Three Interviews....and another on the way!

So I got the interviews. This week I finished three and I have another this Thursday! I learned a lot from the interviews, some things I wanted to learn and other things I did not expect. I realized that my goal is not what I exactly wanted, which is frustrating yet good. I had the goal of starting a nonprofit about fair trade, but realized that I want to be both a professor and an activist.

(All of my interview participants have fake names or are anonymous to protect their identity).

Interview # 1: Nancy from Project Fair.
I have interviewed Nancy via email because she is in another country doing what I would love to do, international fair trade. I actually got her name through a friend of a friend at a dinner party! He was talking about his work and I brought up my dreams and he actually knew someone who did just what I wanted to! So after a few emails we have connected about what she needs and how I would like to get involved. Although I wish we could have spoken in person, it is still amazing to speak to someone who is doing something so similar to something I would like to become involved in. Her business sells crafts that are made from women in impoverished communities and then the profits go directly to the women who made the goods. It is interesting that I wanted to interview her and she needed help to sell the crafts ended up in each one of us helping each other. We are setting up a volunteer opportunity for me, which is great because one of my problems is lack of experience. She is such a resource of knowledge and I feel very privileged to have gotten a hold of her. She is my first step, where I am trying to set up an internship/volunteer opportunity to gain experience and network in this realm. I am really excited to see where this contact can bring me, already just emailing back and forth has really motivated and inspired me.

Interview # 2: Anonymous professor at UIC.
This was by far the most stimulating conversation I have had in such a long time. At first I did not think that this person has much to do with what I wanted to do, but then that changed very quickly. To even have time with this person made me feel important and special. This professor is both an activist and an academic, which at first I did not know existed. The more I learned from this professor the more I realized that this is what I wanted to be! She spent time just talking about her experience and I was clinging to every word. During and after the interview I knew that this is what I wanted to do because I was so charged with energy that I could barely sleep and woke up early bursting with energy. Although it startled me a little to know that my goal had changed, it also felt like this new goal was right. We spoke of my goals, experience and expectations in life, which made me feel important. The best thing that came out of this interview was the opportunity to work with this professor on research that has both an activist and an academic approach. I left with an opportunity to extend this relationship with a professor as well as the opportunity to being this goal that before the conversation I did not know existed!

Interview # 3: Joe from Mission Art.
My last interview was done with a person who started a nonprofit and had much wisdom on the topic. After interviewing this individual I realized that I did need to change my goal as I had thought I needed to. I realized that I wanted to be a part of nonprofits, social movements, social change, etc. yet the way in which I carried out that participation was different than I had expected. I asked this person about the qualities that an individual needs to start a nonprofit and realized with his experience that I was not the right fit and this goal was not mine. Although I was thinking about changing my goal, this interview was the final straw that made me realize that the goal I had chosen was not really what I wanted. This does suck because I have put a lot of work into this goal already, but as Palmer would say we learn as much from what we are not good at than we learn from what we are good at. This person did set my up with at least 6 more people to interview and possibly job openings to help me in finding what I really wanted to do. It is amazing the amount of wisdom someone else will freely poor into another, as well as the contacts and help.

My planning wall:
This is now more difficult because I just changed my goal, target, role models, etc. so I will post this when it is finished. I have to make up quite a lot of missed time because I have completely changed my main goal along with my plans. The last interview mentioned (interview # 3) happened tonight and was the final influence that made me change my goal. I am glad I switched my goal because I think it is more along the lines of my touchstone, personality and gifts. This brings me back to brain storming and creating a new flow chart...success team get ready!