Your first internship is kind of like losing your virginity; you listen to your friends’ stories to try to prepare yourself as much as possible, but you never really know what’s going to happen until, well, it awkwardly happens to you. 

I just finished studying print and broadcast journalism at Humber College, and one of my requirements for graduation was an internship. So, I sent Jen (the EIC of SDTC) an email inquiring about interning for her. After emailing back and forth, we decided we were a good fit for each other. We met for coffee a week before I started and discussed our expectations, and then I was ready to begin.

The night before my first day I couldn’t sleep. It was mostly excitement, but a little bit of nerves; and my head was swimming with story ideas. I met Jen on Monday morning at Soho House to help her conduct an interview. We interviewed Ngozi, an inspiring woman who is doing a project on losing virginity (how fitting). It was an interview that played on a lot of emotions, but ultimately left me feeling empowered and inspired.

Jen and I then took the streetcar back to her lovely house, which is home to her office (and where I will be working). That’s one of my favorite things about this internship: I’m not at some stuffy office on Bay or King dressed in a polyester pant-suit. Instead I’m at a home-office that I actually feel comfortable and relaxed in. Oh, and I sometimes get to work at home, which means I can sit in my sweatpants and get snuggles from my pet rabbit as I write.

That week I wrote about all kinds of things, from peanut butter, to pet photography, to gender issues. A wide variety of topics, all important (especially peanut butter, obviously).

Week 1 highlights

  • I got to work from home on Monday (bunny snuggles, yay!).
  • On Tuesday I went to Bath and Body Works for a mini-mani and massage—oh yeah, and virgin mimosas and delicious treats like tiramisu. I know, feel bad for me, guys, it was a rough start to the day.
  • On Wednesday I went to an advance screening of The Great Gatsby (I’ll save any comments about the movie so I don’t ruin it).

So far my first impression of my internship is: I love it. I feel lucky to be part of the team and I have fallen even more in love with the website. I look forward to the next few weeks and what they have in store for me. It’s only just begun, but I don’t want it to end. One thing my mom always says to me is, “enjoy the journey,” and I can honestly say that I am enjoying it. I’m going to continue to write about my journey as an intern and share my experiences with all of you. I’ll keep you posted!