It’s the End of the Real World As I Know It

I never thought 10 weeks could pass so quickly. After just a little over two months, my internship at the magazine is over. It hasn’t really hit me yet that I won’t be waking up nice and early(ish) Monday morning and heading to the office. I am looking forward to taking some time to relax before school starts up again, but it will be hard going back to being a normal college student instead of living the life of a confident, sophisticated magazine editor.

My last week at the magazine was very uneventful — sadly, there were no events for me to go to, as well as not much work to be done. The intern that left earlier in the summer came back, so we split the tasks we were assigned and made use of our downtime. I mentioned last week that I was given three articles to write, and I was hoping to have most of them finished or in-progress before I left. I was only able to get one done, which is still a good start. I’m getting a very well rounded magazine experience — now I’ll know what it’s like to do freelancing from home!

The week flew by, and suddenly it was my last day. The editor that hired me and that I’ve worked closely with was out sick, but most of the other staff members were there. I brought in cupcakes as a thank you gift that was very well received! Two of the editors gave me gifts in return — a bag of goodies with an exceptionally nice note thanking me for my work and a gift card. I was touched and surprised that these editors went to such lengths for an intern. I went to lunch with another editor and was able to share more of my personal life. I feel like I’ve grown close with so many editors and will miss seeing them during the week. As I sad my final goodbyes, a few people suggested that I drop out of college and come work at the magazine. It’s a tempting offer, but I think I’ll be staying in school for now.

Compared to internships that my friends or other people in the magazine industry have had, I think mine was pretty spectacular. I was given important and interesting tasks and was treated as a member of the staff. I was able to get out of the office and travel all around the city for events and was assigned multiple clips! I know I complained earlier about having nothing and then too much to do, but I think I had the best experience I could have hoped for. I learned that I like to be busy and how to best manage my time so I can get everything done. Most importantly, I learned that the magazine world isn’t as scary and intimidating as I feared it would be.

I’m sure I could intern at the magazine next summer, but I think I want to get a different experience. I’m going to look for a publishing-related web internship, and hopefully I’ll be able to lock something up early- I’d like as little stress as possible! I wish I could give the name of my wonderful magazine so you all could apply to intern there next summer!

How was the last day at your internship? Would you recommend working at the company you interned with?

Finally yours,
Lifestyle Intern