Intern Diaries: Don’t We Get Some Bragging Rights?

By Anonymous

[F or most college students, summer means one thing: an unpaid internship. We’ve been there and we feel your pain. Whether you’re making copies, making coffee runs, or just trying to make your mark on the industry of your dreams, it’s much easier to get through it all with a little help from your (CollegeCandy) friends. So come back every week to listen/sympathize with/vent with our anonymous intern as she does her thang at a big time magazine in New York City. Because, let’s be honest, what else do you have to do in that cubicle all day?]

It’s no secret that interning can be a dull job. In fact, sometimes internships get such a bad rep that we forgot that they can also have some pretty amazing perks. In the field of journalism and magazine writing, one of those perks is being given the opportunity to cover red carpet events. At my internship, it’s hands down everyone’s favorite thing to do and for obvious reasons. I mean, free alcohol, free finger foods, a chance to meet celebrities AND reporting credit? What could be better?

I’ve met tons of other over-eager interns out there while I’m working the carpet and while some of them try to act all cool and casual, when it comes down to it, we’re all super excited to have a chance to talk to some of our favorite celebs, especially when it’s someone we love. (When me and another intern met Ashley Olsen the other night, we were both squealing like 12-year-olds at a Justin Bieber concert).

So what’s my point? Most of the time that excitement turns into telling all of our friends, family and basically anyone who will listen to us (I slipped it into a convo with the guy serving me pizza the other day), gush about our red carpet moments. And most of the time that gushing pisses people off and makes them think that we’re name-dropping fools who can’t stop bragging about our awesome accomplishments.

Take this week, for example. It was like the holy grail for me. It began with a music event that included Jason Mraz and Trey Songz (both surprisingly very attractive and a little flirty in person); continued with a star-studded Yves Saint Laurent party where Ashley Olsen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Alexis Bledel and Whitney Port were in attendance; and ended with an interview with Derek Jeter, one of my favorite celeb guys (GO YANKEES!). So you can only imagine how excited I was all week…. and yes, I admit to one too many Facebook status updates and to blowing up my friend’s Twitter pages with all my observations.

But I wasn’t trying to brag! Honest.

Here’s the thing: covering events is (usually) easily the best part of any magazine internship. We interns spend 10-12 hours a day in an office on a regular basis, sitting in front of a computer doing nothing more than developing a nice case of carpal tunnel, so when the time comes to get out and do some real journalistic stuff, it’s pretty exciting. All of those years of early morning college classes and hours of transcribing has finally paid off when I’m standing in front of some of my fave celebs, interviewing them. And given all of the hard and sometimes boring work we do all day (for zero pay), can’t a girl get some bragging rights?

I can’t speak for all interns, but I know for myself that these moments are so exciting I just can’t keep them in. I’m not trying to brag or name-drop or show off – I just want to share my excitement and enthusiasm (which has been pent up for days while sitting silently at a table waiting for an assignment) with anyone who will listen. And if that means spewing it all over Facebook, well, so be it! I’ve worked really hard to get these opportunities so I feel it is my right to be excited without my friends’ eye rolling bringing me down.

I mean, come on, after months of getting coffee, getting yelled at and being totally ignored by (some of) my superiors, let me have my moment of glory, will you? Sometimes it’s the only thing keeping me going.