I am in my final week of my internship, and am closing off my time in Spain! It is hard to believe I just spent my final weekend here, where I took a trip down south and visited the amazing cities of Malaga and Granada. Although I have had a consistent theme of my love for Madrid, these cities were phenomenal. I really enjoyed both, but Malaga was my personal favorite. The beach was stunning, and the city was gorgeous. Granada was great as well, it’s a beautiful old city with a lot of history. Visiting two cities in one weekend was a challenge, but with extensive planning we made it work. I would keep forgetting it was my last weekend, and all I could think about was that I am so glad to have seen a little more of such a beautiful country I have grown to love. 

With my Spain trip coming to an end, there is so much for me to look back on. This experience has been incredibly fulfilling, both personally and professionally, and it is really hard to believe I will go home in 4 days. Similarly to how I felt coming here; I don’t think the idea that I will be leaving will hit me until I am on the plane home. The time has expectedly flown by, filled with travel, challenges, and lots of siestas. All though I knew this experience would be something to cherish due to the short time, the end being so close seems to have come out of nowhere. 

With my last week of work staring at me, it is a good time to reflect on success and how success has been measured throughout my internship and my time in Spain. To me, the biggest indicator of success to me in a workplace in Spain has been the ability to balance work and social life. In my office, everyone is incredibly hardworking. They also leave right at 3. (Summer hours. An amazing Spanish tradition I will miss desperately). In the United States, I think it is generally understood that those who work overtime, are first in the office, are considered the most productive and are valued the most as a worker. That work culture does not exist here, at least in my experience. Everybody works hard, but nobody is sacrificing personal time for their job. I think it is worth saying that the ability to feel satisfied with your work each day so you can leave without working overtime, means you are successful in your job. 

Success in my experience here has been when I am able to complete a task effectively and quickly without asking too many questions. I’ve already expressed I have a difficult time with the last part, but at the end of the day I am an American. However, the idea in theory I agree with. There is really no good reason to me that work culture in America and being the most successful in a job is measured based on how many extra hours you put in. It’s most important here to cultivate good relationships, in and outside of work. Success here is also measured by your relationships with coworkers. There are a lot of opportunities to socialize at work, and having a good relationship with your coworkers is helpful, especially in my small office. Being social is a good trait to have in the States as well, but it is a lot harder to cultivate those relationships. In my internship I began with long lunches, where I would sit and talk with my coworkers, and the more I got to know them the better I would feel about coming into work. I felt more successful in my position the more I got to know the people around me. 

To be successful in the fashion industry I feel you need to be hardworking and creative. Things move fast, and even in the summer, there is a ton of stuff to do for a sock company. Working in a small company like Jimmy Lion, in order to succeed I find myself needing to be flexible. Whether I am coming up with new methods of research,  or trying to figure out the best way to organize my spreadsheet, I have had to be adaptable. Especially as an intern, learning how to be more adaptable has been a skill I was not expecting to get out of my internship, but it is at the forefront of skills I have developed. Working in Spain has taught me that to be successful, at the core, you need to have the willingness to take criticism, bounce back, and be constantly open to a changing environment.