How to Learn from an Awkward Intern Experience

By Christina Ripley

For reasons unexplained, bizarre and awkward situations seem to make up large sections of my life. I publically fall on ice at least four times during the winter months. In sixth grade someone managed to break into my locker, oddly stealing only my rented flute for band class, a canister of pencils and a Ziploc bag full of Goldfish crackers. And junior year of college, one of my professors walked in on me while I was using the bathroom. I’ve tried to explain these occurrences by blaming karma, my own personality quirks or on the assumption that the Almighty has a black sense humor. Either way, this penchant of strange happenings has spilled over into my work as an intern.

Probably the most entertaining story occurred this summer while I was interning in London. I worked for a blog called “Beauty and the Dirt,” that published stories about the cosmetics and fashion industry in London. One day my boss asked me to go pick up some catalogs from another company’s office located a few blocks away. OK, yes I got lost once. But the street system in London is absolutely insane. Some of the street layouts were adapted from the walking patterns farmers used to herd cattle hundreds of years ago. Seriously.

Anyway, I found the office building and they buzzed me inside. You see, offices in London are often very small and there is a small stairwell and entryway shared by multiple offices. It kind of resembles the entrances to apartment buildings. I picked up the catalogs and all seemed well and good. I walked back down the stairs and tried to open the door that lead to the street. Except, it was locked.

I searched for a deadbolt to twist so I could unlock the door but there wasn’t one. I started to panic a little bit. The hallway was completely empty and I had no intention of heading back up 3 flights of stairs to ask the secretary to open a door. That would have been pathetic. So instead I stood in the doorway for about 10 minutes just praying that someone would open the door. Sadly, no one came. I started to worry that I would be trapped inside this stupid building forever. How useless was I as an intern? I couldn’t even open a door! Expletives began gathering like a cloud in my head as I cursed everything from my logic skills (why hadn’t I played more chess as I child! I could solve this puzzle if I had played more chess!), to the entire city of London (who locks a door from the inside? What a terrible business model. No wonder the British Empire fell apart.).

Suddenly I noticed a small button on the right side of the door, somewhat hidden by a shadow. Underneath was a small sign that simply said “Open.” I hesitantly pushed the button and heard a small click as the door miraculously opened. It was really that easy!

There is a moral to this story. As an intern, you will run into tasks that you don’t expect. Sometimes they might be less complicated than you are making them out to be. Calm down and evaluate your surroundings. The solution might be right in front of your face! Eventually, you’ll find a way to unlock the door.