IMC: I Miss Comm!

Last Friday was a blast. I had dinner with my SDL friends at Greenbelt. It was so nice seeing old faces once again. Although it has only been months since we've last seen each other, it felt like I haven't seen them for years. Perhaps everything just seemed so sudden that after getting too used with the faces you see everyday, in a snap of a finger, chances of seeing the whole block together again are rare.

That's why we thought of having a reunion. Only 7 of us were there- Arthur, Ris, Midge, Angela, Nina, Nadine, and I-- nothing felt like being in the company of your SDL buddies. :)

(That's Midge, Artz, yours truly, Nina, Ris, Angela, & Nades)

.. Nadine was right. Everybody basically talked about their current jobs. Arthur, Ris, and Midge, having gotten into 5th year, are currently residents at Unilever, Loewe, and ARC, respectively. Nina's with Club Media, while Nadine is still searching for THAT job. Angela also happened to bring along her oh-so-cute baby boy, Yuan (or Johann), who looked a lot like his dad. She's continuing her studies in UA&P, but not with SDL. She could've had more fun with us! hee hee.

I found out how much fun they're having with their jobs, and how much IMC is applicable in the field that they're into (duh, it's advertising! hehe). It thrilled me to see how enthusiastic they were everytime they'd tell their office stories. I, on the other hand, had a different story.

Being in another field, I kinda felt out-of-place not being able to share anything IMC-related. I admit that sometimes, it feels a bit depressing that I'm not able to apply anything I've learned in the job I have now. It makes me miss all those market research and concept development we're used to back in college. Now, I have to deal with capitals, currencies, accounting, and Microsoft Excel when all I knew back then was limited to psychographics, share of voice, sweet spot, and Microsoft Powerpoint.

Having this kind of dillemma sometimes makes me wonder how work would be like if I got in an IMC-related job. Could've I been happier applying everything I've learned and limiting myself to these alone? Would sticking to what I know make me happy? Or will I regret not learning more about other fields instead?

Don't get me wrong. I love my job. I enjoy learning a lot about export and tuna. It made me realize how much knowledge is available out there for me to learn. Heck, if not for my current work, I wouldn't even bother knowing what the oceans of the world are! ... which, by the way, are the ff: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern (I all along thought it was Antartic, now they call it Southern!)

I guess getting into this job gives me an opportunity to widen my horizons. Looking at it strategically (long-term!hehe), learning about the world market actually gives me a glimpse of how every market is different (and similar!) from one another. It's not enough for me to stay inside my shell and depend on what I know. Getting into export allows me to expand my knowledge not only within my own bubble, but bursting this bubble and going beyond it. :) As my mom would always remind me, "It doesn't mean that if you're an Advertising graduate, you stick to that field. Explore. Try to learn more. Who knows, you'll end up doing something totally different but still loving it."

Now I feel better. :)