Go out and explore during your internship

06/11/15

By Maureen Ravelo Week Three – “A Breath of Fresh Air” Lesson #3: Go Out and Explore! Even though I enjoy watching episodes of The Office, I don’t want to end up like one of the characters. And I mean lacking in social skills and a little weird, not funny and witty. And it’s no doubt, working in an office for 8 straight hours will probably suck all the life out of you – especially if your eyes are glued to a computer screen and the only conversation topic you can muster up is the latest Excel spreadsheet shortcut codes you’ve memorized. Hence, a little breath of fresh air is good for the soul and your social life. Especially if you work in the city, like me, I say take advantage of your lunch break by walking the streets. What makes an internship experience isn’t just the office work itself, but also the location. Whether it’s in the city or the suburbs, I guarantee the environment will make or break your experience. And the location is probably what attracted you to the internship in the first place – or at least played some key factor in your decision. So while you’re there, why not go out and explore? So that’s exactly what I did. I work in the heart of San Francisco – just down the street from Union Square and all the expensive stores you could imagine. Being the poor unpaid intern that I am, I usually bring my lunch to work. After 2 weeks of eating my lunch in the office I decided to explore the great smoggy outdoors, and I was surprised it took me 2 long weeks to do it. Just sitting on a bench in Union Square, I can enjoy the bustling city sounds of mindless chitchat, car horns, or smooth jazz music. It definitely beats the (sometimes awkward) silence of the office. I grew up in the suburbs where the most excitement is when the ice cream truck rolls around or when the newest summer movie hit theaters so the city life hit me with major culture shock, but in a good way. Nothing beats being able to walk down Third Street for a nice latte or window shopping on your lunch break or passing by a mime on the side of the street on your walk to the office.