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Mentorship July 6, 2018
Talk to me about ENTITY.
Before I started the ENTITY Academy Writing Boot Camp, I didn’t know what soft skills were. I noticed that there would be soft skills training as part of what the Academy would teach me, and I immediately shrugged it off. “Ah,” I thought, “we’re going to talk about our feelings. Classic.”
I didn’t know how crucial soft skills could be to my career. The ability to communicate effectively. The tenacity to build relationships. I didn’t have ANY of that. But then I was thrust into another new environment, one dedicated to helping me grow me as an individual — and grow I did.
Meeting people has always been a strange endeavor for me. If I’m going to be dumped into a new situation, I will dread it for days leading up to the event. I will open the door to the party with sweaty palms. I will smile at people and assume that, after they smile back, they begin to talk crap about my hair or my skin or my attitude or my whatever. Either way, they probably hate me. Case closed.
When I got to the ENTITY Academy Writing Boot Camp, I hoped and prayed and hoped and prayed again that this would not be the case. But it was the case — by no fault of the other beautiful interns, but because of my own trashed self-esteem.
But it didn’t stay that way. I met people and talked to them and felt heard. We talked about resilience through the program and in our personal lives, and bonded. We went on marketing road trips and ordered Postmates and ate at Mexican restaurants. We did so many crosswords and fawned over so many dogs. We wrote and we wrote and we are still writing. And I grew.
I was posh for a bit, but of course, the fact that I’m an utter weirdo slipped out — but everyone seemed to be down for it, so I was down too. Now, I’ve talked about cartoons and intersectional feminism and sexuality and race in the span of a single conversation.
I got a bit more assertive. Prior to the ENTITY Academy Writing Boot Camp, I sprinted away from confrontation. I didn’t know who she was. Not for me, no thank you.
So when Michelle Wolf talked about making us better communicators, I accepted the challenge. I had nothing to lose. After all, I was a horrific communicator who mumbled when she was nervous or unsure and stuttered when she was excited. Those are the only three emotions I have, so I was screwed.
Wolf talked about communicating intentionally, which may sound obvious to some, but I struggled with it constantly. I learned that when I need something or want something done, I can’t be afraid of just…saying it. In the words of John Mayer, “Say what you need to say.”
As I leave this internship, I’m taking away from it tips and advice that have helped me grow. I’m a more confident weirdo woman because of it.
