By Briyah Paley
Summer in the city
Living in Manhattan there is all kinds of excitement. From the moment I got home from my first year in college, I expected that it would be interesting. While covering a story for The Northeastern News, I met the beauty director for YM magazine. Not knowing what I was going to do this summer, I jumped at the chance to ask her about a job. She happily gave me the contact information I needed, and I was on my way.
Three months later, after many e-mails and a phone interview, I landed an internship at YM as the YM.com intern. I was psyched.
My first day on the job, I was a little nervous. Since we ended school so late, I was the last intern to get there. But my first day, my editor, Sarah, a nice woman from England, told me we were going to the restaurant Planet Hollywood to interview Joey Fatone from ‘NSYNC. OK, think what you will about the band, but this was a great way to begin my internship. As soon as I got there, I felt like royalty. Well, almost. They took our picture with Joey and there were waiters waiting on us, serving us greasy snacks like Cap’n Crunch fried chicken and fries. Joey was really nice, as he patiently answered our questions. He was not intimidating at all.
I went back to the office to write up the story. For my first assignment, Sarah was pleased with my work. I’ve always been good at writing “teen-style” pieces, so this was right up my alley. The next day my article was on YM.com with our picture right next to it.
The days following were a little slower. My responsibilities at the job include deciding who wins the win-its, YM’s giveaways (It’s supposed to be random, but I use my own method). I also go through the “cool thoughts,” and let me tell you, some of these teens are pretty morbid. I actually read one that said, “Don’t worry if you die a virgin, in the end, the world screws us all!” I had to delete that one.
Another thing I was nervous about is my social life this summer. My best friend is at boarding school and she’ll stay there this summer. My college friends in the city are around, but it’s a big adjustment to go from living in the dorms and seeing your friends 24/7, to having to make scheduled times to see them My sister is about to graduate high school, so she’s been caught up with the prom and seeing her friends before they all separate. I’ve met other interns though, both at YM and other publications. Many are from out-of-state and live at NYU, which seems like fun, but it’s expensive. I’m lucky I can live at home for the summer. It’s shaping up to be a memorable one.
