The week of Sept 16, I began my internship at People Chica; a magazine published by Meredith Corporation, which also publishes People and People en Español. I landed this amazing internship and it was no coincidence. I truly feel like I manifested something I wanted!
While I was still in high school, my good friend Carlos used to take a ton of photos of me. We are both fairly creative so getting in front of/behind the camera, coming up with shoot concepts and doing makeup/styling was always enjoyable for us. One of these times we did a Selena inspired shoot, which Brenda, my current supervisor, stumbled upon. She asked if she could use my photo for People Chica’s Instagram and after that, I began following her and People Chica. It’s safe to say I fell in love with the Instagram and everything she was doing! I thought it was so cool that a girl only a few years older than me and from around the same area was living her journalism dreams.
When she posted about needing an intern two years later, I sent my resume with extreme excitement…only to not be responded to for most of the summer. However, after almost a month and a half since emailing my resume, I had an interview!
Fast forward to two days after the interview I find myself on the phone crying happy tears. Brenda called to offer me the internship and although the tears flowed, I took a deep breath so I could mask my tone and continue the conversation. The last year had been really hard but it felt so good to find myself in the position to be wanted to be in! My parents also live overseas so whenever great news like this happens I feel overjoyed and it reminds me that missing them is worth it if I’m making my dreams come true!
Now that I’m a few weeks in, here’s my experience so far.
Commuting
Commuting every day from North Jersey to the World Trade Center isn’t too bad. It gives me time to read my book, drink my coffee and catch up on my emails. It’s also a beautiful freaking commute, I’d be ungrateful and a liar if I said it doesn’t put me in an amazing mood when I show up each morning.
Balance
One thing that I had to decide when I took my internship was what I wanted to do. I had to decide how I’d be spending my time this semester and where. Let’s be real, being a college student is stressful. Between classes, work and an internship it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Remember, you can only excel if you plan and don’t overwork yourself. Decide what you really want, what your end goal is. Pick up on everything that will take you closer to where you want to be and forget everything else, it’s a distraction. Remember to sleep so you can show up as your best self everywhere you go and do not forget to pack your lunch, you will get hungry and hunger does not help a working mind! Lastly, take at least one or two days a week where you sit and do as much homework as possible. This will help set you up for a successful semester.
I know that this article will seem super cheesy in a few years, but right now it’s okay to be a little over-excited and proud of myself. I can’t wait to read back and see all of the wonderful things that happen as I move from intern to employee whether it be here or at another company! Carrie Bradshaw, I just want to be like you!