On the Same Page

I can say with some certainly that part of my reason for being is to translate. Not in the traditional sense, from English to Spanish and back, for example. Rather reading and deciphering body language; staying attune to behavior and responding in such a way that I'm still good. I'm still in the clear, because I get it.

I'd say it's a talent, but I've always been a listener to things both loud and imperceptible. It bodes well for me in professional environments in particular. My boss today likened me to one of the Olympians on the U.S. Olympic team.

*waiting for laughing to subside* *seeing irony and laughing myself*

On every team, there's someone who rides the middle, grounds the rest and keeps everything in tune. I absorb dissonant sounds and sponge negativity so it ends at my feet, lying like a fallen branch. There's no room for that in my tree as it were. Turns out, other people know this, sense this, hire me for this. My boss called me an anchor today. Like the gymnast on the U.S. squad, whom the NBC announcer praised. I'm a necessary part of any ship that's otherwise powerful but needs to stop and take a rest and just sway for awhile.

I find it pretty cool that those who have known me for ten days get that about me. It was one of my dad's greatest gifts. The calm in the storm, staying the course, gently rocking. . . but safe and still. It's my hope that my influence in an otherwise tumultuous landscape of cubes can help steady the course a bit here in Chicago.

I'm supposed to be here. . . doing this.