As my senior year comes to a close, I can now say for certain that the most difficult part of it all was applying to the three or so dozen internships during the months of December, January and February. Even though my capstone thesis was a slog, as well as all of my applications to various graduate schools, by far the most draining part of these past few months has been internships.
I had seen it coming for a while. I knew that they would inevitably need to be done. I had, in my mind, lined up two or three that were sort of at the top of the list. I did not, however, understand the complications and, at times, extremely disheartening outcomes. Of course, I knew I would be turned down from a lot of the places I applied to — I just didn’t foresee the twists and turns of how it would all turn out. On top of that, it taught me how procrastination — something that is inherently part of all work I do — doesn’t always work out in the end like it has for me for many years.
First things first, as we all know, internship applications have deadlines. These deadlines, unlike ones that can occasionally be negotiated with professors, are locked down. Also unlike deadlines with courses and professors, the essays, cover letters and resumes you submit cannot be re-done or re-edited.
Obviously, I had my mom help me out (she re-read all of the cover letters I wrote before I sent them), and explained my various woes to my close friends who could offer words of confidence and encouragement. Sometimes just ranting for a while makes it all seem a bit easier, and feeling that you’re not alone in the seemingly never-ending Sisyphean task brightens up the view.
It sounds really easy, but when senior year is coming to a close, and the fact that you’re “leaving college” finally sinks in, it can be difficult to strive toward completing things. You’ll get through it though, as I did, suffering from senioritis and the weight of my thesis, along with the fact that I have been a severe procrastinator all my life. I’ve lined up an internship for this summer in a position and place that I am over the moon about; I know that it was due to the fact that I set specific, firm goals for myself. I never let a day go by without making sure I took steps in the direction of completing one aspect of an application and motivating myself simply through envisioning how happy I would be if I actually got my top position.
For those of you who are freshmen, sophomores and juniors, enjoy applying for internships at this point in your lives — and buckle in for the difficult but most certainly rewarding time ahead.