Like I've mentioned before, I grew up in Newark, New Jersey for the first and most crucial nine years of my life. I'm truly a city girl at heart, even though I feel perfectly fine (albeit bored, but content) in My Little Suburbia. Living in New Brunswick for the past year was definitely a "homey" feeling for me--I'd rather have skyscrapers, traffic, and streets lined with stores and offices on my walk to class.
One of my childhood dreams is to live in New York City, working as a journalist or as a Creative Writing instructor. I have some high hopes to get into an MFA Program for Poetry after I graduate, and hopefully I can move to NYC shortly after and make some of those dreams come true. It's SO expensive and so high-stress, but the liveliness and character the city has is exactly the kind of energy I thrive on. I haven't felt the same kind of animation anywhere else I've traveled.
NYC is my favorite city, hands down. I decided I'd try my luck at working in the City this summer and on a whim applied for an internship at Xanga.com, Inc. (Did you ever have a Xanga?) I've been a dedicated user since I was 13, and ever since they launched their professional blogging sites, I had these visions of one day being featured.
I typed up a cover letter, edited my resume, and applied while I was taking a break from packing for my England adventure. Less than 48 hours later, I got an email asking me when I'd be available for a phone interview.
The phone interview with Xanga was long, or maybe it just felt long because I was a tad nervous. I had never done a phone interview before and was hoping my enthusiasm was beaming through the phone line. One of the first things the interviewer said to me was that she's never been disappointed with a Rutgers intern. YAY RUTGERS! I had to do a few more things in addition to my application, and I was told I'd be notified within a week.
I left for England, and halfway through my program I got the email from Xanga welcoming me to the team! WEEEE! :D
I've been working there since June and I really couldn't have asked for a better experience, writing all the time and editing posts to be featured on the site. Everyone on the team is great and friendly, the office is a really laid-back environment, and I've had the opportunity to meet some people pretty high in the Xanga hierarchy. My team is getting together next week for dinner at a Greek restaurant close to the office in Manhattan. It's great to have the office right in the center of the city, close to Penn Station and Times Square.
Writing to a mass audience is such an interesting experience. It's easy to burn out from pulling ideas from your butt every day. There are trolls everywhere, trying to provoke you into arguments, but you kind of just roll with the criticism and try not take it too personally. What is life anyway, if you take it too-too seriously? I also have my share of really fervent readers who look forward to my next article (street creds to anyone who can find me!), and it's great to engage in this sort of community in the media.
I thought I'd only be down for writing if it was straight up creative prose and poetry, but this internship is really making me see that I would love to be involved with the media, with hot issues that change every year, month, or day. It's a way for my writing to reach a new audience, and while it's a lot of work, I love interacting with people from all over the world, especially when I write something I think is weird and realize I'm not the only one who feels a certain way.
Internships are there for the purpose of trying on a job—so don't skimp out when you get to college! You can get college credit for it, fulfill some requirements in your major, and make some really great connections.
When I'm not doing Xanga things, I've been back at home taking two science classes: Human Biology at my county college and Environmental Science online through Rutgers. Even as an English major, you need to take science classes so you get exposed to all facets of study before you make a major decision. I feel like I've been at Rutgers at least once a week giving tours of Douglass or helping out with orientation events because I love Rutgers so, so much and really want a lot of people to attend and realize how much it has to offer.
Speaking of—when you get on campus, it doesn't hurt to volunteer for small opportunities, like helping out with APA Day, which is when incoming students choose their classes. I think they can help you more than it helps the people you're volunteering for. Because I can't declare my major officially until the end of my sophomore year, I was listed as an "Undecided" major when I volunteered to help out with APA Day. The second time I worked it, I was assigned to the "SMLR" room. My first reaction was, "what the heck is SMLR?!"
My BlackBerry came to the rescue, and saw it was the School of Management and Labor Relations... a school I had NO idea about, but read up on as I was waiting for students to fill the rooms. The instructor in the room did a great job explaining what Human Resources Management and Labor Studies actually involved--organization, hiring screening, leadership skills, and good interpersonal communication to help business, corporations, and organizations run smoothly. So now I'm totally interested in doing HRM instead of Psych/Classics (alongside my English major--according to my friend Justine, what would I be sans anglais?!) and added Intro to HRM class to my Fall 2011 schedule.
FOUR WEEKS UNTIL I MOVE BACK INTO JAMESON <3
I'm so homesick for Douglass.
(And less than a week until my 19th birthday! A.k.a. Continuation of my late-teen crisis I wanna be a kid forever!)
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