These days, college seems like an endless cycle of internship applications, classes, and wondering when it will all be over. However, some tough love for you, as the college and internship grind ends, the job hunt begins. So, more important than wishing for the end of this cycle is to find a way out or a way through.
As someone with big career dreams, the latter is personally more appealing. But it for sure took some reframing of my mindset and priorities to make my internship search sustainable.
A mentor recently told me that you will get the opportunities that you are right for you. I am paraphrasing a bit, but I think this basic affirmation is often forgotten by many of us at the beginning of our careers. In a constantly connected world, it is easy to become bogged down by comparison to others and self-loathing. So, the first step will always be to release yourself from the trap of comparison. For me, the things that have helped the most are writing affirmations of self-love and worth and limiting social media time. This turns my energy back inward to better myself rather than outward onto others, and it has made me more productive and kind to myself.
Of course, the other cornerstone of handling any tough time is taking care of yourself. I find I never work well when sleep deprived or sedentary. However, taking care of yourself in college is a lot easier said than done. For sleeping, I find setting an alarm for bedtime on my phone helps me start thinking about going to bed a lot earlier. Creating a bedtime routine I look forward to has also helped a lot. As I finish my work for the night, I’m always excited to watch a show while I do my skincare, journal for a bit, or read the next chapter of my book. Like any goal, it has to come from a place of self-love and care. Creating an accountability system has really helped with the rest of my self-care goals, like sending pictures back and forth to friends or family with proof we achieved what we wanted to today. Especially with family, this has been a nice conversation starter throughout the week.
And after all this self-care talk, it is finally time to sit down with your applications, hopefully a kinder and more productive version of yourself. I will find a nice place in a library or cafe, anywhere out of my dorm, to work on applications for a few hours. Make it a special occasion, not your entire life. And while there are so many stressors around time in an application process, be okay with not finishing for the day if need be. Take time to still be a person before a student. At the end of the day, that is probably more what they’re looking for anyway.