The Fall Intern co-hort has arrived and are in full swing in their respective roles.
There is much excitement and reflection going on amongst the HUB community and so, the Interns were given the task to look back on their journey to the HUB in order to move forward in this innovative space. The Interns were asked a few questions including: What is my story? How does my story influence my working and learning experience at the Hub? What are the obstacles I’m facing right now? What are some ideas and practices that I can let go of, in order to move into the “future world” that I wish to create?
Below are a few of thier responses.
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Sobhi, Hub Ventures Intern, reflects:
What I am afraid of? I am not in this just to succeed. I am in this just to try. Like other entrepreneurs and pioneers I am excited both by the goal and by the journey. I love the idea of trying something new. I like challenging other people to change their worldview. Even if I never found the funding to do what I want to do, I would still enjoy trying. So no, I am not afraid to fail.
What then? What am I afraid to lose? I think the answer is – social approval.
I will not be a lawyer, doctor or engineer. I will likely never work in a global consulting company that my parents have heard of. I don’t want to be part of big organizations, just effective ones. I had rather go help a community in some remote part of the world and help their voice be heard but there is no social metric that will call me successful for doing so. I would also love to go backpacking through all these communities that most of us have not heard of, and document their stories and challenges. That too will not make me a social success.
Some will say it is about time I grew up. Some will think I took off because I couldn’t find a job. Some will say I wasted my expensive education. Some will say I could have worked my way up to being a big shot, but have lost that chance forever.
Someone of the other will say all of these things unless I make it big as a social entrepreneur and come up with the next big idea for solving the world’s problems. Meanwhile, those that never really tried will be a success because it’s easier to quantify their performance and give their job a name.
I am afraid of all of these questions because I don’t really have any answers. I am afraid that people will think I failed even though I place more value on the experience than on the outcome. It is difficult to let go of the need for social approval.
Carol, Product Development Intern, contemplates:
I need to let go of my innate distrust of enterprises. I agree with the definitions of the word – “readiness to engage in daring or difficult action,” awesome – but it’s the profits & practices that make me uneasy. Someone once told me that any business that strives for social change should be in the business of putting itself out of business. Same goes for non-profits, NGOs, all of them. Social change is about empowerment, self-sufficiency, and sharing of knowledge. Can you create a marketable product/service that doesn’t force the customer/consumer to be dependent upon you? How does that philosophy co-exist with a for-profit system/model?
Nett, Social Media Intern, speaks:
It started out fun: toga parties, easy easy A’s, no parent supervision. But, how long can that excitement last? Once the first few months of the college thrill had run out, I starting asking myself: “Is my walk to and from these dry classes really worth my time?” “Did I just really explain to my teacher what a thesis statement is?” These questions soon turned into: “Am I waisting my life here?” Ten months ago I decided that I had to leave college in order to fulfill my dreams, stretch my capacities and grow as a person. That rainy February month of my decision, I was completely lost and scattered. I would not start to regain any clarity of my path and purpose in this world until, while in Lebanon, rekindling my love for writing and from there anxiously applying to be the Social Media Intern for Hub Bay Area.
To me, the Hub was the perfect place to begin my journey of self-guidance, since it is a place of symbiotic and entrepreneurial entities which host everything from private offices of impact investors, to Skillshare workshops on coding, to a whole university and much, much more. Being around so many intelligent, fun and inspiring people how could I go wrong? While there are many variables I am not sure of, two constants stay strong: I know I want to work internationally and I know I want to write. The Hub seemed to offer me a great opportunity to delve deeper into both of these internal absolutes, while expanding my horizons and introducing me to an array of people, ideas and careers. The Global Hub locations especially sparked my interest and assured me that my work would not be solely Bay Area orbital. Blogging, tweeting, networking across cultures will just be the backbone of my time at the Hub because the friendships made here are already shaping and guiding my path.
Danel, Communications Intern, writes:
One of the ideas that I can let go of is the belief that I am only one person and the difference that I will try to make is not going to matter, that there are so many problems in the world that my contribution will not be able to change. Now, after joining HUB community I see that this is not true. I am moving into the future with a belief that every one of us can make a difference and make a positive impact on the world.
–Danel