The Beauty of Doing Something
by Rica S. Facundo on July 2, 2010
Not everyone I know would willingly trade in their leisurely summer soul for weeks of non-required, time-consuming On-the-Job Training (OJT). After all, who wants to be working when they could be relaxing?
The fine print was simple enough: find an internship that would give me more than just another line in my résumé. After months of searching and constantly declaring to the universe that I was ready for such a sacrifice, I finally found one. And I happily signed the deal without ever looking back.
Interning at STATUS, a lifestyle and youth-oriented magazine, was definitely one of the highlights of my summer. While I appreciate what Elizabeth Gilbert said in her book Eat, Pray, Love, about ‘Il bel far’ niente’ or “the beauty of doing nothing”, the beauty of actually doing something this summer was even more fulfilling.
Summer gives us the glorious gift of time which we so lovingly abuse by doing absolutely nothing. Well, nothing productive, at the very least. No one minds because it’s the perfect antithesis to a hectic school year— giving our system a chance to detox caffeinated blood streams and reenergizing our burnt-out bodies.
Unfortunately, I’d be lying if I said that’s how my summer went. For two months I traded the luxury of sleeping in for the burden of working six hour days, at least three times a week. As hectic as that sounds, I’m not complaining, not even a little.
And you know why? The tradeoff of doing something you enjoy further outweighs the coaxing of your heavy eyelids to stay in bed. As an incoming college junior, that means taking a step into the working world and figuring out where in the industry I want to walk in for the next five to 10 years of my life.
Admittedly, there are only a handful of us who really know what they want to do after school. The rest just aimlessly go through college, unsure if they’re even in the right course to begin with. For those who are stuck with the latter situation, here’s some good news— there’s still time to get your cards right.
If there’s one thing I’ve gained from my STATUS internship, it’s that you’ll never know what is and isn’t for you unless you go out there and see it for yourself. Firsthand experience is just as valuable as an A on AISIS, and this way, you have more interesting stories to share, cooler people to add on Facebook, and a much improved version of yourself to be proud of.
As an intern under the Editorials Department, I’ve been able to cover all kinds of events, from music festivals to album launches to Philippine Fashion Week. Plus, I’ve had the satisfaction of having my words being read by hundreds of people online and on print.
However, as exciting as it sounds, working especially at STATUS isn’t all about flashing lights. After all it is the real world and here your weaknesses are exposed for all the vultures of the industry to pick on.
I’ve had my fair share of articles bleeding with corrections, threatening to stain my confidence with the red shade of insecurity and inadequacy. But after accepting constructive criticism and lots of practice, the hemorrhages have gotten less over time. Because as long as you’re always putting your best foot forward, you’ll keep growing in the right direction. And in time you’ll see that you’ve gotten so much better.
Overall, the experience and the lessons that I learned from my internship is enough to stop me from snoozing my alarm. I would wake up almost every morning as a working girl on the right side of bed.
So call me crazy for choosing not having your typical summer. Slap me across the face for not having the luxury of sleeping in. But the beauty of doing something is that you’ll realize that the world is much bigger and more exciting than the four walls of a classroom. And if that’s the case, well then I wouldn’t mind being a student of life— even during the summer.
