Let’s be honest – getting involved can be messy at times. I’ve been an over-the-top volunteer, a background worker and all the in-between options as well – and of course some have been more successful than others. In hindsight, the insight and value that getting involved has added to my life has far outweighed the ‘service’ I provided.
With PEG this has been greater still. In fact, it sometimes feels as if I should be paying for the privilege of being involved in the organisation! (Not true – just making a point.)
My early relationship with PEG was as a periphery person – and according to Google that’s a real thing. Some of my freelance work had been editing and proofreading, but the bulk was writing, so my involvement with PEG was the occasional question or response on PEGforum. It wasn’t long before I developed a growing respect and admiration for the organisation and for most of the PEG people. More importantly, I found it all interesting.
Still, I hung out in the back rows, as had indeed been my wont in so many classes all the way through high school. You can mutter from back there, eyeroll at will and even lob the occasional smarty-pants comment. It is a comfort zone.
When writing work dried up in the pandemic, it was time to be more grown-up about editing and proofreading. I had to become a lot more attentive to the organisation that was both encouraging and constructive, even while I felt I didn’t quite belong because I had none of the seemingly requisite degrees and experience.
So – yes, my point does seem to be running away from me but hang tight, it’s close – the whole ‘getting involved’ thing started fairly slowly. I became more committed to PEG and open to ‘doing stuff’ with and for PEGgers and the Guild. As my level of involvement in the organisation expanded, the value I was gaining kept on growing – and that’s showing no signs of diminishing at all.
The learning is big, even for periphery PEG people, but it’s so much bigger when you’re involved in activities and tasks and shared information – the aha moments keep on happening!
The learning is big, even for periphery PEG people, but it’s so much bigger when you’re involved in activities and tasks and shared information – the aha moments keep on happening! Then there’s the community in the supportive sense of the word. Yes, there’s conflict at times and often strong opinions (inevitable in a group of intellectual thinkers) that cause disruptions, but then again there’s no such thing as a conflict-free family or community, is there?
Talking more broadly, getting involved is more often than not the better option. It opens doors, expands experience, brings new and often like-minded people into your world; it’s personally and professionally rewarding and it contributes to your community. But – and it’s quite a big but – manage your time carefully, be comfortable about saying no when you have to, address issues and resolve conflicts quickly. Most importantly, enjoy the experience. You may sometimes need to work at enjoying the experience but it’s always better than not getting involved.
531 words
