Intern Diaries: Surviving the Commute

By Maddie

If your summer has been characterized by commuting to and from your internship site, I’m sure that we can sympathize with one another. And if you have been trying to avoid your commute by staying with friends/boyfriends/girlfriends so that you don’t need to go home and actually deal with commuting, I can sympathize with you more.

Issues always seem to arise when you’re traveling back and forth (from New York to New Jersey in my case), hopping on buses and trains, and trying to figure out how to spend the night at your boyfriend’s and have the appropriate clothing and necessities for work the next day. (Walk of shame to your dorm room in last night’s theme party get up = embarrassing. Walk of shame to the office in yesterday’s outfit = unacceptable.) I had the unfortunate fate of staying in the city one Thursday night and donning a skintight American Apparel jersey dress, which I then had to wear to work the next day. I was already running late and had no time (or $$$) to buy a cover-up before work, and I spent the day hiding from everyone in my office.

To ensure that you’ll always be prepared as your job starts to make your life more hectic, and to help you make use of those hours spent in transport, read on:

Suggestion #1:
Always keep a neutral colored cardigan, a tasteful pair of heels or flats and a basic dress or shirt/skirt combo in your desk drawer or closet. If you must show up to work in the clothes you wore yesterday or last night, this will let you change quickly before anyone can see you (and judge you). A bra is a necessity as well. Once I wore a dress that required no bra and spent the night in the city. Let’s just say that the outfit I wore the next day did require a bra, and that things were a bit awkward/loose/jiggly/uncomfortable.

Suggestion #2:
Keep a small makeup bag in the purse that you use everyday and carry necessities like your toothbrush, face lotion and makeup. You’ll never be stuck at your guy’s apartment in the morning with his musky aftershave and Old Spice deodorant as your only options for freshening up. This way you’ll be able to put yourself together at anytime, and this is especially necessary if your working in the city and experiencing attacks of serious sweating as you wait for the subway. I often get to the office and want to wash my face and re-apply my makeup again.

Suggestion #3:
Put some of your paycheck towards getting an Amazon Kindle, the newest digital technology that allows you to read books and newspapers on the go. When you’re ready to cry from boredom as your train makes its 10th stop, you can catch up on your reading or current events. Its wireless allows you to browse through Amazon.com wherever you are, and the newest Kindle DX has built in stereo speakers and supports PDF files so that you can download files from your computer and get work done as your commute. The summer is the only time that we can read for pleasure since our school years are characterized by biology textbooks and age-old Shakespeare, so take advantage of your free time!