My alarm rings at 7:30 a.m., and I hear my roommate already up. I stay in bed fighting the urge to drift peacefully back to sleep when my roommate walks over and says, “Calli, it’s 7:30. Time to wake up.”
The next hour is a bit of a blur as I prepare myself for the work day. At 8:40, I take my usual route to the bus stop. By 9:10, I’m punching in the lock code and letting myself in to Blake Friedmann Literary, TV and Film Agency.
My time in London is really like my time anywhere else. I wake up, I go to work, I come home, eat, maybe go for a walk or read, then sleep. It’s pretty much just a regular day.
Except here are the differences: I wake up and unplug my phone from an adapter. I go to work at a book publishing agency that I love. I come home to a beautiful white building with flowers in the windows and detailed walls. I pay for my lunch with notes and coins and eat in a park covered with stray daisies. I walk to King’s Cross or Buckingham Palace or I read an unpublished manuscript. Then I sleep knowing that tomorrow will be a new adventure.
While touring London is fun, it’s the actual living and working part that has really surprised me. Internships are extremely beneficial. They give you experience, introduce you to new people and help with networking. Still, most people tell you not to set the bar too high in case your internship doesn’t turn out to be exactly what you thought it would be.
I’m proud to say that I love my internship. Blake Friedmann is an incredible company that really tries to give clients the best representation. It also employs the most colorful, energetic, laugh-out-loud funny people. Sure, going to work 40 hours a week is rough, and all of the employees understand that, but the people make the office a refreshing place to work.
Then, my internship itself is something that deserves recognition. Of course I make coffee/tea for coworkers and guests, I scan documents, make copies and I even sort the post and take packages to the Post Office. But these jobs are not unimportant. Though these tasks may seem small or insignificant, they remind me that it’s the little stuff that can build the best impressions.
That’s not all my internship entails, however. I get to read and report on unpublished manuscripts and greet producers and authors. I get to go to author readings, sit through Q&A sessions and shake hands with up-and-coming writers.
I do take my work home with me, as there is not that much time for reading during the work day, and author readings are often at night. I don’t mind though; I love doing something that I’m passionate about and gaining a real understanding of the world of books.
My time in London will end, and my current address will change again. I know that interning in this fantastic, fast-paced city of culture and diversity was worth the trip. It has given me something to look forward to in the future as I search for my next adventure.
@TheChrony