I Applied for an Internship at 31

Dreams are not limited to those in their 20s, recent graduates, or even the people we read about online.

I’ve wanted to be a writer for a very long time. In high school, I can remember pulling up Microsoft Word and typing out the first few paragraphs for a story I had in mind. Of course, I never did anything with it, but I started writing it.

Fast forward a few years, and for some reason, I decided not to major in journalism or even English when I was in school. In my mind, you either wrote books or boring newspaper articles; the idea of writing a blog or for a fun publication like Cosmo or the Everygirl had never even occurred to me. I had no concept of what opportunities were actually out there for someone who wanted to be a writer.

My narrow view of the world has impacted my choices in life more negatively than I would like to think about, but just because I didn’t start down a path in my early teens or 20s doesn’t mean I can’t do it now.

So, I applied for an editorial internship.

Applying for this internship was extremely stressful, but only because I wanted to make sure I put effort into it. There were a number of requirements past just a cover letter and resume, and I wanted my writing samples and story pitches to be the absolute best I could make them. Even though there wasn’t pressure to land this gig to pay bills or anything, I wanted it. I wanted it bad.

Did I have time for another thing on my plate? No

Did I want the money? No

Did I want this experience? Yes

Did I want to see if I actually had what it takes? Hell yes

I knew that this internship would be one of the hardest things I would ever do, and I knew it would absolutely humble me, but damn I wanted a shot. I still do. I want to learn what it takes to make it in this industry, and I want to learn from experts.

So, I put it all out there. I spent days looking over my cover letter and pitches to make sure they were perfect, which is impossible, and I knew that eventually I just had to submit my application. What is it the kids say, “shoot your shot”?

I did it.

I eventually hit Send on my email and sent my hopes off to a hiring manager for review.

Unfortunately, a couple of days later, I got the rejection email.

It hurt a little at first, but I quickly realized that I was okay. It didn’t mean I was an awful writer, or that my story ideas were bad, it just meant there were better candidates out there. Or a the very least, there were candidates that didn’t already have a full-time job.

I’ve spent most of my life only doing things I knew I would be successful at, and it’s only been in the last few years that I’ve stepped outside of my comfort zone to pursue a life of chances. I’ve found that I’m not only capable of so much more than I imagined, but rejection isn’t that bad. In fact, I think it drives me a little more than I thought it would.

I’ve decided to keep my eyes peeled for other opportunities to learn more about writing, whether it’s a workshop, internship, or maybe even small writing gigs. I’m going to continue writing here for the 10 people that read it, but I know that each time I push out a post, I’m better for it. Maybe it’s not all A+ content, but last time I checked, Cs get degrees.

I may never become a paid writer. I may never see my name in print outside of my own doing. I may never impact people through words on a page or screen. I may never do a lot of things, but that’s okay. I never want to look back and wish that I had done something because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that life is going to keep going and you can either move with it or let it pass you by.

So, I guess I’m moving with it.

Have you ever taken a chance on something crazy? Is there a dream you want to pursue? Let me know about it in the comments!

Love,

Lilly