The big move

My car was too full.

I had just packed up my petite '99 Camry to its complete capacity, though I still had plenty left I wanted to bring. So I had no choice but to unpack and repack, leaving behind half of my things. It truly was Sophie's choice: do I bring the mattress cover or the French Connection dress? Should I bring that fifth pair of black pumps or the dust buster? Do I sacrifice the TV or the iron and ironing board?

After making these painful and dramatic decisions and ultimately leaving behind plenty of my belongings solely so that my wardrobe would not suffer, I was ready to complete the six-hour drive from my beachside college-town to big city Atlanta.

I was moving to Atlanta for my first ever magazine internship. Though the ambitious part of me was stoked to get such an amazing internship, the (former) party-girl part of me was slightly devastated. I had spent the past two summers essentially partying at the beach without a care in the world, and now here I was, sacrificing another summer of fun in the sun to move to a city where I literally didn't know a soul. However, I had decided to (wo)man up and spend a summer focusing on my future career. I'm (technically) an adult, so it was time I grew up.

Thus began my journey from fun-loving 21-year-old college student to mature, big-time-magazine intern. I've been here for three weeks so far and, surprisingly, completely love it. Though it kills me when my friends back home call to tell me all about a crazy party they went to that night or how much fun it was at the beach that day, I'm beyond glad to be here. This internship is amazing and well-worth the lack of social life. I've already had clips go to press for the July issue and have also written one of the lead features for the August issue! Of course, I do have the annoying typical intern duties like moving boxes and mailing things, but I also get to write a bunch, so I really can't complain. From the way things are going so far, I can tell it's going to be my best summer yet, even without all that fun in the sun.

—Intern #3