(@cityofphiladelphia via IG)
On a chill day, my usual rotation on my phone consists of TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram — faithfully! Imagine switching up that rotation to send emails, fill out applications and scroll on Linkedin to find your dream internship for the summer.
After an unimaginable number of hours, I was given an offer at this successful advertising firm on-site in Philadelphia. Did I mention I live in Troy, AL and I had to relocate the following week after I found out about my new position? I’m a girl who likes to take chances and with the help of my TikTok following, I was able to find student housing on the campus of Temple University thanks to my video that got nearly 11,000 views.
Let’s fast-forward to the part where a country girl is experiencing life in the city.
Troy’s population in 2020 was 18,995 while there were 1.582 million people in Philly. Talk about a major adjustment. I was welcomed with a cute brunch date with my mentor and two co-workers. But it was frustrating trying to figure out the public transit system and I arrived late and sweaty, so there goes my first impression.
I was so excited about working and living in Philly. It was all I imagined it to be until it wasn’t because all hell broke loose. Let’s just say I only got to work for three days at my internship. Within the first week of being in Philly, I was diagnosed with COVID-19.
If anything could go wrong, it went wrong. Before I could get tested for COVID, I wasted so much money on train fares and Ubers going to different establishments because either their appointments were full or they didn’t accept my insurance. I even tried ordering groceries and the grocery delivery service I attempted to use was constantly canceling my order and then I had to rush myself to the hospital due to an allergic reaction caused by the medicine I was prescribed for my terrible cough. I was also stuck in my room during the Fourth of July weekend, but luckily I could watch the firework show I planned to attend from my bedroom window. Thank God I wasn’t able to go because the next morning I looked on The Shade Room’s Instagram page and the exact firework show I planned to attend went viral because there was a shooting.
I’m a very spiritual person and when I start feeling like I do not belong, it is crucial that I listen to my gut — otherwise, God will send me signs after signs to make me listen. There were other reasons I left, but I won’t disclose that information because it is very personal to me.
I can’t end this storytime without a special shout out to the people that made my short stint in Philly worthwhile regardless of what I endured. I won’t reveal their names, but they know who they are. I would like to start with the person who granted me the opportunity for this internship. She was my mentor and trainer and she was also from the South which made me even more connected to her. She pushed and encouraged me and for that — I’m thankful. She also took me and the other intern to try ramen which was very good by the way.
Each day I had a different trainer and the first trainer reminded me of a character from my favorite movie “Pitch Perfect” — very knowledgeable with a go-getter attitude. She even brought me sweet tea during our lunch break so I can feel more at home. On day two, I was paired with someone as impulsive as me. We’re both fire signs, so shout-out to my Aries queen. During our shift, she taught me several vocabulary words to ensure I understood the assignment. Unfortunately, this is the day I started to get sick, but I started to feel better when we got picked up in a Tesla to head back to the office — or did I? On day three, I was paired with my mentor and that was when I realized my symptoms weren’t a common cold, but I pushed through with the help of medicine ball teas from Starbucks she brought me. I would also like to give honorable mentions to the two co-workers that took me to get Mexican food from a local spot on my very first day. They were really vibey and one of them was from Belize which is cool!
I know it may seem like I didn’t learn a thing from this internship, but in those three short days, I did. One of the tactics we learned was called the “Can and Can’t Controls” and it means exactly what it says. In life, we have to focus on the things we can control and worry less about the things we cannot. Unfortunately, I did have to move back to Alabama just two weeks after I moved to Philly, but all in all, I am grateful for the experience, and I hope my crazy ambitiousness encourages someone to chase their dreams and if it doesn’t work out remember the “Can and Can’t Controls’ and try again.