For the past three weeks, I have been working at a museum in Scotland. I landed an internship here as a part of my summer study abroad program, and the experience has really opened my eyes and changed me, even in this short amount of time.
Upon arriving at the museum, I was pretty much just sent to my office to work without much direction. I was given my task for the four weeks of my internship- research women's roles during the Crimean War and write an article on it. That's it. It's safe to say that I was pretty terrified. I had no idea what I was doing, and what I wrote was going to be integrated as a part of the museum displays. At first, I was constantly asking my co-workers for guidance, having them look over what I was doing to make sure I was doing it right and asking them what I needed to be doing. However, that uncertainty and fear has gone away. I have a pretty good feel for what I need to be doing, and even if I don't, I'm okay. I ask for help when I need it, but I have learned to find my own way, even when I haven't been given much direction.
Also, I am pretty much left alone all day with my laptop and free wifi. I will admit that I am a serious procrastinator and, especially when I arrive in the morning, my level of motivation is pretty low. While all I want to do is scroll through Twitter or Facebook, I am proud of how well I've been able to stay on task and avoid the temptations. While I will admit that I do take breaks (I'm actually writing this article at work), I have been able to manage my time and stay on task pretty well.
I have done so much research during this internship. I've probably done more research in these past three weeks than for all of my school essays combined. However, the majority of this research has been done in an archive room, rather than online or from books. I have been using actual documents to find the information that I need, which is something that I've never done before. It was really overwhelming at first, but now I can go into the archives and be able to find what I need a lot quicker than I could before.
Finally, I have gained so much confidence. With all of the things I've already said, I have become much more comfortable with taking chances and trying new things. I have fit in really well here, though I expected to stick out like a sore thumb. I am actually doing a good job, and doing all that work on my own, when I arrived so scared of messing up that I avoided doing my work. I am really proud of how far I've come in such a short amount of time and I am so thankful that I have been lucky enough to have this experience.
