How to Intern | Intern Diaries #3

Last Friday my Indianapolis Monthly internship came to an end. It was an amazing experience getting to work there! I'm also glad my other internship with Eco Partners is still hanging on for a few more days. The past three summers there have prepared me for the "real world" more than anything else (and my boss is really cool- hi Elizabeth!).

But being an intern can be a scary, terrifying thing if you don't know what you're getting into. It helps to have some advice going in so that coming out you feel like an expert on all things learning and working for free.

For all you interns out there, here are five tips for having an awesome internship:

1. Ask questions. I'm someone who won't start a task until I know exactly what's expected of me and what I need to accomplish it. While that can be a little extreme, don't feel like you can't ask your supervisor how to do something. She/he wants to help!
2. Don't be afraid of "why." "Why does the company do this?" "Why does Sally look at this?" "Why are we doing this?" When phrased correctly, asking "why" only shows that you're curious about the company and what they do. You're here to learn. Asking why is the best way to do that!
3. Get outside the office. No matter where you intern, there's more to it than sitting at a desk all day. Go out to lunch with fellow interns. Explore the nearby businesses and events. Ask to attend a conference or photo shoot. Take a staff member you want to talk to more out to coffee. These experiences can become the most valuable of your internship!
4. Take initiative. This is the hardest one for me: asking for something I want. At my internships, it was fairly simply to ask for a certain task. Both offered me countless opportunities. But even if that's not the case for you, don't be afraid of asking if you can take something on. Even if the answer is no, they'll be impressed that you weren't afraid to ask and they might turn to you when a project you can help with comes up.
5. And finally, breathe. This is an internship, and while it's important to take it serious and make a good impression, it is not a job. It's okay if you slip up once or twice or if you're totally lost on a project. You're still a student first, and no one expects you to be perfect. Just do your best and work hard and people will take notice.

Want to learn more? Check out these articles:

• College Prepster's "How to be the Best Intern"
• Levo, "8 Tips for Starting Your Internship Off Right"
• Intern Queen, "Feeling Inadequate at Your Internship? Here's what to do about It!" (And other Intern Queen articles like this one I just used.)

Any of you have internships this fall or just completed summer ones? What are your internship tips?

Leeann

Best Planner for 2015-2016?

It's that time of year again... the time of year when I agonize over what planner to buy!

My issue this year is slightly different... do I keep using my Lilly Pulitzer agenda until it ends in December or get a new planner now? It's a great planner, but boy is it huge.

I'm very specific in my needs- calendar view followed by a horizontal weekly view divided on two pages. With enough room to write all my tasks for each day.

I'm demanding.

While thinking about that, I found a few options for this year's (senior year!) replacement I thought I would share with all of you. I'll probably also pursue the aisles of Target and Paper Source to see if anything catches my eye and to see some of these in person. I think the Lilly one is still winning...

1. Everyday 17-month Planner, Rifle Paper Co., $34
2. Large Agenda- Wild Confetti, Lilly Pulitzer, $28
3. 2016 Agenda Book in Katalina Blues, Vera Bradley, $25
4. 2015-2016 Weekly Planner: 12 Month Academic, Ninj & Ninj, $30

Which one do you like the best? What planner are you using this year?

Leeann

Disney Princess Book Tag

YEs, this is a picture of a book about DIsney Princess. I know. I'm cool.

Or basically, a book tag that was MADE for me.

If you don't know, I love Disney. I don't care what the haters say, it's awesome and I adore it and I want to work for the company one day. Because who wouldn't want to be a part of making the world a happier place?

But I digress. This is a tag about books and relating them to the princesses (and in a POSITIVE way, thank you creator of this tag Of Stacks and Cups). I accept this challenge.

Snow White - Name your favorite classic.

I LOVE classics so all my favorite books are classics. But since my favorite book of all time is The Great Gatsby, I'm going with that.

Cinderella - Name a book that kept you reading well past your bedtime.

At first I thought this would have to be a book I read as a kid because sleep is far too important to young adult me. But then I remembered I stayed up until 1 a.m. to finish What this River Keeps a couple weeks ago....

Still, I'm going with Harry Potter because I stayed up way past my bedtime to read every. single. one. of those books. YOU JUST CAN'T STOP.

Aurora - Name your favorite classic romance.

Pride and Prejudice. Don't hate, it's genius. I own multiple copies and I'm always on the hunt for more beautiful covers.

