For those of you who haven't heard about the saga with my first placement (warning: spoiler ahead), here you have it in cliff notes version. Back in January I contacted the Women's Resource Center to End Domestic Violence. I wanted to start speaking with places early--even before I knew if I was accepted into the program--just to make sure that I'd have a great internship set up for the summer if it worked out. I tried to be detailed and explicit without being demanding or entitled, and it seemed for months heading into the summer that my supervisor was eager to provide me with the type of experience I sought. Even by my first couple days of work, I could tell something wasn't right. I was essentially a glorified babysitter--watching the children while the staff did the real work in the other room. I spoke to my supervisor, referencing what we had initially agreed upon, and she said she would get back to me. And she did, but only to tell me that if I couldn't perform those duties asked of me then I should find a different place to work. So much for all my preemptive efforts. Luckily I was able to secure another placement that I'm just beginning work at, so I'll post again soon about how that is going. Based on my meeting with my new supervisor, it looks like it may be an excellent place for me.
But back to the issue at hand. The only aspect of this that was able to curb my fury with the organization for completely backing out on me...pity. I saw how this organization functioned. They were understaffed and overworked, underpaid and overwhelmed. Those kids were also irresistibly adorable, and my heart broke for them every time I'd look at them and imagine the kinds of horrors they've seen in their short lives. They deserved someone who wanted to be there with them 100%. The Dalai Lama tells me--as well as the other millions who read his books, but I like to think that it's his personal advice to me--that compassion is a much more admirable quality than pity, because compassion implies a type of empathy. Not just "feeling bad" for someone else, but truly caring for them because of the interconnected nature of everyone and everything. If I ran a nonprofit organization, if it were MY responsibility to look after these struggling women and their children, help them get back on their feet, and provide them with every type of service I could, I'm fairly certain that I would be able to justify sacrificing some intern's preferences over the needs of my greater cause. In a perfect world, my supervisor should have been honest with me about the work that she was lining up for me, but then again, in a perfect world, we wouldn't need domestic abuse shelters. I know what it's like to be driven, and I understand that you can not expect to accommodate everybody perfectly in the pursuit of your goal. This whole "compassion" deal certainly takes the fun out of being bitter, doesn't it?
Rebecca
1 comment:
Sounds like your handled your first obstacle with your placement really well, it took guts to admit that your weren't getting what you wanted out of the experience and decide to change it. I especially liked your reference to the Dalai Lama, I know I've often confused pity with compassion. Hope your new placement goes well.
-Sarah W.
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