My Messiest Situation — Round 2
Back by popular demand, we’re sharing our classmates’ responses to Heidi Roizen’s prompt: “In 250 words, tell me about one of the messiest situations you’ve ever been in, what happened, and what you learned.”
Comic Relief | Fanna Park
People often complain their workplace feels like a war zone. My company operates in a real war zone — with afternoon gunfire and explosions, “Somali Rock’n’Roll,” as it’s called locally. My team and I felt burned out. But tonight our majority shareholder was visiting us in Mogadishu; tonight we celebrate!
We made a big fire and enjoyed a few cold beers. Later we found ourselves starving. Too much beer, too little food. With the blessing of the big boss, we decided to raid the company kitchen and assemble a feast.
The ceiling fan was twirling above us. I had a bowl of tomatoes and threw one into the fan. The tomato exploded, splattering everyone. A full-on food fight broke out. The next morning I woke up covered with food. My head hurt but my heart was light. I learned that fun can reinvigorate teams under pressure. My team and I had a new appetite for our project.
Nice Guys Finish First | Federico Mossa
Panama, June 2014. A connecting flight to Manaus is the last step to the Soccer World Cup. I have awaited this day for so long. Tomorrow, on my 29th birthday, my home country Italy will take on my host country, England, in the heat of the Amazon.
Dressed in the Azzurri jersey, I wait with my father at the boarding gate. The flight attendant calls me. “Sir, the plane is overbooked. You are not on the flight.” He offers us a refund in Copa Airlines credits, or to leave the next day. Either way, we will miss the once-in-a-lifetime match. My disappointment is beyond words.
Other people are affected. Most of them yell and insult the steward, who threatens to call the police. I try a different approach. I take his hand and show him the birthdate on my passport. “I know it’s not your fault. Let this be my birthday present. Please allow us on the flight.” I keep talking to him as boarding proceeds. He apologizes, but there is nothing he can do.
The gate doors close. My heart is aching. Twenty minutes later, the steward calls me again. He says “run to gate 28” — a flight to Sao Paulo with a connection to Manaus in the morning. We fly for 13 hours, and arrive at the stadium minutes before the national anthems. A miracle!
I learned one big lesson. Treat people with respect. I believe we got to Manaus because I asked for the steward’s help, rather than blaming him. After all, he was also having a terrible day.
Leading a Coup | Keri Dixon
I played varsity softball in college. As a junior, I was voted captain by my teammates, much to the dismay of the head coach. I had always gotten along well with my coaches. In fact, my high school softball coach wrote one of my recommendations for college. Not this woman. When I became captain, I spoke out with concern about how she led the team. She put no effort into recruiting and chose the starting lineup based on whom she got along with best. We had finished last my first two years and I was sick of losing.
After another last-place season, we were fed up. Teammates told me they wouldn’t play next year. Frustrated, I emailed the director of athletics. We set up a meeting with her and the team. I started the meeting by asking everyone to raise her hand if she planned on playing next year. When only one of 16 did, the athletic director realized she had to take action. We worked with her to hire a new coach. Since then the team has led the league for three years. Through this experience, I learned that sometimes you need to step beyond your authority to make a change.
The Week of Living Dangerously | Eric Olliff
The night after day one on my dream job, I awoke with a strange feeling on my head. I brushed my scalp and felt the unmistakable gooiness of an engorged leech enjoying a midnight snack. I was in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia, and my dream job was quickly turning into a nightmare.
I was working for Panthera, a conservation NGO devoted to the preservation of wild cats and their habitats. My first assignment was to field test an anti-poaching camera, designed to prevent illegal killing of tigers for their skin and bones. I had romanticized work in the jungle. The job only grew less glamorous after I wounded my knee with a machete the following day.
Part of me wanted to give up and return to the creature comforts of New York City — I had worked so hard to land this job. This was my chance to prove myself. I bandaged myself, and finished our planned testing over the next week. This experience taught me two things: 1) When I want something bad enough, I can push through anything. 2) Don’t trust anyone who grew up in West LA with a machete.
Wrong Place, Bad Place | Yan Gao
Traveling. It leaves you speechless, and turns you into a storyteller. Backpacking in Vietnam was one of those memorable messy adventures.
7pm, Hanoi Airport arrival hall. The machine swallowed my only bank card. I was left with only $200 cash for a week in Vietnam.
Because I could afford only the cheapest transportation, I jumped on a minibus and showed the driver my hostel address so he could alert me when I arrived. The bus was crowded and noisy; I was lonely, worried and even felt helpless. What a terrible idea to travel alone in Vietnam.
After a bumpy three-hour ride, the driver told me I had arrived. The night was dark, the light was dim, the room was different from the one on the reservation. But who cares. All I needed was a bed.
The next day, I noticed that the hostel name differed from the one on the reservation. Clueless as to where I was, I asked a policeman to show me my location on the map. Wrong hostel. My intuition was to run from this creepy place. I picked up my backpack, ran outside and jumped on a motorcycle. “Go, quick, go.” I handed the hostel address to the driver.
Finally, I arrived at the right hostel; the driver was nice to have given me a free ride. The rest of the trip was fantastic, even with only $200 cash.
People don’t take trips, trips take people. When I opened myself to the uncertainty, I could rise from it. Life is a great adventure. Live it. Fully.
Asking Questions Before You Shoot | Naga Kataru
I changed careers and started an almond orchard. One summer, the rabbits invaded, wreaking havoc by chewing drip lines. I asked my farm manager how people dealt with this. “We hold a bunny blasting night,” he said. “We invite a few hunters. They camp out in the orchard and shoot all the rabbits.” I was horrified. When I pressed for alternatives, he said, “This is what they’ve been doing for the past hundred years.” I wasn’t convinced. My wife chimed in: If it takes killing so many animals to farm, we’d better get out of it. We decided to try the unconventional. The next morning, the manager called me and said it had worked. The rabbits went away. Here’s what we did: We asked why the rabbits would chew the pipes. They don’t eat plastic. Perhaps they are thirsty and want to drink some water. It was a dry season, after all. So why not buy some shallow crates at Home Depot, fill them with water and place them around the orchard perimeter. And see if the rabbits drink the water and go away. My lesson: Think bigger before you pull the trigger.
