An opportunist steps back

I’m feeling a bit more chipper from earlier this week (for anyone who read my last post). I guess sometimes it is easier to let the negative thoughts creep in and cloud the positive, even when things are going great.

Here’s a raw, honest confession about intern #4: I’m an opportunist by nature. It’s just my personality to approach things attentively and aggressively. When I was in second grade, there was a shelf full of all the books that we had to read before the end of the year. We would read one or two as a class every week. I started reading ahead of the class during recess, and by Christmas, I was such an advanced reader they moved me to the third grade (true story). I graduated high school in a class of kids who were a year older than me.

Anyways, my point is, as a friend so bluntly and honestly brought to my attention recently, I sometimes tend to get ahead of myself, instead of living and learning in the present. Not that it’s entirely a bad thing, I mean, I am a rising college senior now, instead of a junior. And, my employers have always appreciated my take-charge approach.

But, now that I'm far from Lego-building and moved onto career building, I’m learning that it’s best to focus on where I am, and learn. I’m an unpaid intern at a fantastic up-and-coming independent magazine. It’s not a household name like Vogue, or Rolling Stone, but I love the magazine, and I’ve learned a ton.

I have one year before I complete my liberal arts degree in Media (with a double minor in English and Film Studies). As hard as I work, I may never step foot in the office of Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair, or The New Yorker. I may never beat out those NYU or Harvard Journalism grads for jobs, paid or unpaid, at such prestigious publications. I may not get offered a job at any magazine after I graduate. It’s possible that I could work in bars again next summer to support myself through several post-grad internships.

But, I love working in this industry. I know this is where I want to be, no matter how hard I have to work, or how long I have to wait to get there. (Oh, and confession #2: once my mind’s made up- and it is- there’s no changing it).

When I finally land my first full-time magazine job, wherever it might be, I’ll know that I’ve earned it. And I’ll have all the experience and confidence I need to help me move on from there.

--Ed's Intern #4