Spreading Branches

This week has been a set of pre-event feelings. The first Farmers Market is on Saturday. So to get over my self-doubt about coordinating market events, I actually asked advice from the Program Coordinator at The Point in the South Bronx, our site visit for last Friday. I asked him how he got over the feeling like you weren't doing anything right or not well enough in his first assignments when he started. He "assured" me that i was going to make mistakes and that it was just a part of the job and that you learn from it and try again next time. It made me feel better that the was so casual about it and like it happens with anything when you are stepping into new waters professionally, personally, whatever. I felt better but I also thought about how, for example, in a non profit it seems like there is little room for error because if you are working with kids for example, and you screw up the academic year curriculum/schedule for an afterschool program, you have lost a whole year of kids that you could have more effectively helped. It seems like in a nonprofit where you may be working with "vulnerable populations" there isn't much room for error because sometimes the populations are fragile.

It was really great asking for advice from an outside source for overarching encouragement but when i went back to work on Tuesday, i still felt anxious about not having enough umph for Markets. Asking for advice at the Point and receiving reassuring and comforting and non-judgemental advice, I felt more comfortable talking to my supervisor about how i was feeling. She was also really receptive and understanding. She assured me that the work i was doing has never been done before and that anything that i did put together was more than they have ever had at markets and so everything that i did have was great. That was even more important for me to hear. I also talked to her about how sitting in the office all day trying to schedule everything was not my favorite thing to do and she totally understood. Later she discussed how we could schedule the rest of my summer now that the youth are here so that i can do office work but also get to be outside with the youth now that they are here.

One positive thing that I just realized today was that I am helping Added Value build relationships with other people and organizations who have similar interests. I have contacted many, many people about cooking demonstrations and information tables, i have given small farm tours and explained the farm to passer-bys, I created a flyer to spread the word about markets. This realization takes me back to my post about Keith Getter and how important forming relationships and making connections with people is. Along this note I personally received a job offer upon graduation, several contacts in NYC who are doing cool development work, met people who have connections to DC and Prince Georges County (my hometowns) and may be able to help me find an internship for the upcoming semester. So it is really exciting to be around great people who are doing cool things and to be learning the different connections and networks that can and have been made in the urban farm scene. One of my goals to accomplish through my work here was to learn the connections that Added Value has to other people and organizations. The staff here has been really instrumental in introducing me to their networks, giving me leads to untapped connections, and letting me research new ones.

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Today was the youths' first day and it was fun. I am mostly un-knowledgeable about "teen psychology" except from my own experiences. So seeing how to program for teens was really interesting. It seemed almost a little childish sometimes but at the end i felt like they really enjoyed the activities that were set for them and that maybe the programming was perfect for them. So I am really excited to see how the summer progresses in terms of teen programming because i will be responsible for teaching a few service-learning classes soon. So i want to see what definitely works with them and what definitely does not.

So now everything is confirmed for Market on Saturday, I'm a little anxious still but more so excited, the youth have finally arrived, and I am ready to work on scheduling things for next week! (i am now realizing how little time i have to plan, plan, plan!)