Last week we welcomed our new summer intern, Deanna, to the project. Amongst other things, Deanna will be involved in talking to lots of children and young people to find out what they think of our ever-growing collection of stories and phygital objects. Here in her first blog, she reflects on her first day with the project…

Like a cannon on the battlefield, information was being fired at me at lightning speed and instead of catching it, I simply sat there and let it hit me square in the face. I got no bruises, no black-eyes, just an hour or so of thinking: ‘Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!’

But as I sat there opposite a warm, smiling Candice, I started to think that perhaps I was just letting my first day overwhelm me. So I sat at the computer and began to look through the various stories of strength and courage and hope, thinking that perhaps I was worrying just a little too much over something that does not matter at all.

Everyone has a first day at something at some point; everyone has felt lost and as though they have no clue what they are doing or what they have gotten themselves into. But as the week passed, I began realising that what I had gotten into was a brilliant and inspiring project. I’ve had a lot of tasks to do this week and, no doubt, the work load will get heavier as the weeks pass by. But nothing is worth-while if it can be done easily; all good things require time and energy or they wouldn’t be as rewarding as they are.

I have not met the young researchers yet. However, there is a meeting coming up soon and I am looking forward to getting to know who the foundations of the project are set upon. Their research is fascinating and beautiful, and the stories that were inspired by the research are nothing short of amazing. After a week of working on the project, I have grown to understand that it was not cannons firing at me on my first day, but fireworks; beautiful, sparkling fireworks that cascaded upon the sky in streams of blue and red and yellow.