3 Lessons I’ve learned in surviving NOC.
9 months in… and it will be an unforgettable journey that made a difference.
#1: Learning how to survive like a fish out of water
Socializing wasn’t a thing for me, fitting in at work was hard.
The normal “How are you?” exchanges made me awkward and lost for words. The constant need for my colleagues to decipher what I was trying to say ,while raising an opinion, bummed me out. I’ve spoken English all my life but now, it made me conscious of every word I said, hoping there’s no laughter as a response because I’ve pronounced some words “wrongly”.
I started out doing the “little” tasks at work and I was disappointed, I thought I could contribute and learn much more by doing “bigger” more important things.
But in the end, you will learn and survive. Well… I did.
You may stick out like a sore thumb at first but you will adapt and blend in. The next thing you know, you will find your next best friend at work. You may start small but every “little” task counts, that’s when you learn how you can contribute more. There is probably gonna be lots of trying, awkward laughs and embarrassing moments in between. But 9 months in, you will look back and wonder why did you even worry.
And at the end, you will be glad, you did survive.
#2: Learning to build your own “entrepreneurial” experience
There has always been an emphasis on being entrepreneurial in the NOC program. Technically this is what NOC is about…
But what defines you as being entrepreneurial? I never knew the exact definition but I don’t believe there is. When I first started out here in NY, I felt the need to be involved in events like networking, hackathons etc. But in the end, I realize there is no benchmark as to how entrepreneurial you should be for your year here. Instead..
It should be doing what you love and believe in and how you achieve it.
Out of the many characteristics that kinda define you as being entrepreneurial, isn’t one of which taking control to do things that you love or passionate about?
I’ve learned that you are responsible for building your own “entrepreneurial” experience. You are not living the past experiences of others. Forget what you heard about how they build their experience or how you should. In the end, it’s how you achieve your own experience, shuffling between priorities, that matters.
#3: Learning that there is always more than just surviving
Now officially 9 months in, this journey is definitely not what I’ve expected it to be. It goes beyond what was mentioned.
To me, it’s a constant journey of battling the love/hate relationship you have with the people you live with, that pang of sadness that hits you when you miss the comfort of your friends and family, the need to seek solitude that even hiding at one corner to “suck thumb” helps.
You will always assumed you’ve been through the worst, that you’ve grew and understand as a whole, that your experiences have changed you.
But in the end, there is always more to learn, to grow, to experience throughout the year than to just surviving NOC.
