The Perks of Being an Eavesdropper

This post was written by first-year Girls Write Now mentee Marquisele, who attended Mentoring Program Orientation at Girls Write Now on September 28, 2013.

Here’s a riddle to start this off:
What’s something fun to do alone or with friends? All you need is an ear or two.
… Give up?
I’m talking about eavesdropping! And while most people frown upon such an “invasive” hobby, we’ve all done it once or twice. I happen to do it a lot when I’m in an unfamiliar place.
Although the day of the Girls Write Now orientation marked the second time I had been in suite 1800, I was still pretty nervous. Walking into a room filled with talented teenage girls and women is extremely intimidating, especially when you’re trying to make a good first impression. Eavesdropping on conversations between strangers is bizarre, but also kind of reassuring.
Here are the top five memorable things I heard while at the Mentoring Program Orientation!

• 10:00 AM: “Are we supposed to, like, start talking to people?”
  — A mentee sitting in the row behind me.
• 11:30 AM:
  “If I could go anywhere in the world… it would probably be to London.”
  “Why London?”
  “Why not London? …I actually have no idea why.”
  — An icebreaker conversation between a mentee and mentor.
• 12:15 PM: “If I could choose to be any animal… I’d probably be a komodo dragon.”
  — Natalia, a Girls Write Now mentee alum and volunteer.
• 12:45 PM: “I’m terrible at arts and crafts. How are we supposed to put this together? … I guess we’ll just figure it out as we go along.”
  — mentor Lynn.
• 1:30 PM: “I want to get up and throw this out, but that would mean standing up and walking in front of all these people.”
  — Christina, a hilarious mentee that was sitting next to me.

If these comments are any indication of my future experiences to come at Girls Write Now, I’m pretty sure it’s going to be an amazing year.