Week Ten: Get In Loser, We’re Going Shopping

Dear Ayat,

You’ve been eating a lot of food you shouldn’t be. Like chocolate cake. And delicious Mexican food. And fried cauliflower, and french fries.

Also, you can barely lift weights anymore. Yikes.

Besides turning into a sloth again, the DCBRP program has been a lot different than you thought it would be.

You came in with a blind optimism, believing that the social aspects of the program would be at the forefront, and your placement would be the afterthought. That could not have been farther from the truth. After a certain point, you hardly dropped into other rooms, and usually only saw people if they came over, or during group events. And that’s not because you didn’t like your cohort. It’s because work really became your main focus.

Once we shifted to TechTown, your work began to pile on, and even though you were screeching into a free bagel, you were thriving. Kind of. You enjoyed the constant work, and the pressure made you feel even more productive, and necessary to the LearnEarly effort. (That’s the other thing. You still barely know that to call your organization)

Also, before you forget, you left 1.5 waffles in the TechTown fridge.

There were days when you really didn’t want to leave the office, because the work felt so satisfying. Also, you really love Jillian. Especially in these last 2-3 weeks, you’ve gotten to know her better as a person, and the dynamic you, Jean, and Jillian have is one you’re really going to miss. (Also, Jillian bought you Avalon cake, not once, but twice. And that buys love.)

Because of the constant banter, stress became more bearable, and the constant triangle of banter kept you going. Jillian also really pushed you, and the slacking and selling yourself on words, rather than actions thing didn’t cut it for her. She demanded results, and now you’re becoming someone who demands results from yourself. (You’re even outlining something really exciting right now, and actually delegating time to it, knock on wood.)

Your image of Detroit has also grown quite a bit. People in this community have opened their arms and welcomed your little brown, scarf wearing self with open arms. Arms you didn’t even know you needed opened. You loved being at Crystal Swann Child Center, and Braniacs. You loved Brilliant Detroit Southwest so much, and you found a community that reminded you so much of your own.

You’re also now teeming with ideas to bring back to your community, and you’re so excited. Even though you don’t carry the same passion for early learning as Jean does, and you can never look at shaving cream the same way again, this placement changed you for the better, and has had a profound impact on the trajectory of your life, and opportunities you believe yourself to have.

Love,

Ayat.

(also, you just bought new books off thriftbooks, get hype.)