It is strange to hear that someone talks about you as a veteran when you are not in your thirties yet; but the truth is that in a dynamic and challenging team like ours, in the webcomm, it is not that difficult. It is not even three years since I work here and I can already say things like “in the beginning we used to work like this” or “do you remember the times of that colleague that left to Africa?”.

I must confess that I am a bit confused today. It was my birthday not long ago and the messages I got from my friends were quite contradictory: some of them saying that I am so young, others that I have already left my youth behind. If I try to think of it from a professional perspective it is difficult to decide who is right.

“To became children in the adult’s world”

When I arrived to the Web Communication service of the European Parliament I was one of the youngest members of the team, I could even say one of the youngest of the directorate general. But time is very intense and productive here: I have already seen many colleagues –friends- leave, new working methods be developed, new babies being born (real and technological ones, like this blog). I have been working here since year “1 b.S.”, that is, before Steve, our head of unit. I am a prehistoric member of the team, one could say. Only in three years!

And the same applies to the whole team; now it is not the beginning anymore, the proof of fire is approaching and elections are just around the corner. We are still young, but we are also veterans in what we are doing. Constantly evolving, constantly thinking of new products and ideas: videos, blogs, going into the 2.0… We have written so many stories that sometimes it gets difficult to remember them!

This is making me remember the famous Blade runner quote: “I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams … glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those … moments will be lost … in time, like tears … in rain. Time … to die.”

I am much more positive. I have seen things you people wouldn’t believe. A video spread like wildfire off Brussels´ corners. I have watched a tapas become mousakka… grow under the clouds near the Luxembourg square. All those… were just small moments that will guide us to the European Elections… in rain. Time… to go on working!!!

Oh, no!! I am doing it! I am talking like a veteran! Let me do it a bit longer and take this nostalgic opportunuty to remember Christine, Gaëlle, Marie, Andrea, Anna, Karim…

Forgive me for this weird post… I suppose I am still getting used to my new age.

Photo: (CC)  andrewjstevens on Flickr.