Why I Spent My Summer Interning

I’ve always been somewhat of an overachiever. I don’t consider myself one of those people who can spend days on end not doing much and enjoying it. Don’t get me wrong, I do relish my relaxation time believe me, however, in order to play hard I believe I have to work even harder. I’m not sure what the root of this is... maybe it’s the influence of my schooling, my family or maybe I’m just plain weird.

This June I finished my first year at University. From what I have heard from many of my seniors, first year uni is the time to slack off a little, compared to sixth form. Me, however did the opposite. I’ve become, ashamedley, a little bit of a nerd. Not one lecture note was left undone and I studied really hard for my exams. Different people will have varied approaches to their first year and I believe that is genuinely normal and not something to judge anybody on. But I definitely ventured off down the path of a nerdy, overly keen student. (#noragrets)

Now, after having burning myself out during those exams, I thought that I would enjoy a nice, long break over my summer. Perhaps not.

My internship at The Sun Newspaper began the day after I arrived home. I was grateful for this, however, because it de-emphasised the feeling of being at home again and not knowing what to do with myself. I felt like I had a solid purpose and structure to my days, which enabled me to settle back into life away from uni. I’d been applying for internships throughout the latter half of my second semester and I was delighted when The Sun asked me to join their fashion desk in early June.

After my 2 weeks at The Sun as a fashion intern, I then went straight into Vogue House (eek!!) for a further 2 weeks of experience, which was on the more editorial side and involved copious amounts of deep research for features. I loved it. After those two weeks I had a week’s break to catch up with my friends and also catch up on sleep (ah, the commuters life). After a week of not-so-relaxing relaxation, I commenced my 3 week placement at Women’s Health magazine. As you can probably divulge, I dedicated this summer to exploring the realms of the publishing industry (notably fashion magazines), as this is one of the two pathways in life that I dream of venturing into after graduating.

It’s safe to say that after my total of 7 weeks interning in London, I was no longer Chloe Granger but more of a moody, tired zombie that could barely make it up the stairs without yawning or snapping at a family member (sorry, mum!!). My skin had broken out due to the constant pollution and my feet were raw from the walking. I’ve also made the not-so-surprising discovery that Thameslink trains are hopeless and in order to get a seat in the morning, one must be ruthless. No time for dilly-dallying. It’s serious business.

Although I can list a few negatives about my 2 months of interning in London, the positives hugely outweigh them. I’ve learnt a great deal about how the industry works and I’ve met some delightful people, spent some precious time on excessively cool photo shoots and mastered the art of returning items without tags attached (it’s harder than it sounds!). I wouldn’t have changed my decision to complete all of this work experience as it has helped shape my outlook on the industry and propels me one step closer to my dream. My CV is also rather cheerful to have been given a little bit more juiciness now as I look forward to the future and prepare myself as best as possible.

Although sometimes I may resent my attitude and wish I would give myself a break, I am happy with my progress and I am glad that I decided to take a shot in the dark and apply for these experiences. Had it not been for my time at The Sun, I wouldn’t have had my experience at Women’s Health, as my details were passed on from The Sun to Hearst. I am forever in their debt for that. But it just goes to show, you never know what will come of experiences in life, and something incredible may be round the corner, if you just take the first step.

I would strongly recommend aiming to get some experience under your belt between your studies, as it compels you to be bold, brave and willing to prove your authenticity and passion for a certain industry. Any experience is good and it will only ever benefit you, even if you can’t comprehend that whilst you’re trapped under someone’s pongy armpit on the tube. Trust me, I’ve been there. Perseverance is key, my friends.


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