This semester, I am persuaded, never really existed. If it did, it has – as the antiquated cliche says – flown by. Literally flapping its smart little wings and smugly telling me that I can no longer deny my arrival to adulthood.

Soon, I can no longer enjoy the plush safety (who describes safety that way?) of higher education, where the professors coddle me and give me everything I want. I will enter the real world, where employers are cold and calculating, and will only give you a job if you sell your soul to Google.

With that, the days of copying documents and making coffee are also over. Mundane activities will morph into research of the glorious projects I can create. With those projects I will change the world. Or take it over. My internship ends, and a cool job begins.

All in fun – my internship really was enjoyable. If anything, the writers at Metonymy Media are a little more in touch with the cyber world than I am, so I learned a lot about trends, apps, and sites I would still be unaware of otherwise. I think that’s a good thing.

Metonymy Media was a completely different experience from my previous internship at Wiley. I won’t say that one is better than the other because they are so different. One internship concentrated on editing an established line of books. One internship concentrated on writing for the web. In the end, I’m glad that I worked at two different enterprises, because they both opened up different possibilities and opportunities for me. I think students tend to take specialization to heart and will only look for internships that completely fit the the persona they’re trying to create for themselves. Instead we should open ourselves up to anything that interests us, because you never know if you’ll really like something until you’ve immersed yourself in it for a few months. Internships are prime opportunity for that.

And a word to the employers: take chances on someone’s skill, not character. You can train anyone to do a job, even if it’s business management and they majored in nutrition. Just find a steady, honest person and you’re golden.

The purpose of this blog post isn’t to reprimand companies on their employment procedures, it’s rather to say goodbye to Metonymy Media as I embark on life as a college graduate. I’ve got the world on a string.

What I’ve learned from my internship:

An internship is a chance to learn a new skill and to practice skills I’ve already learned. I can get input from professionals in the field and see if I’ve actually garnered helpful information during my time at school.

An internship is NOT a chance to avoid school and just hang out (though the guys are great about valuing breaks). And it is not a chance for free labor…employers! Interns don’t benefit from menial tasks. That doesn’t create future world changers. Give them the chance to exercise their talents. It’s a risk, certainly, but in the future, it does pay off.

Kim Jansen, signing off…