I always get really reflective on the last day of something--whether thats work, school, vacation, etc. I generally like to look where I'm going and not where I've come from, but every so often, you have to collect your thoughts and let it all make sense in your head. I didn't do this with Internship #3 because I was, and still am, pissed off. I thought only briefly about Internship #2 because I did this same job last year for a different artist. So that left me with extra time to think about Internship #1, which is precisely what I did on my train ride home to CT after my last day.
Had I helped to make the publishing department run smoother than it had my first day there? I like to think so. I helped Vin get organized, I recreated their myspace page, I cleaned up the awful producer/songwriter binder mess, and most importantly, I made Vin feel comfortable trusting me with work he didn't have time for.
Did I leave a lasting impression? Honestly, for a long time, I didn't think so. As you all know, this was not my favorite internship, and thats okay, it happens sometimes. But as a result, I didn't apply myself as much as I could have, and although I was extremely conscious of it, I just couldn't get myself to do anything about it. I started to have a lot of regrets in early December but by that time, there was even less work to be done than before.
Vin started interviewing new interns around this time. It wasn't until then that I found out there was another intern that came in on Mondays and Fridays (it happened like this: one day Vin said I didn't have to do an errand and he'd just ask Albert to do it and before I could even think about what I was saying, the words "Who the f*ck is Albert?" jumped out of my mouth, and he answered with a chuckle and said, "the other intern"). I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, was he a better intern than me? Then Vin said he didn't want to bring him back next semester and he started interviewing potential interns. I realized then that I did leave a lasting impression. Every time Vin would come out of an interview, I would say, "How did it go?" and he would always shrug his shoulders and say, "I don't know, I didn't really like them." He would make up weird excuses as to why they weren't qualified, things like--she doesn't like music enough, he is too much into gossip, he's a songwriter, she's too shy.
The more we talked about it the more evident he made it that he couldn't find a new intern because he didn't think anyone would do as good as I did. Eventually he outright said it, and then added that his other intern, Albert, wasn't "a good intern" like me (his words, not mine). So I guess I did leave a lasting impression, and one that I'm proud of. When I left Internship #1, he had yet to find an intern to replace me.
When I got in the cab after my last day at that internship, I sent him a text message and said, "I'm leaving now, just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to work here, have a happy holiday." He wrote back and said, "Thanks Internchick! I really appreciate everything you've done for us. Let me know if there's anything you need in the future."
So I accomplished what I came to do. And that was to leave my mark on my bosses and have them wondering how they ever got along without me. Most importantly, to have them appreciate what I brought to the table.
Case (and internship) closed.
Labels: intern, internship, internship one, last day, reflection
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