Jennysha's job log: 3
Jennysha Patel
- February 2009.
The story so far… Jennysha graduated two years ago, and it was a while before she figured out what she wanted to do. She is now looking for ways into publishing. Dressed for the part I decided I had to write this now, while I’m on a high - I’ve just had a whole Saturday of wedding-related activities. It wasn’t for me - I’m not the one getting married - that’s a prospect that both frightens and amuses me! It is, however, for a very good school friend of mine who’s getting married and, who, to my surprise, asked me to be her chief bridesmaid. Of course I said yes, owing mostly to the fact that I was gobsmacked, honoured and filled with various intertextual references (all media studies students should know what I’m talking about) from American films of how wonderful this duty would be and how much it would mean to her. Although the moment I got off the phone to her, terror struck. What had I said yes to? This isn’t me; I can’t be a bridesmaid, let alone a ‘chief’ bridesmaid. To be completely honest with you, until today, being a bridesmaid was a fairly daunting prospect, mostly because of the dress. You see, I’m not really a girl who thinks about getting married or what her dress would look like because of the insecurities I have about my body. I know we all have faults and no one is perfect and I am trying to change the way I see myself, aspiring to love myself as I am now, as opposed to becoming someone else and only appreciating me once I’ve reached that goal. I totally agree that it’s better to be your own best friend than your worst enemy as life is difficult enough as it is. Well met Getting back to the story anyhow… I did indeed speak to my friend, the bride-to-be, about my concerns and she was very understanding and in fact reassured and supported me in a way that I, as bridesmaid, should be comforting her! So, having entered this year with a new positive attitude, I made the decision to take every day as it comes and to try not to worry about things that are either out of my hands or that are actually only just a figment of my imagination and haven’t yet happened nor are they likely to happen. Accordingly, I went along on Saturday to a meeting with the other older bridesmaid to discuss hen-do arrangements and to my delight, our creative juices were flowing, and with her enthusiasm so contagious, before I knew it I was so excited to be such a vital part of one of the most important days of my friend’s life. This Saturday, which I can only describe as one of the best and most enjoyable days I’ve had this year, continued on with us finding the perfect dresses! A fresher, more youthful dress design was chosen for the younger girls whilst me and the remaining older bridesmaid found perfect gorgeous ‘Hollywood-style’ (as my soon-to-be-wed friend said) dresses. I felt great and so did everyone else so it was rather a perfect day for me. I feel an immense relief that I am now happy and excited to be a bridesmaid and can be there for my friend the way that I hoped I could be. I have my beautiful funny intelligent bride-to-be friend to thank for it all. Perfect co-ordination As for work, the to-ing and fro-ing between library and bookshop and bookshop and library and back again seems to be going well. That is, of course, once I remember which direction I am travelling in and whether to don a uniform or not. It seems to be improving my mental state as well; having to remember varying procedures and protocol from one workplace to the other. I am enjoying my work at the library tremendously and the staff are really good to work with. The only downside is that my job there is temporary until the end of March due to ‘organisational changes’ - something about a new head of service and so on. Therefore, unfortunately I’ll be finished just as soon as I started! Perhaps this harsh reality has been preying on my mind a little and is the reason I haven’t been as cheerful when working my shifts at the bookshop. Of course, the bookshop management aren’t aware of my temporary contract at the library and hopefully I can keep it that way. Don’t get me wrong, I’m forever grateful of the opportunity I’ve been given and glad to be rid of the chains of unemployment. However, it seems that in business everyone has their own agenda and more often than not, it’s hidden. Just like they are keeping their eyes on the prize, so too must I. I need to keep my wits about me and stand for something or I’ll fall for anything. Read my previous job logs
Suggestions to editorial@prospects.ac.uk
|
