Intern-all Affairs
As I awoke this morning, on my final day as a summer intern at San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, I was struck by a sense of distinct melancholy — for my time among the wonderful people and fascinating facets of the magazine was drawing to a close.
I entered into this experience with a distinct pit of nervous nausea in the bottom of my stomach (the feeling I am graced with when beginning all new experiences) and a case of clammy palms. I was so anxious that my complete lack of familiarity in the field of journalism, other than the ability to competently string together a sentence, was going to lead to my presence being a hassle to all involved.
Low and behold, apparently my lack of know-how was not the harrowing handicap that I assumed it would be. In a highly gratifying turn, and according to professional opinion, I am in fact a talented writer. With that minor matter clarified, I was free to spread my verbal wings and take flight. The rest would fall into place along the way, invaluable knowledge just waiting to be gleaned.
Delving into this foreign world, I have immensely enjoyed exploring its customs and picking up some useful tidbits of information along the way:
• Getting hold of a source is not quite as easy as it may appear to be. Liberal application of phone calls, voicemail and emails is sometimes necessary for even initial contact.
• There are entire websites filled with stock images for public consumption, and hunting through them all for the “perfect picture” is quite a task.
• Coming up with pun-tastic titles and clever subheads is something that I enjoy far too much (example above).
• Interviewing people about something that they are genuinely passionate about is very rewarding. Soaking up their enthusiasm for the topic makes for a great article.
• Sometimes the yellow on the outside of a can of spray paint looks quite appealing, when in reality (and upon application to a photo-shoot prop), it is an unfortunate shade somewhere between eye-bleeding and caution tape.
These “facts” are but a small number of the delightful anecdotes, which represent even greater memories, of my time at the magazine. I am so extremely thankful for the opportunity that I was given: to immerse myself in a professional environment and to truly glean what it would be like to work in that field. During my time here, I have experienced it all: research, interviews, photo shoots and even getting to write articles. I got a complete indoctrination into the magazine publishing field in only nine weeks that flew by far too quickly.
Here on this final day, I would tell the me of nine weeks ago to “take a deep breath and let all that nervous energy go. You are about to go striding forward into one of the best adventures of your life so far, one that will bring you into contact with all kinds of wonderfully talented people and possibilities for the future — possibilities that you had not yet dreamed to conceive for yourself, endless options made apparent.”
So here is to a fabulous publication — filled with brilliant content (and staff)!
Editor’s Note: Look for Marley’s byline in our November, December and January issues. We wish her well as she forges into what promises to be a bright future for a person of her intelligence, enthusiasm and creativity.
