From friends to boss

I have a boss at VinUni, who is also my good friend.

I gave her the nickname “Big Sis”, because she was one year older than me. We came from the same highschool, but since we were in different grades and classes…actually, I didn’t know anyone in my highschool except for my classmates, so even though we were under one roof for about 2 years, we still didn’t hear anything about each other.

The story might have ended like that, had both of us not applied for VinUni at the same time. I didn’t know why she was in the same cohort with me, but anyway, we went to the same school, again, even stayed next to each other in the dorm. However, we were still strangers, simply because me and her were too different. While she ran everywhere, appeared in every event of VinUni, and made friends with almost everyone in our cohort, I, like a lazy cat, only stayed in our dorm room with three no: no club, no project, no friend. Of course, I did hear about her, but it only stopped at “hearing”, I didn’t even think about talking with her, not to say being friends.

Until destiny once again made us apply to the same club.

It was a sports club, and had quite a few members, with us being the only (biologically) girls, so we had to practice together. Then, one day, I wore the orange T-shirt I bought from an event at our highschool to the club. Big Sis recognized it, and we had the first proper talk.

After that, we usually saw each other in the hall of the I building (more specifically, Fresh Garden). She stayed there almost all the time to take care of her projects and booths, and I had to go past there to get to C building (the lecture hall), or buy food from the cafeteria. Whenever she saw me, she would call me in to talk, then scold me because I only eat a cake for lunch and pull me to the canteen. We stuck with each other most of my free time at school, I even drove her to my hometown for food, which I don’t usually do with normal friends. And, before I realized, I had already looked for her when I came to the I building.

A fun fact about me: My EQ is super, super low. I lack both social skills and sensitivity for human feeling, so I never actively make friends with anyone. One of my friends used to compare me with a wild cat, always alert and ready to attack when someone tries to approach, so they need a very big effort to befriend me. However, somehow, there are still people who have enough patience to tame me, and Big Sis is one of them. She was not the first friend of mine in VinUni, but she is my closest not-blood-related older sister, and definitely the first person who could lure me to join her project, with her being the task distributor and me being the graphic designer.

I have heard people say that “don’t hire acquaintances,” because you would hesitate in telling them about their mistake. I think it’s not true, as Big Sis told me she only works with someone she has talked to before, but with a condition that she understands the person she hired, and never hesitates in “scolding” us. She will not forgive us if we don’t finish deadlines on time, and will force us into framework until we do what she requires correctly. I usually tease her that she exploits us too much, but to be honest, (almost) every task she gives us is reasonable, which means that we have to finish them before continuing to the next step. Therefore, we don’t argue with her if it’s not necessary, and also how we can work with the highest efficiency possible. “Manage tasks carefully” is one of the skills I learned from her, beside some others such as using Google tools to work, and deal with VinUni’s staff. If you want, I’ll share them with you in the post about work-study I may write in the orientation weeks.

In summary, you should have a boss-friend like my Big Sis. They will help you a lot, much more than a simple friend or boss, at least that’s what I experienced. Obviously, you also have to be reliable as a friend, and responsible for work, since those people are very strict in their relationships. If they want to cut you out of their life, don’t even think about calling their name again. So, be careful, you wouldn’t want to lose them.

Until now, Big Sis and I have been friends for 2 years, and accompanied each other for 2 years and 3 projects, a quite big number considering that we come from different colleges. She is my boss in 2 of them, the last one, our roles are reversed, but I’m not a good leader like her because I lack skill and experience, and my sense about humans is also bad (what do you expect in the best student of Murphy’s Law?). However, I still try my best to improve, to become a leader that is as good or even better than Big Sis. I don’t know if I can, let’s wait and see.

Do you have any relationship that is similar to me and Big Sis? Share with us in the comment, or if you don’t, you may consider joining a project with your friend, or luring them to be your team members. I promise, it would not be a bad experience.

See you in our next post.

Sincerely,

VinUnians