Editorial: Experiences with The Cord

Before I start, here is a little background:

I lived in India for 18 years before I moved to Canada.

To say these two cultures are different would be an understatement.
  It’s a completely different world. Coming to university is a unique experience where you are completely on your own, surrounded by thousands of people you don’t know.

Also, you now have the freedom to completely manage your daily schedule, whereas up until high school, most of your day was pre-planned by someone else. It can be hard to stay motivated amidst all the unconditional freedom you now have.

As a photography enthusiast, I could not wait to explore the opportunities university would present.
   After a little research I found The Cord and the chance to have my work published in a newspaper was not one I was going to miss out on.

It was quite intimidating at first; photography was just something I did and posted on Instagram more-or-less anonymously. The first game I covered was soccer and it just happened to be raining. The photos did not turn out the way I wanted but that’s how I began my work with The Cord.

As my second year working with The Cord draws to an end, the most apt way I can think to describe it is “It was a rollercoaster”.

I worked as a volunteer for the first year, where it was mostly like an assignment based position. It gave me something to really look forward to after spending weeks swamped in school work.
   Over this period, I made some great memories covering games and events and experiencing the sheer energy of being in the middle of a football team after a win or behind the bench at a basketball game after a massive dunk.

After gaining enough knowledge working for the newspaper I decided to apply for Photo Editor.
   This is where things got real: this is a job which I had to do every week and it involved going through thousands of photos and making decisions about all the photos that volunteers and staff members shoot.
   Running a department with all the talent people bring gave me a better understanding of what it means to lead a team. Halfway through this year I was hired as Creative Director. This is a job that put me right in the middle of everything and taught me what it truly means to work for a newspaper.

Having to work with so many people with different visions and opinions about things, as well as dealing with the standard bit of office drama — which comes with all jobs — gave me a real world perspective of what holding a job means. After all, this was my first real job.

Working for The Cord, you have a purpose every week and you learn to manage time well. You also learn how to work with different people and use the idea of synergy. Being able to deal with problems at one in the morning teaches you more than you are able to appreciate in the moment.

After reflecting on these two years and remembering how many times I was overwhelmed and stressed I can now say that I know how to handle situations like that better than I once did.

While there are always things I wish I had done differently, on a macro scale I’m more than happy with how things have gone and I would not change a thing.

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