Rife Magazine Meets George Ferguson
We caught up with George Ferguson to talk about young people, the youth services and Twitter.
Preparing For The After-Rife
This is it. I’ve come to the end of my time here at Rife. It probably won’t hit me until my next job when I’m in dire need of snacks and won’t be able to find any, but that doesn’t make leaving any easier.
When I got this job I knew it was perfect for me, but as I entered the doors on day one, I was terrified. As we sat writing letters ourselves in 6 months in the future, I tried to imagine what was ahead. Would I achieve what I wanted? Would I be less scared? Would I even make it to the end?
I opened my letter a few days ago. It essentially said, ‘You’ll be fine.’ After scolding myself for my lack of profound wisdom, I’ve been thinking about it.
I was fine when 3 days in I had to film a video with two strangers who now feel like family. Antonia is a sister who freaks me out on a regular basis because she knows what I’m about to say before I say it. I’ll never know how she can be so knowledgeable (read: woke), passionate and all-around excellent whilst juggling Rife, gal-dem and everything else that’s thrown at her. Cai is affectionately known as the overachiever, as the youngest family member always is. The guy is only 20 and he’s whip-smart, can hold the attention of a room with no effort and his side-hustle is so successful that it regularly threatens to overtake his main hustle. Watch out for these two.
I was fine when I moved away from making easy content and started talking about things that actually mattered to me. They say life at Rife is a journey and it certainly is. There may have been some tough moments, but it’s all made me a better writer and hopefully a better person.
Credit: Cai Burton
I was beyond fine when the networking event we organised brought over 100 young creatives to Watershed. Despite the chaos of hosting and working a cosy and slightly sweaty room, our team effort paid off. The Link will forever be a career highlight.
There were a few times I didn’t feel fine initially. The day we interviewed Georgia, a redundant microphone, a second camera that recorded no footage, people walking in and out of the room and having approximately five minutes to film had me feeling pretty terrible, actually. But it ended up being the most fun I’ve had in an interview ever, and turned out great. So it was fine really.
And ultimately, I’ll learn to be fine after I leave the office for the last time. Nikesh, Vanessa, Hannah, Roseanna, Holly and the wider Watershed team have made sure of it. They’re a family I never knew I needed, but am incredibly grateful for. Whether I was in need of advice, practical help or even just to vent my feelings about the latest Drake song, they have been there at every step.
Once again, I’m internally scolding myself because I can’t think of anything profound to say, so I’ll just say this: thank you.
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About the author
Grace Shutti
Grace is a 21-year-old writer, (sometimes) music manager by way of London. Since starting a music blog aged 16, she has found herself working in the music industry with and for the artists she used to write about. Her interests include long-form Buzzfeed articles, black girls doing excellent things and looking at trainers on the Internet.
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