Throughout my internship I have discovered that I am progressively receiving more and more responsibility. With that, my time frames are a bit more unclear and they tend to not remind me of tasks they have only told me to complete once. I am expected to write down what they tell me and finish it as quickly as I can. This can be a bit difficult whenever I have more work because I have to try to time manage better. However, I have found a rhythm and system to finish all my work to the best of my ability and on time. Sometimes, my supervisor will point to me in meetings and say that I could take care of something that I may not have heard of. For instance, she told me to look into cloud beds and then get back to the owner on what I found. However, I was not aware that it was actually a website for them to look into how many people had signed up for a trip to their Wicklow escape lodge. Had I not asked my supervisor what it was, and what exactly she wanted me to do with it, I would not have done it correctly. Most of the time directions are unclear and I have to either figure it out on my own or I simply go up and ask questions. They don’t mind me asking questions as I’m there to help everyone, so if I mess something up, that would be a setback. In addition, I don’t always receive the feedback that I desire. I will turn something into either my supervisor or the graphic designer and they will look over my progress, but they don’t always give me proper corrections. That has been a little hard to navigate because it would be helpful to know exactly what I am doing wrong or if I have done enough work on the project. In a way the uncertainty forces me to go above and beyond because I want to ensure that I’m not wasting their time or my own. I want to prove to the marketing department and company as a whole that I can be an asset no matter what tasks are thrown at me. I will usually perform extra research and type up a myriad of options for their social media rather than just one. The longer that I am at my internship, the easier it is to follow their directions and to navigate what they are trying to get me to do. Experience has made it a lot easier to realize what they expect out of me, what they like, and what they don’t. Thus far my internship has been challenging yet rewarding. I’m extremely happy with my placement because I get to work in mainly the marketing department but I also help out in a few other business areas. I’ve worked with the owner and helped with their event at the elbowroom escape, which is a lodge in Wicklow where they host a variety of activities. In addition, I’ve gotten to work a lot on their website and social media, so I’m getting a lot of experience in the advertising field as well as the business, informational side. This will provide me with a lot of great experience that I can utilize in future jobs and also when I get back to Pitt.

In addition, it has been such an experience exploring the city after work. Sometimes I go to Merrion square or St. Stephens green and I sit and read or I journal. It has enabled me to feel more independent because I go through a full work day and then I can go do whatever I want with the rest of my day. Sometimes I take a yoga class at the elbowroom or I go grab a cup of coffee and do some work. I’ve also been able to utilize my lunch break to explore city centre and go for walks which allows me to clear my head so I’m more productive when I go back to work.  

This past weekend, my roommate and I took a trip to Bray Beach where we were able to hike around the area and explore the vast mountainside and ocean. We walked along the beach and witnessed a lot of locals swimming in the freezing cold water. In addition, the trail that we went on is popular for running or simple exploring. Bray is a quiet town by the water and yet it’s scenery was unbeatable. We also stopped for some authentic clam chowder before heading home in a nice restaurant with a view of the ocean. It was definitely one of my favorite places thus far and I hope to go back to swim with the locals.