Before I Am Anything Else

          Author Edward Gorey is quoted to have asserted, “I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.” Gorey is touching on the blurred lines that people experience when trying to determine their identity. No matter how young or old a person is, they will experience different phases in their life in which the age-old question of “who I am” comes front and center. 
          As of now, I identify myself as Stagiare-Press 8, abbreviated as Stg-Press8 for emails and the computer login. This was the generated name that was bestowed upon me by the EPP Group press. As Stg-Press 8, I honestly had no clear ideas of what my role required. My supervisor was David Stellini. His official title was the Press Advisor to the Maltese Press, but his position actually encompasses far more. 
          Mr. Stellini, my designated title for my supervisor, works on the press for two different committees within the European Parliament. These are Foreign Affairs and Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs. His work included writing press releases and short articles on new developments in the committees. He was also in charge of the EPP member state newsletter, which was released every Friday. This newsletter consisted of what the top news for the particular member state was as well as plenary news, EPP related news, and news pertaining to their elections.  
           On top of these duties, Mr. Stellini also served as a sort of liaison between Malta and the European Parliament. Part of his job was to make the MEPs from Malta, Roberta Metsola and David Casa, more accessible to their constituents back on the island. He works to craft an image for the MEPs that shows the people in Malta that their representatives in Brussels are dedicated to representing their voice in Parliament. 
           Currently, I knew that my job would involve editing the member state newsletter with the help of Mr. Stellini’s other stagiare, Pauline, and conducting research for interviews. Pauline is a year older myself and graduated from the University ofMalta with a degree in European Studies. She had come to work in Brussels due to one of her former professors being the sister Mr. Stellini. When it came to a division of labor, I was not positively sure of how it would all take place. Mr. Stellini never really made much clear. He possesses more of a “tell you when it comes up” type of personality.
            By day three, Mr. Stellini assigned me my first real task. Without the assistance of Pauline, I was in charge of doing research on the Erasmus Program. This was set to be the topic of the weekly interview and it was to be held with MEP Roberta Metsola. I examined the questions nervously wanting to make nothing less than a good first impression on my first solo task.
             I decided to start with my office as a source of inspiration. “Did any of you participate in the Erasmus Program?” To give more information on who the any is, in my office there are three interns: Pauline, myself, and Dreikus. Dreikus is a fellow Dutch press intern from the EPP who works for the Netherland’s Press. Pauline and Dreikus looked up from their computers and replied with no. Both had studied within their respective countries.
              The Erasmus Program was enacted by the European Commission to allow the free movement of students within the member states. Essentially, it is a state-run study abroad program. It gives students the financial tools to be from Greece, but study in Germany. Due to the educational framework found with the European Union, degrees achieved in one country are recognized in another. The European Commission’s basis for this program was to further the advance the mission of the European Identity.

               Political Scientist Stefan Wolff calls today’s European youth the ‘Erasmus Generation.’ He states that, “Erasmus is creating a generation of students who will run Europe with a cultured, globalized mindset. This is a major driving force in creating the Pan-European Identity.” This ultimately harks on why it is so widely supported by the European Commission. It is supporting an initiative that will equip its future leaders to run the European Union Institutions in a European Capacity- one shared goal- instead of 28 (if not more at this point) separate entities trying to find common ground. The common ground would already be established.

             Of course with every seemingly positive program there are always contradicting remarks. Those against the Erasmus program counter that the program is catering to students who would already choose to study abroad. These studies are already more apt to adapting to a ‘European’ frame of mind. Critics suggest it should do more to target those who plan to stay in their own countries, because these students are the ones who are not integrated. It then made me think of the dynamic within my own my office. For the most part, the floor of interns all got along. It was almost like Erasmus part two, but with the addition of a random American student. Pauline and Dreikus did not communicate. Pauline was tied to her ‘Southern’ way of life and often talked of Malta, while Dreikus did the same with being from the North. Would these two have connected more if they had participated in Erasmus? 

               It all goes back to the quote from Gorey. His identity consists of multiple facets, but at the end of the day he was a person. That was the most basic yet essential part of his being. That was what the European Union was seeking to do with its members. It sought to create emphasize the simplest yet strongest identity they all shared- their European Identity.