For the first time since I started college I spent the majority of the summer at home in New York City working at an internship. I was able to intern at Discovery Communications in their advertising sales division where I was assigned to the flagship, Discovery Channel, and spent time learning the ins and outs of the television industry. As an ad sales intern, I worked on some projects preparing material for client presentations, organizing brand accounts, and researched a specific advertiser for a mock sales pitch. Though I’m interested in working more in the production and marketing side of the entertainment industry, I used the opportunity working in advertising sales to challenge myself and learn more about the media industry.

When I first started college I wanted to do nothing more than to spend my summer interning back in New York. However, I spent the past three summers mostly away from home either taking classes or working on campus. What makes your summer vacation different in college than in high school is that you actually want to stay home and enjoy your family instead of jumping for any opportunity to get away from home for even a week or two. In high school I looked for opportunities to escape the typical summer routine at home and break up the pattern of monotony. College has changed my mindset in that after spending months away from home I’ve gained a greater appreciation for the neighborhood I grew up in and actually want to spend the whole summer at home. There were many times after my internship that I desired to do nothing more than to hang out with my father and watch television just for the simple fact that during the nine months of the academic year I might have only spent a few weeks at home. Since I’ve started college I’ve begun to cherish the smaller things of just spending quality time with people I haven’t seen for a while and certain nostalgic qualities of being home that can’t be captured when you go to school or on vacation somewhere. As a senior in college, I valued being at home this past summer to get a sense of what it might be like once I graduate but of course I’m worried about the next summer when I won’t be able to catch up with friends from school who will be scattered across the globe however like life itself I try my best to focus on the present and take things a day at a time.