"When I was a kid, around five or six, my biggest dream was
to be a veterinarian—everyone always observed that I was good with animals; I
loved animals as much as they seemed to love me. More than that, I was
interested in healing those who were hurt. I was strongly affected by negative
emotions and any sort of discord, and while I shied away from the idea of
healing people, I wanted very much to help animals, who’d brought me plenty of
joy and amusement during my childhood.
As I grew older, I found that I wasn’t as cut out for
veterinary training as I’d once imagined—I wasn’t very good at science and
math, foundations any doctor would need, but fortunately, I did have another
strong suit. Another childhood passion of mine was reading and, after fourth grade,
writing. As a young girl, I was enthusiastic about and absorbed by fantasy and
science fiction stories. I soon began writing some of my own, modeled after the
books I loved most, by authors like Bruce Coville and Mary Stanton, and such
epic series as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. I was encouraged by
the fourth grade teacher who first told me my writing had a real “voice,” and
my supportive mother and stepfather.
When I reached my last year of middle school and entered
high school, I discovered that my love of language also opened up another door
for me—like my mother, I was a good editor. Peer-editing my classmates’ papers
in a college-level English class, and being commended by my teacher for the
help I was giving students who needed it, I decided on my future career path. I
knew as early as eleventh grade that I wanted to be an English major, and my
determination certainly surprised adults who were used to students who were
undecided!
At SUNY New Paltz, I learned to extend my range as a writer
and an editor; I took Journalism classes in addition to my English classes, and
my minor in Journalism requires an internship in a communications field, such
as publishing. I knew I wanted a position that would help me grow as a writer
and an editor, as well as one with a specific geographical component: I wanted
to stay local. New Paltz, as a community, has always welcomed me and made me
feel safe; I feel much more grounded here than I would have in New York City or
on unfamiliar parts of Long Island, my home.
Puja’s listing in the job fair catalogue called my name
right away—not only was it in the New Paltz area, it was seeking someone with
the skills I had and wanted to hone. It seemed like a dream, but I was still
nervous; I’d been disappointed by seeming “dream jobs” before, overlooked in
favor of other candidates. I tried to pour my nervousness into something other
than needless stress: the hunt for the right black pants to wear to the fair,
the right résumé paper to print my
qualifications on.
The day
of the job fair wasn’t nearly as stress-free as I’d been hoping—the humidity
was awful and I lugged my six-pound Shakespeare anthology to class only to find
out my professor had unexpectedly cancelled. By the time I got to the job fair,
I was hot, upset, and slightly panicked, and I was sure that whatever chances
I’d had at being hired had surely slipped down the drain!
I remember
being so relieved after my interview—I liked Puja and she seemed to like me,
and even the unfamiliar subject area I’d be working in didn’t seem quite so
daunting after our talk. I waited nervously to hear whether I’d gotten the
position or not, and was relieved and excited when I opened my inbox one
Saturday morning to an email from Puja informing me that I’d be working at
Roots & Wings along with another intern.
Since January, I’ve been greatly enjoying my work at Roots
& Wings. I’ve been opened to so many new experiences—I’ve been editing
manuscripts and seeing how layouts are formatted (and reformatted), and
learning about how to write book proposals. I’ve even found that working with
writing on health and well-being resonates with why I wanted to be a vet as a
child—it’s all about cutting down on pain and negativity. The idea of “roots
and wings” even applies to why I wanted this internship in the first place: I
wanted to allow my New Paltz roots to flourish, and the knowledge and
connections I gain here will hopefully allow me to spread my wings and take off
into the professional world!"
