My Summer Internship Experience!

As we all know, it’s fun at times, to have a summer internship. You get to keep yourself busy, meet new people, and experience a new atmosphere. This was the refreshing feeling I received when being a part of an internship during the summer, but there were teetering feelings as well. Those subtle moments that make you doubt yourself or your ability. I hope this article inspires someone, but just for assurance, this article is by no means a strategy to inspire, but rather to inform and prepare.

The Transition

I signed up and got accepted to my internship right before school ended. For me, this was a brilliant step. I suffer from being an overachiever, most often during times where it doesn’t matter and I also suffer from being a workaholic. For this simple fact I like to spend my time wisely, busy myself as best as possible. So when I got accepted for my internship, I was very delighted, especially since there were no extra college classes I could take during the summer.

One thing I noticed just from the transition alone is that, these internships, though merely internships, are busier and require you to be more focused. The work pace is faster and they treat the standards of your internship just as important as another job or career. You need to have all your skills in order, keep yourself sturdy while often times, making sure you can breathe. In fact, for the first couple of weeks, it can become so overwhelming that it creates this uneasy feeling deep inside your gut.

This is not something to worry about. I spoke and asked my older sister about her transition from graduating college to entering an immediate internship and she harbored the same feelings. The work pace is faster, you’re on the clock with each second, and the company you work for expect nothing but perfection.

Others Perception

This was a troubling obstacle that came with receiving an internship. There were some of my peers that cheered me on and others who questioned my position in the internship at all. Though I had those who would cheer me on, the ones who didn’t would sit in the back of my mind. Swirling around like an afterthought. Even the strongest of us never consider ourselves to be gullible to some degree, persuaded by others wordss when in reality, we all are. It’s a trait that every person holds, no matter how tough you believe yourself to be.

So when I started the internship and there were those who doubted me or insulted it in any way, it hurt. At times, I even began second guessing myself as an attempt to think straight. I received comments like, “it’s not a real job,” “you’re basically volunteering,” or “it’ll never be accepted as a real internship, even on your resume.” Some moments I would sit and think to myself, “are they right?” Therefore, in this moment of the article I wish to stop for a minute and tell peers of others to really consider the criticism and words they speak to someone trying to work hard and build up their skills and experience for their dream career. They may be doing something small and sad to you but to them, it’s a big step to get closer to their achievement.

The Reality

A particular internship dealt with receiving orders from clients who needed writers and bloggers. The only problem, it was first come first serve. Unfortunately, most times a lot of these clients would have things I had no idea to write about, yet, my internship gave me a really good rating on my writing skill. The worst part is, when I built up enough confidence to actually apply, I would be rejected by the client.

So what am I saying?

In reality, no matter how good you think you are or others believe you to be, you are still going to have to battle through numerous rejections. Trust me, those will hurt. It will not feel like a sting, it will feel like a stab, but as time proceeds and you go through more, the stab will start to feel like a sting, then a small pinch, then nothing.

The Experience

It was…great! Such an odd thing to write after hearing the troubles and doubts. That’s part of the reason it makes the whole ordeal so worthwhile. Receiving the chance to know what the workforce is really like, building up your dexterity, being taught by those who reject and accept you, it’s something to smile about. There’s a small quote that I whistle through my mind every once in a while and I can’t tell you if I picked it up from somewhere or someone, but it helps anyway. Through struggle there’s strength because you have to have strength to endure a struggle and you have to have a struggle to really build up your strength.