Yes, I know I just posted my week #5 blog a week late, but it was a long holiday weekend and work has been crazy since I’ve gotten back. Jenna was telling the truth when she said that we’ll feel the scramble at our placements as it gets closer to the end of the program. We still have about 4 weeks to go but at Friends of Parkside we are coming upon the last few days before the annual health fair, our crowning event. To top it off, this week brought about ten new youth workers to our doorstep. These youth workers range from planning their sweet 16 at the front desk to a rising sophomore at Northern Illinois University. With the range of ages comes a range of personalities. Though it’s strange working over someone of the same age, it is far less stressful. While teenagers can be difficult to work with. Supervising is far more difficult than I expected, especially when there are so many youth workers to be in charge of. I feel guilty leaving them with nothing to do, but at the same time, it is apart of the learning experience and similar to what I went through at the beginning of my internship here. Part of working in a professional environment includes being your own boss/supervisor and assigning yourself tasks and my hope is that these youth workers can benefit and learn from this type of experience. Still, attitudes and a lack of professionalism can make teenagers difficult to work with and as the health fair looms over us they can be an added stress. It’s interesting, having about a month working at my first job and then switching into supervising mode as soon as I feel like I’ve really gotten my footing. My boss is certainly determined to provide me with every possible work experience in the 10 weeks that I’m here.
