The end of a chapter and the beginning of another
Twenty-something days have passed since we last spoke. You may think it isn’t much but a few things took place in this “small to you, long to me” period of time. In fact, did you know that for drone ants, 20 days is the whole extent of their existence? But let’s not go off-topic, that’s not my point. I have bad and good things to say today.
If you have been following my publications, you probably know I’ve been an optimistic, yet slightly frustrated soon-to-graduate-in-search-for-internships Advertising and Marketing student and that is also why I haven’t written in some time. It isn’t easy for fresh-out-of-school students to face dozens of job interviews when all they have to say is “teach me. Please. All I want is to learn from you so that one day I’ll be able to work and make a living from it”. While recruiters hit back with “we don’t think you are the best fit for the position, we are looking for interns with these specific skills that require years of practice to acquire.” Okay, not all recruiters are like that and maybe they don’t say that or use those words — but that’s what we hear. You hear it too, don’t you?
Well, that is also not what I wanted to tell you, I just had to get that off my chest before we can move on to the exciting news. On Friday the 12th, or as we call it in Brazil ‘Carnival Friday’, I was ready to hit the road and leave the city. I had finally powered through a four-interview marathon that week and there was nothing I needed more than a chill weekend on the beach. It wasn’t just a regular weekend, it was Carnival weekend. A weekend where no one in Brazil sleeps. We dance, we drink, and we party. This year it was quite different, though, but not for me. I had plenty to celebrate.
As I was saying, I was all packed up and ready take the road to a melancholic weekend, when I heard my phone ring. It was an email, not one of those annoying emails from companies you sign up for just to get that ‘10% discount on your first purchase’ kinda deal, but just the one email I was biting my nails for. From all the interviews I attended, there was this one that I knew I was just the right fit for. And they were the right fit for me too. They have a lot to teach and I have a lot to learn. What else could I ask for?
The email said just what I’ve been dreaming of. “We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected…” and if I am being completely honest, I didn’t even read the rest. I didn’t have to. I knew exactly what it said and I had a long weekend of celebration ahead of me. Happiness and satisfaction, pride and excitement took over my body from head to toe and the chills I was feeling were just the tip of the iceberg.
The next weeks are going to be just what I’ve been preparing for the last three years of my life — now you may be thinking three years isn’t even that much, and this time I’m going to give it to you. It isn’t. It isn’t because these three years opened the doors to a future that I am going to be living for a lot longer than that. That is if I do stay in this industry my entire career. But isn’t life too long to be spent doing the same thing every day? Hold that thought, let’s continue this later. My shift is about to start.
