to push out fresh, original content on a weekly basis. While it seems like an easy job – you know, 500 to 1000 words per week? Easy peasy lemon squeezy? It isn’t. There are a lot of behind-the-scenes actions that aren’t as glamorous as people always make it out to be. For one, brainstorming for new ideas can be tough, really tough and what seems interesting to the writer might not be for the readers. Once you got a solid idea and concept, contacting the interviewees and coordinating all the busy schedules are no easy feat. Even when all the content is laid out on the table, piecing them together to produce a good piece can sometimes be as hard as completing a 1000-piece puzzle. Banging the table in frustration when I’m stuck at a sentence for close to half an hour, close to ripping my hair out when I just can’t find the right word to convey my thoughts – you get the gist.
True story, guys.
I could not have done this without the help of THE best editor, Bell, who has always been there for me through all the brainstorming sessions (the writer’s brain block is real guys) and linking me up with all the great people you have seen being featured on the blog. She also taught me to drop my long-windedness and convey the same meaning in a much more succinct ways as well as always take pride in your work and only present the best work to the readers, something that I will remember dearly even long after this internship. Bell is also one of the most understanding people you will ever meet. When the horror that is week 13 and finals approached and life got even harder than it already is, Bell always made sure to ask if I’m coping fine. So now that I’m still here at the end of the semester in one piece, safe and sound – to that, I owe it to Bell and her support J
Regrettably, I must admit that I let my schedules get the better of me and thus, did not spend as much time with the OSA team as I would like to and had to pass up on events. All I could manage in between classes and project meetings was to dash in the OSA office for short meetings with Bell to clarify some ideas and concepts and in less than half an hour, off I went for another meeting/lecture/tutorial. In the short time that I was there, everyone in the office, without fail, always greeted me with a smile by my name (it’s an achievement if you remember my name correctly after just meeting me once!) and treated me as part of the OSA family. I could only imagine what a welcoming and nurturing working environment it must be. So to the next intern, make sure you spend as much time as you can with the OSA team!
There’s truly no good in goodbye. How can it be when I have to bid goodbye to writing about all the talents and unsung heroes we have right here in Residential Life, when I can no longer receive invaluable guidance and advice from such a passionate team and feel a great sense of pride when I press the publish button that makes all the hair-ripping, table-slamming actions worth it? But as sad as it is, life goes on and I walk away knowing that this experience has changed me forever, for the better.
