Guest Post: A farewell from Abby
Over the past few months you read her blog posts, talked with her through email or might have been lucky enough to meet her in person - Abby, our summer Community Management Intern has finished her tenure at Gidsy and is venturing out into the world in search of her next big adventure. She was so kind as to write a farewell post about her time at Gidsy, so we’re sharing it with you today. Hope you enjoy learning a little more about Abby. Feel free to leave her a message in the comments - we’ll pass it on!
The past three months have been a fantastical blur. It seems like just yesterday I was donning my cap and gown, ending one chapter of my life, and unsure what my next adventure would be. It was this question mark looming over me, waiting to be discovered, and then it was so quickly here.
Gidsy led me to Berlin, and was the culmination of so many childhood dreams. I have been interning on the Gidsy Community team for the past three months, and if you’ve submitted an approval request or asked a question about something in that time, you’ve probably spoken with me over the interwebs. I only had a vague idea of what community management was before Gidsy, but after working closely with Katie, I have learned what it means to engage and inspire a community. I’m especially honored that I had the opportunity to work with this community in particular, because I feel that it is incredibly unique and authentic. People are a part of it because they believe in a certain vision that Gidsy produces.
I’ve also learned that with Community, there is no set formula. In many professions, there is. But community is such a fluid soft science. You’re dealing with real people who have real lives, thoughts, feelings, and emotions. There’s no one set way to work with them, to engage them, inspire them. It’s a field that requires a large dose of humility and willingness to try a million and one different things with no guarantee that any of them are actually going to work.
It struck me pretty hard during my time at Gidsy, that I really have no excuse to not understand the technical side of things. Being a writer is not an excuse. I heard Edial say in a speech a few weeks ago, “We can create platforms now, and we can program the things we use. We all can learn technology, and if you don’t understand technology on a deep level, you will be one step behind.”
The old adage that life is the real classroom is so very true, and I’ve been a willing pupil the past three months, soaking everything up. It might bring a tear to your eye to hear this people, but I’m growing up. You are all watching it happen. I have enjoyed sharing life and community with the Gidsy team. I have been intoxicated with the belief that we are part of something much bigger than ourselves, struck by the passion and brilliance of it all. Gidsy has shared so much with me. Food, friends, cabs, and so much laughter and fun. It’s bittersweet to no longer be coming into the Maker’s Loft everyday, bitter because I’ve enjoyed my time here so much, sweet because we both have big things on the horizon to look forward to.
What’s next for me? I fell in love with Berlin, and I’m planning to stay. I am honing my voice as a storyteller, and continuing my work as a freelance writer. I’ll probably continue writing about startups, expat life, artsy things, and awkward personal stories, as these are topics I’m knowledgeable on. I’ll continue organizing my Letter Writing Workshop & Journaling Workshop, and am finding my niche within the Berlin writers scene. You can still find me in Neukolln, keeping it real, and active as ever on the interwebs. I’m always going to be sentimental about Gidsy because of how dramatically it has changed my life—and how it enabled me to prove to myself that I am capable of going after my dreams and making them happen.
