Professional Reflection #1 (9/13)

The Adjustment Period
I can honestly say that I have made a smooth transition from Texas to Washington D.C. Despite the fact that I felt like a “Sunday Driver” whenever using the metro system or walking on the sidewalks near the Capital for the first week or so, I have felt comfortable. I appreciate the diversity of the city, and, albeit, people may not be as openly friendly or cordial because their schedules are so time oriented (especially with public transportation and work), people are still helpful if you ask. Now that I have shaken off the initial uncertainty of where I am going on a day-to-day basis, I have little anxiety about my “new city.”
I have not shared a room with someone since my freshman year of college, and I had never shared a room before that (I am an only child). I was worried about how that would affect my sleeping habits, especially since I had my apartment to myself since us TCU communications interns moved in early. In a very fluke turn of events, it turns out my roommate went to my high school. I do not know what the percentages were on that happening. Nonetheless, he does not snore—and that was my main concern!
I have figured out the hard way throughout college that good friends do not always translate to good roommates; in most cases it is better to have a good roommate who might not be your best friend rather than rooming with a friend you can’t stand living with. I realize that I may not be going out with my three roommates on the weekends or meeting them after work frequently, but for now it seems that we are very compatible within our living situation.
I have mainly been heavily sports oriented as a reporter in college. I was extremely excited about the opportunity to work at National Geographic Channel, but unsure if I would enjoy the work within their communications/media relations department. After my first week, I can honestly say I truly love my office atmosphere, the people I work with and the work I do. While I do have some busy work to do, such as checking to make sure tapes/DVDs that come back from our editing company are properly branded and titled, it isn’t what I spend the large portion of my day on. As of now, I have been writing bios for season and series premiers for our weekly and monthly media newsletters. I will learn how to use the actual design template (I believe through Dreamweaver) this week. I know that my daily tasks and duties list will grow in time, but it is nice to know that the little things won’t be consuming my entire work day. I also know that I will have larger projects to work on with the other communications intern (she is a senior at George Washington).
It is a young office environment—my supervisor, Julie Frazier, held my intern position just a few years ago. Her supervisors and the other communications employees are quite friendly, funny and helpful, as is my intern counterpart. The communications team had lunch on our first day and I am sure that there will be other times we meet for lunch or after work also. I couldn’t ask for a more colorful and vibrant office environment, in all honestly.