I’m reading the post project report for a project I completed in March. It’s amazing how neutral, how neutered everything sounds. All the emotions, gunfire, crossfire, blood, injuries, etc were erased with those black inky words on white paper.
Those sleepless nights, numerous text messages, words that I can’t retract, bridges built, bridges burnt, documents edited, expectations met, disappointment, etc. How could a post event report fully capture the project as it was, like how it really was?
Even with me writing it out like that fails to capture the experience of it for me. In that way, everything that happened has been diluted to a palatable sample for the person who comes after me (if there will be such a person). Nobody will warn the person of the potential bloodshed, the emotional anguish and turmoil, the sleepless nights, the bridges burnt, the feeling of putting in your best and not being appreciated, of people raising your expectations and disappointing you, of how tiring it can get halfway through the journey. What the person will read is an extremely neutral post project report and perhaps, a few others will tell the person that it is a journey worth taking.
Yes, it is a journey worth taking because of what happens along the journey. But the journey is only worth it if you set off with the aim to learn, and not to simply react to the things that happen and give up and blame life. To the person who comes after me to take up the role of project director for this event, friends are your most important pillar of support. They will help you get through everything and anything you thought you could not survive.
And always remember this: you are a strong individual. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. You will definitely emerge from this experience a changed person. Only you can decide whether this change is for the better or not.