An Inside Look at Internships

Once again, I apologize for the delay between posts. The blog often beckons when I have a spare minute to think, but sleep usually wins out when my creative juices refuse to produce anything worth typing.

Since I have officially had two days off from work, I now have ample brain power to put something together. Finally.



One of my Ohio-ian (Ohioan? Ohionite?) friends recently told me that he pictures my life looking somewhat like the Devil Wears Prada. I had to gently let him down. My internship days are not glamorous. The only thing that Anne Hathaway and I have in common is the frantic pace, the odd requests, and the emotional turmoil of wanting to fit in but at the same time not wanting to at all. Interning is one very twisted plot.

I am working in PR. Public Relations. Although I rarely see the public. I sit in a very tiny room with five other people with no windows and a very poor ventilation system. The work is tedious and stressful, hectic and monotonous all at the same time.

I have gone on coffee runs (oh yes), picked up birthday cakes, delivered pastries to radio stations, and mailed packages to Phil Mickelson. I relish the random errands because they allow me to actually leave (gasp!) the office. Drive away in my own car, music blaring at 11am in the morning. Of course, I dutifully return in under an hour and then proceed to spend the next hour trying to figure out how to file an expense report.

After seventeen weeks at Big Company Downtown (no, I'm not counting!), I have learned the ropes of corporate America. Sort of. I stumbled through at first, getting reprimanded for "disappearing in the copy room," "unnecessary out of office messages," and "an unstocked refrigerator." Sure, I had a reason for all of this mishaps, usually they included some highly important project that had to be done in the next 30 seconds, thus taking me away from other "duties," but I never voiced them. That, of course, would be a very non-intern thing to do. Meet deadline, keep mouth shut. End of story.

It hasn't been all bad; most of you know I freely use a little elaboration in my creative license! And I have learned so much. My friendships with the other interns have been so fun and eye-opening. I see so many resemblances between my Italian friends and these recent graduates. Our little intern room has started to feel like home. I look forward to the boring minutes when we can just talk, and I get just as annoyed with them as with my actual family. The girl that chews ice everyday around 10am sits just to my left. The girl that answers the phone like she trapped in a tunnel far away is on my right.

I have had to let go of my pride so many times at Big Company Downtown. I have learned that it takes a lot of time to truly get to know someone in the "real world." I have become a master at crafting professional sounding emails. I have struggled as Big Company Downtown has handled situations differently than I would have done. All in all, I know that it has been a blessing to be an intern. That is why, in some crazy God-only-works-this-way twist, I will be staying at BCD for a while longer. They asked me to stay on as a spring intern. Not my first choice, but since I have very little clue as to what the next step is and the fact that I need a paycheck--I am grateful.

So no, my life is not glamorous. Thanks for picturing it that way, Matt. But I do have a strong suspicion that the "devil" does perhaps wear Prada. And probably Chanel, Coach, Louis Vuitton, etc. After all, Neiman's is just around the corner...