Sunday, July 15, 2007

9:10 PM

Musings

Just felt like blogging today. Tomorrow marks the start of the last 3 weeks of my internship. I guess I haven't been really fair in my descriptions of work, since all I have been saying was how boring it was and so on. All these were reflected due to a stronger urge to blog when there are things to complain about, thereby leading to a disproportionate level of unsatisfactory comments.

There are still 3 weeks left, and though I will not miss the journeys to and fro work, I must say that I have seen and felt things more clearly than before. Internship has opened my eyes to the working world, and through it I have also gotten more insights into the friends around me. It has helped me get my priorities right, and the level of anticipation varies with who you are meeting for dinner and so on. Because working has shown me the absolute necessity of networking and having to keep in contact with people you might not even like, I have become selfish with my free time. I am now more conscious about who I want to spend time with, and I find myself making judgement calls all the time. Will meeting this person be a waste of time? Should I meet up with these people? Perhaps it is not so healthy to be doing this excessively, but I do find that I have a clearer idea of who I can really click with, and who really cares.

Going back to the internship, I am glad I had previous working experiences. That, combined with what I have learnt in MIC for the past year, really aided me in producing satisfactory work. My bosses at work have been very helpful, and I'm glad they are reasonable people who do not get blinded by stress, or take things out on their subordinates.

While I might not agree with some academic policies in SMU and the way they focus most of their attention on the business school, I must say that compulsory internship is a great learning point for all students. Unlike some schools which settle all aspects of internship for the students, we have to do things all by ourselves - applying, interviews, negotiations - we are left completely on our own. While the school is there to answer any queries on admin matters, we are given a chance to experience the job-seeking for ourselves. Even though there is a safety net provided by the school, I feel that this system encourages independent learning and reduces the comfortable inertia so many students feel.

3 months seemed to have passed by in the blink of an eye, yet I do not doubt that the last 3 weeks will crawl. Haha. Typical. I expect I will miss my workplace after I leave, but now I just can't wait to reach the day when I can be free. Most definitely, I want to go back to being a student. I have fallen in love with school once again. (But do check back with me near the midterm break after school starts regarding this sentiment. lol)