Interning ... on M St.

As a Georgetown student, there's some pressure to intern. Joe Hoya asks, "What are you doing this summer?" Jane Hoya responds, "Oh, I'm interning." Good answer. It's the only answer to give, if you ask me, with the exceptions of a.) traveling or b.) doing a summer program/taking summer classes. Notice that these exceptions require a few grand of your parents money. Are you purposely sabotaging your resume? Just working retail or just working at a camp doesn't seem to cut it anymore, because Harvard Law isn't impressed that you managed to sell a $300 winter coat in July. Should they be... just a little?

I'm one of many Hoyas straddling the line of interning and working retail. When people ask me what I'm doing this summer, I tell them I'm interning and working retail... to pay the rent. Always say to pay the rent. Don't leave that out. The internship is supposed to be the glamorous foray into white collar work while retail is the blue collar labor you're going to college to avoid. It's almost scary for me to say it... but I think in retrospect, I enjoyed the retail more. And no, it wasn't the people (I work alone). I just liked it more. I could wear comfortable clothes and walk around when I felt like it and was surrounded by stimulating, brightly-colored clothes. It's possible that I'm overly cynical to think that fellow Hoyas frown upon retail, but it's true that to just work retail for the summer casts an ominous shadow on your future as a real person in the real world. Even so, I'm happy with my time on the (in)famous M Street. "Have a nice day."