Ah, summertime. The time for adventures, relaxation, binging on the newest season of "Orange Is The New Black" and working that summer grind. When you're a college student, the summer grind takes a bit of a different twist, and you start looking for internships that suit your major. Internships that teach you important skills that translate to back to school yet at the same time give you the real-world experience that the classroom does not.

This summer I am actually working two internships, neither of which really have anything to do with being a Psychology major. When I tell people about my internships, I usually get some "interesting" reactions, to say the least. I mostly get confused looks, followed by polite questions about what exactly it is that I do.

For five days a week, I work for my uncle at the local hospital. I help him research articles, organize the relevant articles, edit what has already been written, organize that material and help him discern which of that organized material gets to make the final cut. My second internship is part-time, meeting every Tuesday evening, for an online fashion boutique. There I help with social media marketing, I design banners that will be posted via Instagram, I run a Pinterest board, and I also have modeled some of the products.

Now, I could lecture about the important research skills I'm refining while working for my uncle, or how an internship in fashion has the potential to stand out on my resume, etc., etc... However, what I find equally important (and more often overlooked) is that these internships, although seemingly random, are teaching me skills that I can use outside of my major, and even outside of the classroom.

Also, I enjoy working these jobs. It's fun to take in knowledge that I otherwise would not be learning in school, like how to design and create a perfectly color-schemed set of accessories, or that increasing testosterone intake in men can help reduce symptoms of metabolic syndrome and help ease the side effects of androgen deprivation therapy in those with prostate cancer. Sure, how many times will I need to know this information in the real-world? Probably never. However, it's just fun to be exposed to this information that not many people would know unless they consulted professionals (a.k.a. the people who I am learning from).

The skills that I am learning, although seemingly random and unimportant, do have some importance to them. With both jobs, I am learning to take orders from a boss who knows what he/she wants and to work with that boss in order to accomplish a mutual goal. In life, especially as a psychology major, I expect to be presented with tasks in which I need to understand another person's perspective in order to successfully accomplish a goal.

At my fashion internship, I am learning to work in a field that I am not super comfortable in. When I first got my position, I told my friends that I was going to be like Andy in the "Devil Wears Prada"; a clueless little fish trying to navigate the waters of a shark tank.

Although everyone is much kinder than in the movie, it is still a bit unnerving to be working with chic accessories (which I know nothing about) every week. Being unnerved is good, though. Sometimes in life, there will be uncomfortable situations, and I have to be okay with being uncomfortable and progressively finding my own beat to march to.

I love the unique challenges that these internships bring to the table and the break from the normal college curriculum that they give me. They give me a chance to be in the "real world," and to get the feeling of what it's like working independently in an office all day, or having roundtable discussions and collaborating on ideas with others at the end of the day.

If I had to give another student advice on whether or not he or she should take an internship or job in a realm that they are not familiar with, I would say that he or she should go in with a very open mind, and not be afraid to ask questions. Not every lesson taught needs to translate exactly back to the textbooks, and that is perfectly okay. Just have fun with it... After all, it is summer vacation!