Learning from turtles: Fighting timidity and breaking through one's shell

I can appreciate the value of personal growth that opportunities like internships provide. Unlike many experiences during young adult years that tend to be less forgiving, short term programs allow for just enough exposure to professional fields while also encouraging personal reflection about our place in them. This is particularly helpful in a society that resembles a modern meritocracy more and more, which, as New York Times columnist David Brooks puts it, encourages us to chase symbols of success that we don’t actually desire.

I have felt the force of this pull personally- maybe you can relate. Having recently finished 4 years of undergraduate coursework, I find myself defaulting to the posture of a college student. Like any good student, when I am put into a new environment with the expectation of learning from spaces- especially those which were previously unavailable to me- I am set on studying and mastering the material. In the setting of an internship at a non-profit organization, this looks like understanding office culture, work-life balance (or imbalance), and so on. I recognized early on that I had the tendency to observe these behaviors for the purpose of following them and fitting in as a way of joining the team. Instead, I should have observed to make my own judgement about my surroundings and weigh in with my input. It caught my attention after feeling frustration doing this. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with the way a work space was operating to make me reject it, rather I was not seeking to adopt that which is good and contribute to that which can be improved on. In other words, I had assumed a passive role as an intern rather than that of an active participant whose contribution to the team is not limited to the temporary team membership. Having mastered blending in in this new role, I did not feel accomplished- I knew I could do better.

This brings me to the turtles. Having read the title of this blog about learning from turtles, your mind might have gone straight to the story of the tortoise and the hare. Interesting enough, the connection I’m about to make to the small shelled creature didn’t come from a children’s lesson but in a rather unsuspecting place of a U.S. Senate office building. On Friday, July 14th our GBCS internship cohort was able to secure an appointment with South Carolina Representative James Clyburn. Thanks to a friendship our Chaplain had with a Congressional staffer (thanks, Kendal!), we were not only able to tour his Congressional office space and take a picture with him before he had to make a flight, but we were pleasantly surprised to have him sit down with us and share some wisdom.

And turtles come in when? I know, thanks for being patient! At the table was a wooden centerpiece of 4-5, you guessed it, turtles! The more I looked around his office, at his desk and walls, none other than turtles were found everywhere. Turtle paperweights, turtle cup holders, ceramic turtles, sturdy wooden turtles, and delicate glass turtles. After introducing ourselves someone finally asked what I was thinking, what’s with all the turtles?

With newfound energy Representative Clyburn told us that if he had a mascot, it would be a turtle. This highly esteemed national leader in a room full of photos with the likes of President Obama, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela lit up by choosing to speak about TURTLES. He explained that turtles are important symbols; they have a hard, protective shell that provides shelter and the comfort of a home at all times. However, he said as he leaned in, they can only move forward when they stick their head out. Without reaching out and extending yourself to the world around you, you will never see beyond yourself. The reflection I have made from these two experiences is this; the frustration I feel from trying to master my surroundings for the purpose of blending in is actually resolved in learning to stick out. It will be slowly, but surely that I will find my place in these spaces.

As a 2017 EYA Intern, Nura is working with The Democracy Initiative this Summer in the fields of Grassroots Mobilizing and Communications. This any other blogs from the EYA interns can be found on their blog.