Thursday, August 15, 2013

Uptown girl

I did something really stupid at work the other day. We had a staff meeting and went over some basics with writing, editing and procedure. The boss lady, our news director, went over a lot of little mistakes we've been making. We've got two "newbies" on board, myself included, and some procedure changes so it was more like a reminder session. 

Now here's where I get absent-minded... A few hours after the meeting I was assigned to work on a story, just like every day. And you know what? I made the same mistakes I always make- the ones we had just gone over earlier that day. 

My boss was really nice about it and tried to make it a learning opportunity but I was totally flabbergasted and a little embarrassed. I even took notes at that meeting... Why hadn't this settled in yet!?

The truth of the matter is, this is not the first time this had happened to me and I really don't know how to fix it. (So if you wanted to give some advice today, now is the time!) I have a hard time grasping changes like that and it usually takes a second opinion (or in this case, a proofreader) to help me see what I've missed. 

The weird part about this mistake though was that it made me feel different from before. Usually these things just make me feel a little dumb, but today I really felt like a fish out of water. 

A lot of the things we covered in the meeting were local things that I had no clue about. I didn't know roads and counties or public information officers. It made me miss being home with my parents in the suburbs on the edge of metro Atlanta. We weren't in the perimeter, but a short drive took us to the heart of the city- an urban playground with a daily sense of danger. 

I think the confusion of a local road with one on which my favorite mall is located brought the whole thing on. I was subconsciously missing home so much I wrinkled a news story for two days

Dad says the first move is always hard. I definitely believe him... It's nothing like moving to college!

How do you handle mistakes? Share with me in the comments below!

Stay true to yourself, 
Alyson

No comments:

Post a Comment