Blog 10
Can I start this blog by saying I’m done? Because I’m done! My internship at Lighthouse has been extremely challenging for me personally but very rewarding for me in terms of college and jobs. It was challenging for me personally because I had so much going on outside of Lighthouse and I would get there emotionally exhausted some days but it was a good distraction to get my mind off of everything going on around me. I do see this experience as a reward despite the fact that I wasn’t able to give it a hundred percent of my attention when I needed to because I learned so much about the way the art industry works. I learned how difficult it is to get a job working as an actual artist and that most of the time working in the art industry means working in something related to the art. I will say though, looking back the internship was exactly what I should’ve expected however like I said in an earlier blog I grew up thinking every internship would be a replica of Rory Gilmore’s from Gilmore Girls so you can imagine my disappointment when it wasn’t. I walked in thinking I would have a perfect internship but the reality was that I was an intern, not a TV show character and my internship consisted of me throwing away week old Mexican food at one point. All this being said I don’t regret participating in the internship, I truly loved my experience and I think it’s something I’ll carry with me for years.
Blog 9
This internship has been quite the roller coaster ride for me, I look back and I never could’ve imagined all the struggles I faced while doing this. Through this internship I was able to see and meet so many new people and experience a crazy amount of new experiences. My time at Lighthouse left me standing with wide eyes of wonder and gasping for air from how exhausted I was. While I was there I was able to see how much passion and love there was for the arts from everyone there, especially the employees. I think their love for the arts is inspiring, they all have fallen in love with at least one of the many art forms and that’s why they choose to work at Lighthouse. Lighthouse may be centered around creative writing but working there consists of using all art forms and you can see how much their employees love art in general. It’s inspiring to see people who aren’t that young anymore continue loving art with the same passion as the twenty year old artist who’s just discovering art. I want to take that with me into my career, I want to take a love for all art forms and a passion for the arts with me everywhere I go. While I was at Lighthouse I discovered I wanted to be an English teacher because they can use all art forms to teach and express ideas in a classroom. Lighthouse inspired me to turn my love for the arts into a career where I can share it with people and create artwork out of something new: relationships with students.
Blog 8
My internship inspired project has been a struggle, at the beginning of the project I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do; I met with my sponsor and discussed the details which went extremely well, Dan was very supportive and open to my ideas. I was originally going to be completing three short stories based off of different learning experiences and different sayings I had heard around the office. Dan gave me some ideas on what to write and offered to let me sit in on a couple of classes to help me through the writing process which was very much appreciated but because of my schedule I had to turn down the offer.Fast forward to mid-November I had completed one of three short stories and had a draft for the second almost completed when my perfectionist side kicks in and I start to over analyze my entire project. My perfectionism was probably my biggest struggle throughout the project because once I start to over analyze my project I start hating my project which means that I had to start from scratch. I’ve always liked photography so I chose to follow that path instead, for my new project I took photographs based off of the books that inspired me to begin writing when I was younger which connects to Lighthouse because if it wasn’t for my love for writing I wouldn’t have completed the internship with them. I think that my relationship with my sponsor grew as the creative process continued and I grew to appreciate everyone helping me more than I already did, the project still isn’t done but it’s getting there which makes me happy because I’m enjoying this one much more than the last one.
Blog 7
I’ve always considered myself an artist, art has always come naturally to me, it’s been an escape for a lot of I’ve been through as a kid. My personal artwork has always been about me, about the experiences I’ve lived, and about the feelings I struggle to express. I struggle with admitting that I’m not perfect and that most of the time I don’t have everything together but when I create my personal artwork none of that exists. I can open up through my artwork and show what’s really going on in my head. However, working in a creative business is a completely different world to creating artwork in your personal time and mindset, Working in a creative business does not mean that you are creating artwork, sometimes it means that you’re organizing meetings or answering phone calls every five minutes. As an intern for a creative arts business I was able to see artists working in the industry, and was able to learn that simply because you work in the field does not mean that you are always creating artwork. For example, I love creative writing but when I’m older and looking for a job I may start working for a publishing company where I would be discovering writers instead of doing the writing myself. A lot of the time the creative industry works that way because people are still able to work in the field they love and maintain a stable paycheck every month. I think the main difference between the two is that in personal artwork you create and express yourself in a manner of your choosing while in the creative industry it’s a job therefore whether you feel inspired or you feel like staying in bed, you have to do what you have to do.
Blog 6
When I was thirteen years old I watched Rory Gilmore from ‘Gilmore Girls’ participate in an internship at the Stanford Gazette, now I know that Rory Gilmore is fictional character and that the Stanford Gazette is a fictional newspaper but at the time as I watched her I thought my first internship would be exactly like hers. She was the star of Stanford Gazette and all her coworkers loved her, I imagined that my internship would go just as smoothly as hers had. However, my expectations took a complete 360 my first few weeks at Lighthouse; the people at work were nice but not Rory Gilmore level nice, they were polite but I thought there would be an immediate connection that never really happened. I felt disappointed and let down because I kept comparing my experience to the perfect experience I had seen on ‘Gilmore Girls’ years ago. I think it’s rare to have the experience that Rory Gilmore had, and that my experience is much more realistic; if I had an intern I would probably treat them the same way I was treated, because through this experience I learned that internships aren’t meant to be perfect. Internships are meant to help you grow and learn, if it all goes perfectly then you’re not struggling which means that you’re learning less. I’ve learned that hard work does not always mean everything goes smoothly, it means that there will be bumps along the road but what matters is how you overcome the bumps.
