An Experience of a Lifetime

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With my internship at its culmination, I have come to realize that I have progressed through each of the five stages of an internship. From the beginning I felt a sense of anticipation given that I want to pursue a career in law, but my internship focused primarily on marketing. The nerves kicked in upon arriving in London. I was so anxious about getting lost on the first day that I left an hour and a half before I had to be there. The anxiety continued as I read the company ‘Bible,’ which specifically detailed office protocol, social accounts, and the stages of the company’s work. During the first week I felt like a fish out of water with all the new information. My anxiety got to the point of twitching hands while making tea. All I could think was ‘what if I mess up?’

The second stage, disillusionment, was one I jumped in and out of quickly. At first I was disappointed that I had to sit in an office all day, write tweets, and fetch tea for my co-workers. I felt that I could have been doing more important things with my time in London. To jump out of the stupor I offered ideas for our social networking sites and began to familiarize myself with the film industry. This helped me confront my disillusionment and gain independence. Within a week of offering my advice I was asked to write a press release and start blogging for the company!

I continued to blog and write for the company over the course of my internship, but it was not until about the sixth week when I felt like a vital part of the company. Every other day I was researching, blogging, and working with other departments. On one particular occasion my boss commented on how great my writing was for the blog. As my morale increased I felt more comfortable making jokes with my co-workers and asking for more challenging work. With time, I was asked to create reels (a compilation of work) for clients, make spreadsheets, and work on unique projects involving no one other than Usain Bolt. Although it took me some time to get to this stage, I felt much more useful and important. I was comfortable sending funny emails around the office and being a part of inside jokes with co-workers.

With the culmination of my internship approaching, I feel accomplished, but also sad with the end of this experience. The final day of my internship brought tears as I said good-bye to co-workers. They prided me on my ability to adapt to the office so quickly. One said, “If you can survive eight weeks here, you can do anything.” His words of wisdom have inspired me to pursue more of my dreams and work towards a career in law. Despite this newfound career path, I have learned more than I can possibly imagine at Irresistible Films.

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