Thank God I Hated My Internship

Quickly, before we start

I hated my internship…Okay, I didn’t really hate my internship, I was only trying to get your attention. Hate is a harsh word, I find it much too indignant and hyperbolic to describe anything fairly. I didn’t hate my internship, but I also didn’t like it.

My name is Lindsay DiSalvo, I am a senior Advertising major. This semester I worked my first ever internship at Argyle Interactive, a small, online marketing agency that works closely with influencers and brands to deliver clean and communicative content. I was hired as an unpaid copy-writing intern, meaning that my work days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9-4) mostly consisted of writing 5-6+ social media briefs, promotional emails, blog posts, or other copy.

Before we get into my experience and the big, perspective-changing, world-altering lesson I am gearing up to share with you, let me clarify by saying that the company I worked for is fantastic. And no I am not being paid to say this… literally, not a cent. Collectively, Argyle is an intricate group of supportive, down to earth, and kind hearted people with some of the strongest work ethics I have ever seen. I loved all of them. When Argyle does something, they do it to perfection, they provide cohesive and modern work that harks a common theme of satisfaction. It is rare, if not improbable, that they ever say the word no. In the technical sense of absorbing new materials, I did learn new skills and structures I hadn’t previously known or had only exercised within the confines of a classroom. I did get a lot out of this internship, which is why it doesn’t really warrant the word hate.

So this is me, hereby stating that I am putting ZERO blame for my feelings on them.

Now, enjoy.

Help! I haven’t had an original thought in months

I never want to write a promotional email or social media brief ever (EVER) again. As more and more days went by of doing the exact same thing just for a slightly different client I began to feel a bit like a sink, watching my creativity circle the drain until the last bits of it were sucked away by a downward gravitational flow.

Within the matter of months I found that I could no longer rhyme two words together or come up with any eloquent synonyms from the top of my head. Buzz words like elevate, discover, and explore were beginning to seep into my vernacular.

Social media marketing took out all of the honesty and creativity out of writing. It chopped up all of my favorite parts, boiled them down, and made me this prepackaged thing that could only give you so much nutritional value from… Sorry, was that metaphor horrible? I’m still in the process of recovering my writing skills.

I was encouraged to use AI. Which, as a skill in the business sphere, is a valuable thing. But my close relationship with the technology quickly turned toxic when one day I attempted to write a poem. After failing to come up with an idea, my brain’s first thought was why don’t I have Chat GPT write it for me.

People say that AI makes life easier, but really I think it only makes living harder. AI is a crutch, just like spell check, grammarly, and social media. The more we use these things the more we dull our own thinking. We use these things to avoid others.

I’ve always been something of a Luddite, but now I’ve developed a serious aversion to social media and its capitalistic pitfalls of fiery hell. You can’t scroll for a second without being sold something, products, ideas, beliefs, hatred. I know, I know, I’m an advertising major, I am literally going to be selling things for the rest of my life. But it was crushing.

The day I realized that I couldn’t sit in a room of people I don’t know without scrolling on my phone, or that I couldn’t spell the word ingredient without spell check, was when I knew something had to give.

Not entirely because of my internship, but simultaneously, I noticed my mental health deteriorating, and realized that I had to do something in protest. So, I deleted all of my social media apps and now am writing this entirely self-serving blog post. And yes, I actually do feel fantastic.

The differences between Marketing and Advertising

A really important jurisdiction that I learned during my internship is the difference between Advertising and Marketing. Because they are exactly the same thing, but they function in two completely different forms. It’s kinda like how people say there is a left brain and a right brain even though they’re both wrinkly pink things. 

Advertising is all about innovation (Oh God there’s another one of those buzz words). It’s about thinking of something the client and the audience hasn’t known to think before. While Marketing is all about being exactly what the audience wants to hear. Saying the right words, at the right place, at the right time. 

Along the way, I have learned that I want to tell stories. I want to collaborate on a bigger idea. I want to try working in Advertising.

The Importance of Doing Something You Don’t Like

Going into college, I wasn’t sure what major to apply for. And now, nearly four years later, I am finally ready to admit that I have regrets. Yup, that’s right you heard it here first. I, Lindsay DiSalvo, have regrets. 

As taboo as it is,  I wish I had gone into college undecided. Even if I ended up in this exact same position, I wish I had allowed myself the chance to try classes in other fields. What is PR like? Or what about this love for Journalism I’ve only recently uncovered? I’ve always wanted to study Philosophy or History or Anthropology, but I didn’t. 

As my time as a student winds down, I can’t help but to realize that I wasted it. Or maybe that, I want more of it. Time, that is, to learn. And now I’m wasting yours so let me get to my point.

My internship taught me the importance of doing something you hate. Through experiencing something I didn’t like, I was forced to stop and learn about myself. Through experiencing ANYTHING whether it’s something you love or hate you learn about yourself, you grow, you broaden your world, you narrow down your wants. 

So no, when I graduate in a few months, I don’t want to get a job. But I do want to work more internships. One at an ad agency, freelancing at a newspaper, or at a museum doing cataloging. Heck, I even want to work on a farm. 

And if I’m lucky enough, I’ll hate some of those too.