Since I’m only two months into a new job, I am most definitely still in what I like to refer to as the “learning phase.” This means that I ask a lot of questions, a lot of the time.
Still, I can honestly say that I’m only two months in and I have already been given a lot of responsibility. One of those responsibilities: managing a 16-year-old summer intern. I certainly do not feel qualified to manage anyone, let alone someone who is still in high school and is only a few years shy of being the same age as me.
After two days of working with the intern, however–a young girl who lives in the West Lawn community and attends a prestigious Chicago public school–I’ve learned two things: I can be more awkward than a 16-year-old girl.
When I’m not fumbling over my words about what I do on a daily basis, or poorly explaining how to operate the copy machine, I’m constantly asking her if she feels overwhelmed and needs to take a break or verifying for the first, second and third time that she has a ride home. Ack. I wonder how long it takes before you’re not awkward anymore. Never?
[image courtesy of we heart it]
The Girl and Her Dog 