Reflections: try, and then try again

“In this dimension, things moved really quickly, and the learning curve was steep, much was to be learned in a short period of time and applied in an even shorter period of time as we had a weekly check-in on our progress every Friday of the week.”

By Joshua Neo

I remember looking at Design Prodigy’s website, thinking to myself, is this really for me? I looked at terms such as data-driven, precision marketing, and contemplated my decision. Coming from a background in psychology, such terms seemed rather intimidating to me. Nevertheless, I was looking for a challenging experience and hoped to learn more about marketing, seeing it as a potential future career path for me. Little did I know that I was entering into another dimension. In this dimension, things moved really quickly, and the learning curve was steep, much was to be learned in a short period of time and applied in an even shorter period of time as we had a weekly check-in on our progress every Friday of the week. We had to quickly get ourselves up to speed and acquire as much knowledge about marketing as we could, at the same time, also brainstorm for ideas and possible approaches to address our problem statement.

Challenges lead to growth.

As a team, we faced many challenges coming from a background with little to no marketing experience and having been taught what to do or was expected by us constantly in school. I personally faced the challenge of thinking critically and trying to go deeper and not only broad, which was tough as time was also a factor which put us under pressure. It was a rocky experience as the weeks went by and we got lost in the different terms that made up the problem statement given to us. It was a rollercoaster of emotions as we went from not knowing what to do to thinking we knew what to do to realising that it was all wrong. This brings me back to a quote shared by Marc to “not fall in love with your idea” as things might change sooner than you expect, and a more suitable approach or angle might present itself in the future.

It was draining to be constantly trying to think of a way to crack our problem statement and come up with a viable solution for our Ungoogleable Challenge. Many a times we were stuck and could not see the light, but never once did we stop seeking the light. I think this was where I learnt the importance of being flexible and adaptable, as the situation might change for better or for worse and it’s important to stay strong and level-headed, and continue to forge ahead. Even though we faced many setbacks, I am very happy that we stood up in the face of potential hurtful rejection and failure and just kept trying and trying. I think this means something even if our results were not the best at the end.

I have the utmost respect for my teammates for not giving up and giving it their all, it has been quite a journey climbing out of the valley of death with them to present our final presentation.

Thankful.

I am very grateful for this out of world opportunity to experience such a mentally stimulating internship and am thankful to all those that supported and mentored us through this 12 weeks, it has been an unbelievable journey that I feel cannot be fully described in words, you have to go through it to really understand it. I am glad that I have grown to become a better person after this internship and look forward to future challenges ahead!