Weekly Blog 5
When I started this internship I thought I would be writing all day or discussing creative ideas with writers around me but I quickly found that it wasn’t the case. Today I cleaned out a refrigerator with two-week-old Mexican food and to make things better the trash bag broke and sour cream spilled every where, it was a day I will never forget. As far as, lowlights go that has to be one of them, another lowlight would have to be the filing, I do, I file almost every day and sitting in a chair for three hours can be a real pain in the butt literally. However, highlights would have to be going to schools and handing out flyers because I get to meet so many new people when I go and some of them truly are hilarious. Another highlight has to be the fact that I get to take a free creative writing class for two months through this internship which you know may make me crazy considering how I already have so much on my plate but I’m actually really excited about being able to write for fun again. I feel like the bonding with my coworkers depends on the day some days its really good and other days not so much, I don’t really know what I can do to make it better because I’m not the most extroverted person and sometimes talking is a little awkward for me.
Weekly Blog 4
I go to Lighthouse twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays from one to five, when I first walk in I say hi to Genna, Laura, and Manuel and then I complete my house check. From there I check in with Genna and see what my task for the day is. If it’s a Monday then I usually get to work with Lucile organizing the library upstairs, those days are always the most fun. We can talk the entire time about school or our current boy toy that seems to be texting us nonstop, although I think she’s about to get a boyfriend which means that I always hear about the same guy. Those days are usually my favorites simply because time seems to fly by whenever I goosip the daya way with Lucile, while working of course. On Wednesdays I usually work by myself but I get to bond with everyone in the office, and listen to Genna’s music choice of the day which is always something new. They’re all in their late twenties to early thirties so they’re a little out of the whole young, fleek thing but I think a bring a brand new young face to the workplace. I’m the youngest worker at Lighthouse, so the words bae and fleek or even lit come naturally to me especially when I’m around people who use the words incorrectly. I love being the youngest, it makes me laugh how they’re so cool and mature yet childish and funny all at once.
Blog 3
This past week has been crazy for my personal life but the moment I step into Lighthouse all problems are left at the door and I think that shows in the work I do. I’d like to think that I make a difference there, that all the hours I put in do leave an impact on my coworkers. I spend most of my time there with Genna, Lauren, and Manuel but the person I’ve helped this most is Laurie. Laurie is a sweetheart, she reminds me of my grandma back in Argentina which may be why I love helping her but she always seems so thankful and kind; she always tells me that I make her life easier and that I’m God sent which I mean, that’s debatable. However, as much as I love Laurie I’ve really bonded with Manuel. Out of everyone working there I feel like he makes the most effort to connect with me which I appreciate because sometimes they’re all so connected and I feel a little awkward but he makes it better. He constantly tells me about his time spent at NYU and he shares stories about his two little kids; I really appreciate the effort he puts in because it makes me feel like work and effort doesn’t go unnoticed. The awkwardness has began to fade and I find myself starting to connect with more of the first floor employees, I finally feel like I’m starting to be come part of their little Lighthouse family.
Blog 2
This past week my internship things were pretty slow, there was nothing big or dramatic that happened in particular but there was a small shift in the atmosphere. I’m a person who truly enjoys the little things of whatever I do so a small shift in the atmosphere of the work place was really exciting to me. When I first started at Lighthouse it was almost an uncomfortable experience walking through the door, I was the new intern and I was nothing like them. I was a Latina who wore skinny jeans and who stood out because I was so different to the typical employee. I was actually scared to get myself a drink or a snack while I was there because I didn’t feel like one of them. I felt like if I went to grab a cup of coffee they would think that I wasn’t taking this seriously or that they would tell me that I wasn’t allowed to. However, when I got there on Wednesday this week it was like there had been a shift I said my usual greetings, stocked the bathrooms, and went back to my intern desk to get to work on this weeks project. As I was working, the people that I share the space with started chatting with me and we were all working as we bonded. That day I went up and grabbed myself a cup of coffee with one cream and three sugars like always and no one said anything. They didn’t even care or even notice if I’m being completely honest but I noticed, me getting that cup of coffee means that I’m finally starting to feel more comfortable there and that I feel like one of them a little bit more every single day which to me is exciting.
Blog 1
Week one of my internship was a whirlwind for me; I started my internship the same day as my orientation and I met Genna who’s kind of like my unofficial boss. She works in the administration office with Manuel and Lauren; all three of them are super great and friendly. I went out on my first day and got to know the area around Lighthouse; my first task was to go around and out up posters for there Pony Up fundraiser that’s coming up. At first I will admit that I wasn’t too excited but as I went around to all the different cafes and restaurants I fell in love with a ton of different places. I now have a list of places I want to visit before my internship is over; I will admit though that it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. My style is very different to theirs, they’re all very flowy and relaxed in their appearance; I on the other hand, not so much, I love looking very put together and no matter how hard I try to look like them I always feel a little out of place because of that. I think that I’ve tried to engage in code switching but it hasn’t really worked because my style is so different to theirs, it actually makes me feel really uncomfortable and out of place. I understand that I need to change my style a little bit but how much of it can I change before I present myself as something I’m not?