“Sometimes you just gotta smile through it.”

After my second week of working with the Summer Arts Camp and the third week working with the staff at the King Arts Complex, I am still finding my place. Every day I wake up at 5:45am to make sure I am on time to catch my 6:45 bus. I then take this bus downtown to catch my second bus around 7:15am. Once I arrive at the King Arts Complex at 7:30am, I am responsible for checking in parents, making lego spaceships, and gathering the breakfast information for the representative from Recreation and Park. For the most part, I am tired and alone until 9am when the rest of the staff comes in. The only person there to talk to is my coworker Micheal (alias, not real name).

Micheal is a relatively tall and quiet guy who was placed at the King Arts Complex through a job placement program. He arrives at 8am and leaves at 4pm before heading to his second job from 5pm to 10pm. Between 4 and 5, sometimes he has to take his mother to her chemotherapy. I had been working with him for 13 days before I learned any of this and I would have never guessed because of his smile. He comes in every day and gets bombarded by a little chorus of “Mr. Micheal” and smiles. He often gets left with the shorter lunch period and smiles. No matter what, he smiles. I asked him how he felt about the length and content of his days and he said: “Sometimes you just gotta smile through it because if you don’t, things will be just as bad and you’ll feel worse” about it. I asked him if I could quote him on my weekly blog, he smiled and said “Its about time someone did”.

This conversation perfectly explains how my week has been. Waking up early to the sound of screaming and phones ringing was initially hard for me. I usually want to work alone and keep my head down. I like the sound of silence with a hint of r&b through muffled headphones. After talking to Micheal, I realized that I don’t smile as much I could. My headphones distract me from the musicality of the camp. This week I stepped out of the office and emerged into the learning going on around me and realized that the days got shorter when I was working and having fun. I finished a weekly newsletter and have started other writing projects with my new found inspiration. When my first check came on Thursday, I felt like I had already been paid for my work with the knowledge I’ve gathered over these past 3 weeks. I learned that I cannot find my place, because I have been given the opportunity to make my own. I am excited to see what I can create in the next few weeks.