Ariel - Name a book that's about making sacrifices.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. PLOT TWIST- it's about human kind needing to make sacrifices in how we live and how we view the world. It's mind blowing. Thought provoking. Unusual. And involves a talking animal--that's Disney like, right? (Wrong, OMG don't read this thinking it's like Disney).

Belle - Name a book with a smart and independent female character.

Oh my goodness, where do I begin. Hermione.  Elizabeth Bennet. Jo March (and her sisters, they never get enough credit). 

In the interest in choosing something a little less famous, I'm going with Taylor Greer from The Bean Trees. She leaves home and adopts a child all in two (or three?) days and is determined to make it. She might make mistakes, but she's smart in her own, unique way.

Jasmine - Name a book with a character who challenged the social conventions of his or her world.

I hesitantly pick Things Fall Apart, which, while a favorite, has a character too complicated for me to say he truly challenges social conventions. He more like.... makes the reader question them. But hey, it made me question them, and I think that's the true sign of a successful book.

Pocahontas - Name a book whose ending was a roller coaster of emotions.

Gone Girl, because my goodness that was crazy. I went from relieved to panicked to confused to anxious to miserable all in the last couple chapters. And when I finished I wasn't quite sure what just happened to me.

Mulan - Name a book with a kick-ass female character.

I don't read violent books, so I don't really have an answer for this one (not one different than the Belle question anyway). So I'm going to name a book with a kick-ass female author (ooo plot twist). J.K. Rowling, this one goes out to you....

Tiana - Name a book featuring a hardworking, self-made character.

This is a hard one, because I think people are constantly influenced and helped by the people around them, rather they realize it or not. It's never as straightforward as Tiana's story. But...oh, I know! Mr. Hosokawa from Bel Canto. He's a very powerful man who his position through his own hard work and ambition. And opera.

Rapunzel - Name a book that features an artist.

I'm going to cheat a little bit here and go with someone who isn't really featured, just present: Ambrose Pike from Elizabeth Gilbert's (yes, Eat, Pray, Love Elizabeth Gilbert) The Signature of All Things. It's long and different and talks a lot about moss...but so worth a read if you don't mind slow Victorian-type novels.

Merida - Name a book that features a mother-daughter relationship.

There are not enough books that tackle this, in my opinion--at least that I've come across. The Help features a mother-daughter relationship, as does Pride and Prejudice, The Signature of All Things, Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, Boy, Snow, Bird... but they're not exactly positive relationships.

Which I guess Merida doesn't have either, but in the end it all works out.

Still, I can't think of one to recommend. Please, PLEASE, suggest something in the comments below!

Anna and Elsa - Name a book that features a great relationship between siblings.

One about me and MY sister! Just joking. But seriously C, it would be a great book.

I'm going to have to go with Little Women for this one. Those sisters would do anything for each other, even if it's in their own special ways. They have realistic relationships with each other, something we can all relate to and, if we're lucky, achieve.

---

If there are any other Disney-related posts out there, please tell me. I need them in my life :) And does anyone have some good mother/daughter relationship book recommendations? Let me know in the comments!

Leeann

And here I am at 8-years-old FULFILLING my childhood dream of meeting Cinderella. THe line was so worth it. I hope getting to this picture was worth it too.

The Presentation | Intern Diaries #2

The summer internships continue, and a couple weeks ago I met the CEO of Emmis Communications, the company that owns Indianapolis Monthly.

One thing I love about Emmis is how the company cares so much about the audiences of its media. While magazines and radio are typically considered more "traditional" media, this company has managed to make them cool and accessible.

I think that comes from the focus on giving the audience what they want AND need. One of the company's commandments is "Take care of your audiences and your advertisers – think of them and you’ll win." Emmis anticipates what people want before they want it, something increasingly more difficult to do in the Internet age.

So I was excited to try it myself when the Indianapolis Monthly interns teamed up to create "20-things for 20-somethings to do in Indy," a guide to our favorite things for our age group. It was a ton of work, but we really got to know each other and what it takes to create information with a team. Plus, we got to present the finished product to interns in the other Emmis departments and the CEO of the company, Jeff Smulyan, as well as our advisors.

As we showed the process on the screen behind us and talked about all we learned, I realized just how much you can take away from an internship. Sure, I know a ton about the ins-and-outs of a regional magazine. But I also know about working with an art team, the best ways to communicate (both on a team and to the public), and how to work on a deadline. All valuable things I can take no matter where I end up in a year (#thatsterrifying). 

So thanks, IM internship. I may only have four weeks left, but I promise to make the best of them.

So, now I want to know: what valuable things have you learned from an internship or a job?

Leeann