This internship also reminded me tthat I have a restless soul that needs literal movement. I had the opportunity to travel to many places either through folks’ experiences abroad on the screen or another traveler’s words but I soon wanted to be moving myself. I recognized that desire in me to be the person behind the camera, behind the chilling or revolutionary photograph, behind the beautiful prose. I wanted to be the explorer and not the editor…

Now, I just had to work up the nerve to tell the world who I was just as those inspirational men and women around me had.

I later re-visited the lyrics to the DJ Tiesto production “Just Be.” It resonates with me still and I want to share it with whoever reads these words. I think that we are never too wise, old or lucky to learn or remember. The lyric goes:

“You can travel the world/But you can’t run away/From the person you are in your heart/You can be who you want to be/Make us believe in you/Keep all your light in the dark/If you’re searching for truth/You must look in the mirror/And make sense of what you can see/Just be/Just be.

They say learning to love yourself/Is the first step/That you take when you want to be real/Flying on planes to exotic locations/Won’t teach you/How you really feel/Face up to the fact/That you are who you are/Nothing can change/that belief/Just be/Just be/

’cause now I know/It’s not so far/To where I go/The hardest part/Is inside me/I need/To just be/Just be Just be Just be.”

Thank you to the team at National Geographic Channels.

And that is all folks. Remember— Just be!!

Goodnight and Good luck to all those about to graduate!!

It is great to see evidence of work done and approved. Like I said last week, interning with the Research and Standards department at National Geographic Channels entails doing loads of research and editing for the programs on their national and international channels. What we do countless times before the final product that you see is aired are quality checks (QC). To complete a QC we compare the wording and format of previously edited scripts against final scripts and then compare these to the program on the DVD. This is to ensure that all words and titles are complementary and accurate and all facts true.

It was wonderful for me to see the fruit of my labour one day.  Probably about two weeks after working on a script for one of the programs in their Nomads series, I happened to turn the television on and see something that I had worked on being aired. It felt great-it was that sort of tingling feeling that comes after you get a hearty pat on the back  for work well done. And I realised that that’s the sort of wholeness that I hope to get from any career field that I may enter later on in life; for it keeps you going and it keeps you primed, alert and passionate! And the job market in such a fast paced world values employees with those qualities.

Wish me luck!? I wish all those about to graduate luck and guidance in making those important decisions about their individual career paths.

CIAO! Thanks for reading! See you next week!

           I am currently listening to the track “Good Times” from the Album “Friends for Life” by Beres Hammond; an artist from the Caribbean. I myself call the twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago home and acclimatising to new cultures, whether it be the collective culture of a new country, the classroom culture or even the work environment, can and has been challenging. Fortunately, my settling in with the Research and Standards team at the National Geographic Channels headquarters on M Street has been easier than most.

         It is an environment quite like home, with its cosmopolitan make-up and pleasantly non-work-related yet educational discussions at times. I believe that if I did decide to tally every time someone passed by speaking with a new and exotic accent that the results will most likely spell: one every five minutes. And honestly, I must say that what we have are some truly good times.

          But don’t get me wrong the Research and Standards office gets the work done and done well. And usually a while before deadline. I remember distinctly what the president told me the first day that I arrived. He said: “This is not one of those internships where you will be doing things like making coffee and photocopying documents…no. Not at all.” And they were true to their word. Five minutes after my other supervisor handed me a thick packet that was their “Standards and Practices Handbook” and asked that I familiarised myself with it! And this was after being there for only an hour!

           And on that first day I was given my first exercise and it was pleasant to look over at the gracefully bent toil of the more senior employees and realise that I was doing just what they were doing! It was a bit scary getting thrown into the deep end, but I think that a vote of confidence like that always inspires the hard worker or innovator in anyone. Thus, I got to “watch TV all afternoon” as they jokingly put it! But it isn’t as easy as it looks. Editing and doing the research for a program that is about 30 minutes long will almost definitely take up to 5 to 6 hours every time!

         I expected to leave there at the usual end-of-the-work-day time of 5 pm on that first day but I left somewhere around 6:30 pm. But that was alright. It was a day well spent and I had enough wonderfully enticing trivia to rival my father’s encyclopedic knowledge of everything when he called me over the weekend!

        I am sure to continue having good times and even if I don’t leave there at the end of the semester with friends for life; I will leave with great contacts and a list of worthwhile experiences.

Enjoy! See you next week!

CIAO!!

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