Being the co-head editor of the English desk for an online news portal, I sometimes find myself having to prepare impromptu presentations at the whims of my boss. The audience of this practice would normally be men clad in official batik shirts as regulated by the government, top officials and persons of respected status and high rank from a diverse background. On more than one of these occasions I would find myself being sucked into political and regional development discussions, but none caught me off guard as much as the first time it occurred. A state representative, after my having finished, looked at me and ensued this conversation.
"Tell me, Acacia, how old are you?"
"21 years old, sir."
"I see, and what are you doing here in 1News, RTM?"
"I am an editor for the English news, sir, and I read it too."
"No, you misunderstand me. What are you doing here?"
"Um, I am here to represent my generation of voice, to be alert to current events."
"No. You are not here to do that. Do you know why we are all here?"
"Enlighten me, sir," I smiled tentatively. Was he on crack?
"We are all here to ensure and support our government party that they stay in position."
Suffice to say that following this conversation, at which midpoint my bosses were staring agape in confusion as I fumbled to find a suitable reason for my existence, there would occasionally be a slide on the current political party, placed simply to impress targeted persons. I would conclude these topics with grand flourish and be met with a splatter of applause and smug nods from these ministry officials. It wasn't so much as selling yourself out or faking it to the top, as that you realise in certain circumstances you have to do, what you have to do. There are steps that could be executed without unnecessary emotional drama. The essence of professionalism is to avoid personal attachments, which is a concept that could be applied to numerous other aspects - but, unfortunately, isn't always.
"Tell me, Acacia, how old are you?"
"21 years old, sir."
"I see, and what are you doing here in 1News, RTM?"
"I am an editor for the English news, sir, and I read it too."
"No, you misunderstand me. What are you doing here?"
"Um, I am here to represent my generation of voice, to be alert to current events."
"No. You are not here to do that. Do you know why we are all here?"
"Enlighten me, sir," I smiled tentatively. Was he on crack?
"We are all here to ensure and support our government party that they stay in position."
Suffice to say that following this conversation, at which midpoint my bosses were staring agape in confusion as I fumbled to find a suitable reason for my existence, there would occasionally be a slide on the current political party, placed simply to impress targeted persons. I would conclude these topics with grand flourish and be met with a splatter of applause and smug nods from these ministry officials. It wasn't so much as selling yourself out or faking it to the top, as that you realise in certain circumstances you have to do, what you have to do. There are steps that could be executed without unnecessary emotional drama. The essence of professionalism is to avoid personal attachments, which is a concept that could be applied to numerous other aspects - but, unfortunately, isn't always.
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