Internship Diary: A Dream Turned into Reality

[dropcap letter=”I”] spent my childhood bantering on and on about how I would become the next big author or fashion designer. I carried a sketchbook with me everywhere, drew my own clothes, and I even spent time illustrating and writing my own chapter books. I was eight y’all, like who was I? That eight-year-old girl had a dream that has still stuck with me even now at the age of 21. Writing this post, I realized that I have been manifesting this moment and fueling a twelve year dream.

I was often advised to find a career that would bring in more money and be something more realistic. I felt as though I had to commit to one job, and that’s where I would be until I could disappear to a remote island during retirement. This mentality never sat right with me. For a while, I listened to these people and spent much of my high school years striving to be a news anchor and journalist. I was prepared to bring some life to your morning news and planned to be the most fashionable TV personality you’ve ever seen, but this wasn’t enough to feed my dreams. I’ve never been one to settle, especially when it came to my interests and hobbies, but when it came to choosing a career path I was stressed BIG TIME. 

When I got to college, I took my life into my own hands and decided that I would build my own career by merging fashion and journalism together. I got involved in my passions and, to my surprise, I learned that kind of career already existed and that I was basically just living under a rock. 

Waiting for my acceptance email for PATTERN made me anxious, but I kept telling myself, “I need to be here,” because this position was going to get me a step closer to my dream. Now let me tell you, Lady Rona was NOT part of that dream. Never in my life did I ever imagine being in a pandemic. I thought it would be my grandkids’ problem, yet here we are wearing masks and afraid of running out of toilet paper. I was worried that my dream was going to be put on pause. 

I didn’t know what to expect from this internship, but I knew I needed to be at PATTERN. Everything in my life has always been centered around this industry. My time with PATTERN has felt like a movie. I would wake up to go get coffee in the cutest outfits I could put together. I traveled to Chicago to get behind the scenes footage for an amazing shoot with crazy talented people, reconnected with old networking buddies, interviewed mural artists and so much more! 

I have been blessed with the most amazing boss who answers my questions, encouraged me to express who I am and explore my interests. I’ve made a lot of consistent content this summer which is huge for me, but most of all I am proud of being given the opportunity to amplify my own voice as a Black woman along with the voices of fellow Black creatives. From start to finish I have felt like I belong, being apart of this magazine has been a liberating experience.

I’m going to be a cliche when I say that if you are looking to intern at PATTERN or plan to make your mark in the creative industry, then plan to put your fear and doubts aside. The only thing holding you back from unleashing your true potential is yourself. With this internship, you have access to all the tools you need to try new things, to fail and learn and to grow. 

Execute your ideas, write them down and be confident in its direction! There were times when I would doubt my ideas and in return, I wouldn’t execute them. Doing this I deprived me of creating content that would withstand longer than my internship, because honey these weeks flew faster than germs in an enclosed room and that’s on Corona. 

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