The Rise of the Internship

Service Learning

I didn't have any internships when I was in college.

Not that I tried. One year I refused an internship on principle (the company dicked around with my application, then wanted me to fill out an internship application after I had been interviewed), one year I didn't get any internship because I was busy with the Marines and when I was through with them it was too late to find any summer work, and one year I didn't get an internship because, well, no one wanted to hire me.

It was by an extreme stroke of good fortune that landed me the awesome job I have now. Maybe I was saving up the luck, who knows?

I've had menial jobs before, however. I worked in fast food for two years when I was in high school. I was a barista for a semester at the campus cafe. I definitely wasn't in the privileged set.

I think I have a bone to pick with the privileged set. Most of them have such a sense of entitlement that it's sickening. When I hear of a priviledged young person abuse their opportunities (mostly educational) or take advantage of people, it really bothers me. There are lots of people who struggle just to have what these almost-trust-fund babies get for free! The least they can do is appreciate what they have.

I have some family friends who are not far from me; the family is very similar to my own. White dad, Taiwanese mother, single daughter. Their daughter is a year younger than me. I don't think you can define them as upper-class, but they're definitely upper-middle-class. While the daughter is smart, she also didn't need financial aid for school. While she's held jobs, she didn't need to. Her mom (who is a housewife now) buys all her clothes and keeps her wardrobe up-to-date. She's never had to live on her own.

I am really jealous of her, in a lot of ways. She's better at piano than me, she's never had to worry about money for school (or grad school!), she always has nice things to wear and lovely jewelry. I would dare guess she's prettier than myself.

There is no equalizer - she will always be better off, financially, than myself.

I go to work seriously underdressed. On a subconscious level I know I should invest in a more office-appropriate wardrobe, but right now in my career I don't think it matters much. I'm very low on the totem pole and customers don't see me (unless they happen to be in an elevator with me) It's much easier (and cheaper!) for a guy to get an office-appropriate wardrobe than it is for a girl to. However, I do notice that a lot of the female new hires and interns dress better than I do. Maybe I've just never focused much on my wardrobe, because the call of books and movies was easier to listen to than the call of the department store (although I'll usually listen to the call of Victoria's Secret).

Maybe I'm just a fluke, a pariah to every environment I find myself in. I don't feel quite like I belong anywhere, and that's a hard thing to say about oneself.

It would be nice to blame all of that on my lack of internships. But I can't. I wish there was something positive I could say about not-being-born-privileged, but I can't. The soul-gaining experience isn't worth living in constant fear of financial deprivation and/or lack of financial stability.

And I know a lot of people probably disagree with me on all of the above. That's OK.