At Our Journey, we believe in holistic development as well as mental wellness. Earlier this month, we had the joy of hosting 2 lovely interns, Dayna and Gwen.
While they were only with us for a week, they have definitely left a mark and made an impact.
Both girls had an exceptional work attitude and were incredibly bright. Their proactiveness and resourcefulness has helped us in our content production and we learnt a lot from them during their time with us.
By way of background, these girls are 16 years old and have keen interests in social good and mental wellness.
We spoke to Dayna and Gwen about their time with us here at Our Journey and they shared some insights on how they prepare themselves for exams!
How was your experience at Our Journey?
Gwen: It was insightful and Blythe shared a lot about her experience. For example, she ran us through the process on how she dealt with her clients, shared the perils of toxic positivity and we find it useful. Also, she treated us as equals.
Dayna: We gleaned many insights and Blythe was so open in sharing. We basically got the chance to understand the issues in Singapore from the view of the counsellor. Additionally, Jovene’s patience and guidance helped us produce better quality work!
What were some of the projects you got to work on? What did you learn?
Gwen: We worked on cocoachnutty and got to try a little bit of illustration. However we did not have iPads, so we made do with software like canva.
Dayna: Additionally, we got a chance to ideate and create storyboards for cocoachnutty and we learnt about cocoachnutty’s role in our journey. It was easier with Jovene’s guidance through our projects.
On top of that, Gwen and Dayna had the opportunity to record parts of our upcoming children’s book which they found very interesting.
Gwen: We also made a suggestion stating that we should not record the whole book but rather a preview, so that people would be enticed to buy the book.
Dayna: We actually had to toggle with technology a little as we had no mics, we eventually downloaded some apps that could help us record the audio better.
The girls mentioned that they were nervous but practiced quite a fair bit. From this experience, they learnt to carry themselves better and gained more confidence.
It was very clear that these girls were strategic and very aware of the digital space. We were incredibly impressed and implemented their suggestions.
Though their time at Our Journey was short, they contributed to crucial parts of our brand. Cocoachnutty is our mascot and serves as a platform to encourage and connect with our clients. The children’s book is also another endeavour where we seek to help children better understand their emotions.
While we had some time with them, we decided to ask the girls about their examination preparation strategies and their general experience of being youths in Singapore.
How do you manage stress when it comes to exam preparation?
Gwen: I am grateful for my education in Singapore, but I do agree that it can get very competitive.
Dayna:We are usually pretty stressed about studies, as along with our peers, we are often fixated on grades. I used to compare myself with my peers.
Both girls noted the importance of being mindful to not do that anymore. A key thing they practiced was to better understanding self care and the importance of taking intentional breaks to prevent burn out
What are your thoughts on being a teen in Singapore?
Gwen: I think there are pros and cons, but I personally found that it has broadened my perspective. However, there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed, such as body image amongst younger girls.
Dayna: Social media is addictive and can be very toxic. It is important to be conscious and mindful and even limit time spent.
The girls mentioned that being a teen in Singapore is tough and social media can foster competition.
Our experience with interns has always been enlightening for us, but as Gwen and Dayna have been the youngest interns we had, we found that it was appropriate to shine a spotlight on these brilliant girls.
Young minds are impressionable and it is critical that we invest in our youth as they are the future. It is heartening to see such young minds be so ambitious and we are so glad that they got to experience Our Journey with us.
