Have you ever pursued something out of your reach, and then later realized how delusional your goal was? Have you ever reached for a dream so high that it didn’t even feel real? Maybe later your own courage surprised you.
Well, that perfectly describes the last couple months of my life.
It started last summer when I decided to re-watch every single episode of “Glee.” The series had just come to a close, and I just wanted to revisit my favorite moments in the show. Later on in my binge, the characters all started living in New York City and chasing the most impossible dreams. They all succeeded, though. Shocker, I know.
For whatever reason, I thought I could too. I had these intense surges of inspiration where I just knew that I was destined to be in New York next summer. I clearly was suffering from delusions of grandeur but I was not mad about it. The show had reignited my thirst for success and adventure.
I told myself that I was going to apply to as many NYC-based internships as possible. And I did. I applied to at least 15 internships from event planning to public relations to editing. I knew that if I could just find something in that realm, I could begin my career. Not to mention, have the best summer of my life.
One day in mid-February I received an email from the Odyssey about an opportunity to intern in their New York office. At this point, I had been writing for the Odyssey for five months. I instantly loved the idea of continuing to work with the same brand that had given me an actual platform to write on. There was not too much information about the program but enough to make me extremely interested. So I submitted an application (the night before it was due, of course).
Two days later, I received an email from Jessica, a managing editor, saying that she wanted to interview me for the position. You have to understand that up until this point, there had been a steady flow of “no” being sent to my inbox. That was if I was lucky enough to get a response, though, because most places just let the silence do the talking.
So I had the interview and it went swimmingly. Jessica told me immediately on the phone that she wanted to bring me in for round two, which would be with the internship coordinators. I was so close to being in New York that I could practically feel the mobs of people crowding around me on the subway. I could taste the hotdogs that I would rush to get on my lunch break. I could hear the homeless man outside of Starbucks asking for change from tourists.
A week later I found myself on a video call with Carleigh and Alex, the coordinators. I was terrified of messing this up. I knew I had to impress these two, otherwise, I would have to start all over.
The call was short compared to how long I thought it would last. Then came the waiting. It was all I could think about and I felt myself panicking that I might not be a part of the 15 interns selected.
I moped around all weekend slowly losing optimism, even though I had not officially been told anything. Then something amazing happened. I exited a guest lecture event on campus to a voicemail from Carleigh. I immediately called her back and she just had one question for me. “What are you doing this summer?”
I responded shyly that I had no current plans. She then changed the course of my life essentially. She asked me to be an intern with the Odyssey for the summer. I’ll never forget what happened next. My body freaked out while my words tried to come out coherently. I was ecstatic, and it was all I could do to not start crying tears of joy in the middle of campus. I saved the waterworks for the confines of my car and parents, though.
So here we are today. In two weeks, I will be in one of the greatest cities in the world. You guessed it, New York. To top it off I will be working with the brand that will have given me my start, as well as a chance. Get ready, Odyssey, I’m coming for you.