Living in Stockholm has continued to be a great experience. The weather is perfect, it’s not too hot and cools down at night which I really enjoy. This week at my internship I helped prepare clothing for a photoshoot we had the next week. This usually involves unpacking the clothes and hanging them up, then on shoot day, we will do all the steaming. I also continued to work on articles and layout for our online magazine.
Outside of work, we had to say goodbye to some of our friends who were only here for the six week program. It was sad to see them leave because we had become very close over such a short period of time. At the same time, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to meet so many people from different backgrounds and build friendships that I hope will last long after this internship ends. On Monday, the weather was especially beautiful, so some of my friends and I went to a cliff jumping spot to enjoy the afternoon. It was a fun way to take advantage of the warm weather and spend time together before everyone became busy again.
This weekend we took a boat over to Helsinki as a part of the absolute internship program. The boat was super fun, we got to meet some of the new interns that came in for the July program. That was a good opportunity to hangout and get to know some of them since they live in a different residence than the June group. In Helsinki, we went to the pools and sauna, which was very relaxing. We spent most of the morning going back and forth between the pool and the sauna. Then I got a coffee and laid out in the chairs. It wasn’t very sunny, but surprisingly I was comfortable enough to lay out and not be cold. After that we had some free time to explore the city. We got some pizza for lunch and then headed to a couple of the cathedrals. Both cathedrals actually had weddings going on, but in the Uspenski Cathedral, they actually let us in to see the wedding. It was interesting to see a traditional Finnish wedding and observe some of their wedding traditions. The Uspenski Cathedral was so beautiful. We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but it was one of the most detailed Cathedrals I have seen. We also came across a large market with lots of vendors. We shopped around there for a while and grabbed a few souvenirs.
Before my internship, I hadn’t had a lot of leadership experience; nor did I want to. I prefer to be given instructions, I am much more comfortable following directions than making decisions. I like having clear expectations and a structured list of tasks I can complete in order. At my job back home, every day is very similar, and I complete many of the same responsibilities in the same order. That type of routine makes me feel confident because I know what is expected of me.
This internship abroad has challenged my typical mindset in ways I did not expect. My boss often asks me to use my creativity or “do what I think works best,” instead of giving clear, detailed instructions of what it is she wants. At first, that was uncomfortable because I was worried about making mistakes or choosing the wrong approach. I realized that leadership is not always about telling other people what to do. Sometimes it is about trusting your own judgment and taking responsibility for the outcome. Working in a creative industry has shown me there isn’t always one correct answer.
As I have adapted to this new work style, I have become more comfortable making decisions that I think are best and trusting my own judgement. Rather than waiting for instruction, I have started to take initiative when completing tasks or noticing small errors. I am also learning to ask as many questions as it takes for me to understand what needs to be done, so it is done correctly. Communicating clearly is an important part of leadership. Being willing to learn and adapt is something that has really helped me make this internship experience successful.
