I have hit that point where the excitement of exploring the city has worn off; in its place is my newfound drive to get the most amount of sleep possible. Every day returning from work I now enjoy simple refreshing long naps and early bedtime along with some occasional Netflix.
However, I like to spice things up every once in a while by leaving the Bellarmine dorms and exploring the city – just not as frequently as before.
As you can see from the above picture I'm exploring all the city has to offer including various BBQ hot spots, more on those travels in a later post.
While I have seen all of the original Jurassic Park movies, I still went to see the newest installment, Jurassic World, at Baxter Theater and loved it. In addition, I also saw Pixar’s latest movie Inside Out which moved me to tears. While watching movies may not sound like the most exciting thing, I certainly enjoyed spending some time away from the dorms for a fresh breath of air.
The weekly dance lessons provided by the Bulldogs in the Bluegrass program offers more additional stress-free opportunities every Sunday where I get to shake my last remnants of energy off before the work week begins. This weekly Sunday ritual where all the Yalies meet at Willow Park to dance and eat allows us to talk about how our internships as well as create a more cohesive community within the program.
Despite all these amazing events, I still cannot get over the vast amounts of rain I have seen here in Louisville. In LA, we are lucky to have a couple of days of rain per year and advertisements for painting your grass green due to the drought are common. In contrast, Louisville, Kentucky’s rainy weather is both a blessing, when witnessing all the green and vegetation of the city, while also a challenge when trying to drive on the interstate back to the Bellarmine dorms.
I have never seen so much green or felt such a strange mix of rain and humidity before – an adjustment I was required to make.
After my fourth week at V-Soft, when I explain to my friends how my experience has been, I describe how my growth has not only maintained within the office boundaries, but also outside through conversations about life. These have been with my supervisor Casey or weekly Thursday lunch with my marketing boss at local barbecue establishments.
As a result, I have learned to appreciate what my parents have done everyday of life working 40 hours a week without question. I even call my mom now during my lunch hour to ask how she’s doing now that I understand what she always meant when saying...
“Talking to you is the brightest part of my day.”
Moreover – unlike college where I have three classes maximum per day of one hour 30 minute durations with much time in between – in a 40 hour work week, 40 hours is 40 hours minimum. As stated in my previous week’s blog on week #3 on working in an office environment is like working in a never-ending group project: once I finish one assignment another follows immediately.
As a student, I can testify that college provides an incentive to finish one’s final project, reading, or anything school related early to have more time to do other activities. In contrast, in an office environment this incentive to finish early is gone. Instead, I have to find some new form of motivation within me to keep going, keep accomplishing the tasks even if I’m struggling with them.
Finally, to continue on the theme of life lessons, learning how to meet people where they are is very crucial especially when sharing a room, car, or other such common spaces. During this summer, I have learned to work, live, and transport with other people who may have different viewpoints, perspectives, or ideologies than me. In a tight-nit group of 24 students, you experience both the positive and negative attributes that comes with each person. Negativity may arise and the combination of work and stress may create a tense scenario between roommates, carpool rides, coworkers, etc. however, you must rise above through open communication to figure things out.
Here, communication is key! Different personalities create conflict; conflict creates drama; drama creates stress and stress sucks! Balancing work with personal life is hard - they can overlap which brings drama to the work place. As a result, recent loss of friends, family members getting injured, depression, etc. all shows on someone’s face and attitude.
The key lesson is to tell your boss when something is wrong. There are no details needed, but at least let them know why you are sad or not feeling well, they could possibly give advice or at least understand your predicament.
If so, no problem because here they are:
Misael Cabrera is a 3nd year student at Yale University studying economics. He spends spare time working for the Yale Daily Newspaper, playing club soccer, and working at the grad school. Misael hails from the sunny beaches of Los Angeles, California where upon graduation hopes to further his education and join the ranks of economics movers and shakers in New York. He recently joined the V-Soft family for the summer as an intern and we're thankful to be apart of his journey.
