On July 15th I was incredibly nervous. Why, do you ask? Because I was walking the streets of New York City trying to find my way to meet one of my new co-workers, Jake. While walking six blocks on my own, I decided to be my normal self by smiling and waving to random people. Let me tell you about the looks I received. In the six blocks I walked, I received one half awkward smile from a gentleman sitting on the ground. That was it. Not one other person smiled or waved; all they did was glare. I felt so weird! Back in my home town, if you walk down the street and wave at someone, they usually wave back.
After meeting with Jake, we introduced ourselves to one-another and talked the whole way to the office. Because of the interactions I had in New York City, I was a bit nervous to meet the rest of the Swift Kick team. I already knew a little about Tom because he spoke a few times at my school, but I was still nervous to meet the rest of the team. What if they didn’t like me? What if they thought I was weird? What if I was a little too crazy for them? These thoughts quietly raced through my head while I was keeping it cool chatting with Jake.
Once we reached the building and awkwardly found our way to the office, I braced myself. We walked through the open door and BAM! There they were; three of the most up-beat and happiest people I could imagine. The first thing Tom asked was “should we hug or just high-five since we’re all sweaty?” After this question, I quickly looked to my right and saw Melissa and Sabina with excitement in their eyes and smiles on their faces. I instantly felt welcomed and extremely excited to be there.
I am not one who travels a lot, especially not on my own. What I learned through this experience:
Expect the unexpected and to keep an open mind.
Not everyone is like me and my hyper, weird self. Some people do not like it when you smile and wave at them. Maybe they had a bad day or are not use to people being nice.
I will never change who I am and I would never expect others to change who they are.
I will continue to be my own unique person and, no matter how uncomfortable; I will always smile and wave at others. You never know who needs that small gesture of a wave or smile. You could be the one person to brighten their day.
The new SK interns take on NY with the team!
