My graduation ceremony was several months ago and it got me thinking. As I enter the real world and sending my resume to the job market, I am starting to look back on all the previous internships I had throughout college. All of them have helped me develop the skills that I would need in order to succeed in the professional world and I would not be able to develop those skills if it were not for being able to do hands-on work with them and I could not be any more grateful for everything I learned from each and every internship.

When I was still in college, I had a fear that I would not be able to be accepted into an internship that will help me gain the experience I would need to become a professional individual in the workforce. I always thought that I was not good enough for any of the jobs or internships that I would apply for and would often be discouraged whenever I send my resume somewhere and I get rejected. I did not think that I was good enough and would almost be quick to give up whenever I do get rejected by an internship opportunity.

When I did get my first official internship, I felt like I had the world on my shoulders. I was able to conquer any challenge that was thrown at me and anything coming my way. I felt like I could do anything and that anything that I learned will come to me more naturally when I put those skills to use. Never in my entire life would I have thought I would be able to increase and build on those skills if I never got those internships in the first place. I was able to learn so much more from these internships than any college class I took throughout.

There have been days where I thought of quitting because I was not feeling like I was able to handle the enormous responsibilities I had to do. There have been times where I would have to come in with no sleep whatsoever and have to make twice the effort to motivate myself to do the work. However, in each internship I had, I learned a lot about the necessary skills I would need in order to succeed in the professional world. In some internships, I learned a little bit more than in others, but each of them was a fulfilling experience that I would never trade for the world.

I would not have grown into the adult that I have become if I never had the experience I had during all of my internships. I learned many different things from each and every internship that I would not be able to name them all in one article. The things I learned, no matter how mundane some of them may seem, will be with me no matter where I will be in life. When I become successful in my life, I will always remember where I started.