Week 4: Here We Go Again

Hello again! This week has been more of the same; processing, foldering, labeling, changing systems, adding things, taking away things. I'm realizing that it does sound monotonous, but I promise I am really enjoying the work! I'm actually really worried that I'm not going to be able to finish in time, and that I will be joining in on the long list of people who have worked on this collection and never finished. But also, going through 20 bankers boxes in a short amount of time is a lot to do, especially since it's just me going through everything right now.

I'm also the owner of a brand new parking pass! It only took half of the experience, but I finally got one, so I no longer have to pay $10 every day that I'm there. It's wonderful. I know it's silly, but with this being an unpaid experience and needing to work every hour that I can at my other job, it's nice to not have to worry about this.

Also, with all the craziness going on in the political world, it's nice to have a project that keeps me grounded and in a routine. I never met Paul Bannai, but I can't help but to imagine what he would think of today's climate. He was a republican legislator (I learned a lot of Japanese-Americans became republicans after WWII after their internment due to the president being a democrat at the time), but what would he feel about the executive orders and racist actions being taken now? Would he still support the party when history is repeating itself except from a different side?

Next week is my halfway point, and I'm kind of nervous. Am I doing enough? Am I making a good enough impression? Am I doing the work correctly? It's hard to say. I know that if I ask for help and more guidance that I will get it, but it's also been nice to try to figure things out on my own. I feel like I'm doing okay, but I also know that there is more that I could be doing to get the most out of my experience. There's a lot of mixed emotions going on right now, but it will be okay.