For a while now, this blog has been on a stand still - totally not my fault though! I have been meaning to say a thing or two here, but I've been really caught up. On top of that, I haven't found the right words to say. But I think I might have found something, so bear with me.
I recently started a job with a really prestigious brand doing Public Relations & Social Media. It pays well for a graduate in Singapore and the opportunities are great. It was meant to last until December.
Before starting the job, I was really eager to learn about PR. You see, my specialty in school was Advertising. I was good at it because I knew the ins and outs of it. But PR... Not so much. Soon, my eagerness turned into fear. And the moment it did, I felt dreadful.
I have to be honest - fear has always been my one big obstacle that holds me back from achieving whatever it is I set myself out to. I never actually realised this until a few months back when I did a procrastination quiz. Haha I know, how silly!
Within the first week, my learning curve was as steep as a vertical line. I literally had to learn on the job several skills of PR. Simple things like composing a media event email, to giving pitching calls to media individuals. You would think that the professors would teach us these things in university?? NOPE.
These things truly scared the shit out of me. But you know, thinking back to my first week, I'm quite glad for my experiences. I can still remember the day I spoke to Angkea, "But babe, what if I can't do PR? I'm scared."
What if I was chicken shit and never took the step to learn? I might never, ever in my life know how to speak to top Editors-in-Chief of publications ANYWHERE. I might never have known how a media launch actually works. I might still be the advertising snob who thinks PR is a *sai kang job nobody wants to do.
Now I CAN do those things.
Now I HAVE the skills.
Now I KNOW what PR is all about.
I'm no professional, but one thing that I do know is that the best way to know yourself is to challenge yourself. It could be a new skill, or environment. TRY IT. It may trigger your secret love for it, or it could reaffirm the fact that you're not cut out for it.
At 23, I can safely say that I have had my first challenge and I'm pretty damn proud of myself.
P.S. My challenge has taught me that I'm the latter - not cut out for it. I am currently working on exploring options in Advertising and of course, future plans for We Are The Soms :)
*Sai kang is Singlish for 'shit work'. Commonly used by Singaporeans especially to describe a job with mundane tasks.
