The initial adjustment to a new environment can be unsettling, whether it is the first day of school, joining a club or starting a new job. I have always felt the same fight or flight response when removing myself from my comfort zone. The pressure to adapt while simultaneously absorbing all incoming information is exhausting and enough to make me want to escape to a quiet place with a plate stacked high with comfort food.
My first few days at The Buffalo News stirred up many of these familiar feelings of unfamiliarity. I have overcome many challenges from navigating through the city streets to the sea of cubicles on the 4th floor. As a Marketing intern, I am working with the marketing team on different promotions and events. My first daily task is to grab a newspaper on my way in and then tear out advertisements for Buffalo News sponsored events. I then file these away in both a physical file cabinet and then electronically as well. My other daily task is to electronically enter the book orders for Buffalo Memories that were sent in the mail. These orders are mostly sent by the elderly who either do not have a computer or just prefer to order through the post. One order even came with a handwritten note explaining that she was ordering a book for her best friend since 6th grade and that they were both 92 years old! It is comforting to know that these tasks that I have been completing are not busy work but tasks that my supervisor, Lisa, or my co-worker, Brennan, would be completing otherwise.
Yesterday, two of the Buffalo News books were donated to two different events. I was asked to wrap them and set up a time for a member from each organization to pick them up. The most difficult part of this task was the gift-wrapping of each book. I am known by my friends and family for around for my lack of wrapping capabilities. I have avoided this in recent years by resorting to gift bags and tissue paper. Unfortunately, this was not an option as Lisa handed me a roll of Buffalo News wrapping paper. I slowly cut the paper and tried desperately to remember how my Mom would wrap gifts so perfectly. It took me a long time but I managed to keep the paper from getting too mangled. Upon completion, I took a step back and was proud of the fact that I rose up to the wrapping challenge rather than admitting defeat upon Lisa’s request. It is important to take one’s time and complete a task to the best of one’s capability rather than getting it done quickly…with wrapping paper sticking all out.
I have become a little more at ease each day at The Buffalo News. Everyone that I have met has been very friendly and welcoming. I have found that it is important to ask questions whether they be for clarification or asking if there is anything that I could do to help. The new job jitters do not go away without a fight but they have lessened as I have grown more accustomed to my tasks and environment. I am looking forward to overcoming new obstacles as I settle in and am given more responsibility.
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