When I walked into work on my first day, head held high, in an outfit from the new business wardrobe I had to have, I kept thinking to myself, 'Okay, this is it, I’m actually an adult now.' They sat me down at my “work space” (not the cubical experience I was hoping for, but somehow I’d live), and BAM it began. I kicked it off strong; have to impress the new boss. Spreadsheet after spreadsheet and soon enough I was 45 years old looking back, asking, “Where the time had gone?” PSYCH! It has only been eight minutes. EIGHT. MINUTES.
I always imagined that my first internship would include Miranda Priestly (our favorite devil in Prada), screaming at me to bring her lavish lunch of stake and greens, or asking if Gucci has returned any of her calls about the next issue of Runway magazine. Unfortunately, I, and most other human beings, don’t work on a movie set or for fictional characters. I hoped for an evil boss, or to be the errand girl, or to meet some office hottie to flirt back and forth with, you know, the super cliché internship experience. To my surprise (insert slight sarcasm), internships are actually NOT like the movies.
Waking up every morning got harder and harder due to the lack of motivation I had toward another day of endless paperwork and research I had waiting for me at the office. My friends were all studying abroad and it seemed like every one of their Instagram posts with a cone of gelato in front of a cathedral was a direct dagger to my heart.
My parents kept telling me that my first jobs would be the ones where I would learn what I don’t want to do with my life. That stuck with me. This isn’t something I plan on spending my life doing, but it is a stepping stone to where I plan on going. Everyone feels like they’re the exception; that they don’t have to start from the bottom. I’ve learned the hard way that I am very far from the exception. Many of us young 20-something kids are stuck in this bucket right now. It is easy to get caught up in the grueling eight hour work day we have ahead of us and forget about the lifelong career that it is going to benefit when we can finally mark this summer on our growing résumés.
For all those sitting in that office chair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., our high goals are high. One day when I am the Miranda Priestly of my office it will be because I worked for it. We weren’t all born into the Kardashian family, so this is where we start. Although most of us would love to just buy that plane ticket to Europe right now and join our backpacking friends, it isn’t in the cards for all of us. I’m thankful for what I can accomplish now so I can ensure my future is bright. And the best news of all is that when all the hard work is done, college football will be back before we know it.
