I am reaching the end of my internship at this company. I am sad and anxious. I am nervous about my future. But oh well, I guess who isn’t?

I will definitely miss the young, creative, bold energy that I sense here everyday. There is something I have learned, or, on a more philosophical perspective, something my memory has re-gained in its infinite archive of lessons, which I consider to be the most important lesson so far: it’s all about quality when it comes to people. That’s really everything that matters to me. Quality time with genuine, real people. There is so much social clutter nowadays that it seems harder and harder to find these gems. But yes, they are out there.

I think we intern to acquire work experience, and with the over-used term, to network. Nevertheless, I think networking is not only about giving a strong hand-shake, learning someone’s name and exchanging boring details of your professions and business cards. That is just not enough. Let’s face it; in the end, it is not about how many people you know, but what kind of connection you build with these people. And most importantly, what sort of natural chemistry you have with them. Call me naïve, but I simply will not waist my time on people who are just not interested enough. Why do we do that? Why do we try to be liked (or loved?) by even the most undeserving human beings we come across? If someone shows no absolute interest in –what was that word again? Oh yes!- networking with me, then why would I be interested in them?

Yes, I do believe the interest can be mutual. It is just that you won’t get to have that many special connections in your professional or personal life. Those types of legitimate connections are only a few. That’s what makes them so special in the first place.

During my time here, I have also started to recognize that as social beings, we have a tremendous power on each other, bigger than what we might conceive. We all influence and impact each other in one way or another, all the time. I wish we were more aware of this –or, at least I was. But, I guess that’s sort of the point; otherwise we would lose our ability to be natural and just be ourselves. No pretensions, no second-guessing, no fakeness. It sort of reminds me of that film called “The Invention Of Lying”. Sometimes I wish I could live in that world just for a day. How interesting would it be!

However, I see this loss of authenticity very often in cities like New York. We’ve all seen them; characters who will compromise their real personalities to “fit” a certain status quo of -in this case- today’s music industry. It drives me nuts. And some of them can be very convincing at first. Nevertheless, these people always remind me of two things. One, try your best not to fall into that social trap! Stay true to yourself, no matter the circumstance. And by this I mean really, no matter what. Second, (to end this long banter that’s going on in my head) I see that yes, these “fake” personalities will always be around, but like any Argentinean would say, I guess it’s “better to lose them than to ever find them”.

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Read Silvina’s other posts

Interviews in NYC

In the Midst of Fear, a Peace of Mind

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Bio

Silvina Moreno is a singer/songwriter from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied Songwriting and Music Business at Berklee College of Music. She loves to perform and write songs. Her music is a mix of alternative pop in English and Spanish with some Latin rhythms and tango. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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