“You’re, like… really busy this semester, right?”
I couldn’t help but laugh when these exact words left a friend of mine’s mouth the other day, for two reasons. The first, because who isn’t really busy this semester? It seems harder than ever to coordinate friend’s schedules for something as simple as lunch. The second, because I don’t think I’ve ever had a relaxing semester. As in, ever. But to keep busy is to keep focused, and that’s just the way I like it, so I’m not complaining.
One of the things that has been keeping me “like… really busy” this semester is my internship as content manager at the Office of Communications and Marketing. Content manager, in my case, means tweeting from @BlueHenSays, UD’s for students Twitter, and posting from its accompanying Facebook page, Blue Hen Says. I do that from the office (which is fun, saying “oh, yes, I’m just coming from the office”) in the middle of the day Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This wouldn’t be so exhausting if I wasn’t always thinking in “intern mode.” One of the most important parts of running the Blue Hen Says media is posting pictures and content of events and students across campus; basically, the idea is to give the student perspective of life at UD. A lot of times, this perspective comes in the form of pictures, like Spirit Stations in Trabant or the Banned Books event outside of Memorial (two of my favourite events I’ve covered so far).
But this constant need for pictures and content means I’m always thinking about my next post or tweet. Which means I’m grinding to a halt in the middle of streets, turning awkwardly the wrong way at the drop of a hat, or standing, poised, with my iPod, waiting for the light to shift just the right way as a guy walking behind me shouts, “Instagram!!”
Somehow, remembering at every moment to take a picture of the sky or campus if I think, “huh, that’s really pretty” gets to be rather exhausting… But the more interesting part is photographing people. When I starting photographing for Blue Hen Says, I just sort of blushed and murmured, “Can I take your picture?” to large groups of people at important events. Needless to say, it was a bit awkward initially, but isn’t it always when you take a picture of someone you don’t know? I’m pleased to say now I hardly bat a lash, HONY Style.
So far, the internship’s been a wonderful experience, even though it’s made me even more dependent than ever on social media, and I’m looking forward to the rest of my “like… really busy” semester.
