Journal Essay Assignment - Question #3

3) What are the best and worst parts of this internship? Why? How are both of these aspects to your internship part of your learning experience?

The best parts of the internship, hands down, were the flexibility and all of the hands on, direct interaction. There was nowhere else I could have interned that would have given me that level of attention. Worst side? I suppose if there was a downside, it would be that I worked for my dad. That simply means that the criticisms were rougher (there was no level of “Maybe I shouldn’t hurt this stranger’s feelings") – but at the same time, his critiques of my work certainly taught me faster than someone who sugarcoated things and gave me too much time to correct any issues. Problems got solved much quicker because he didn’t have to create a friendship first, as it was already well established.

I would have preferred, ideally, to have not interned in Binghamton and rather been out in a major city. I think that's simply my pride though - I had a lot of friends/peers in the city and I was so jealous I couldn't be with them. But at the same time, the money I saved and the local connections I gained gave me a lot of encouragement towards how to start my own business post-graduation, and the comfort of being close to home should I fail (the safety net is a good feeling that I know won't last forever, so I'd like to take full advantage of it). I'm sure the city would have found a way to break my spirit if I was at all in the "wrong" internship.

So really, there was no major upside or downside - they played off of one another until there was a happy medium that I was glad to leave the internship with.