Looking back on this semester, I hope to feel confident about my summer plans and proud of what I will have accomplished. I’ve already applied to a few internships for the summer. One is paid at a corporate law firm. After conversations with my dad and Camille, I will not do that internship even if I get accepted. It would suck if that were the only opportunity I had. I also applied to MALDEF and LULAC. I think those are much better fits, and though it’s unfortunate they do not pay, the limited resources they have shouldn’t necessarily be going to me. That being said, if I enter a public interest career, I have to make some money, even if I’m not part of the population or cause the organization advocates or works for. I should apply to more summer internships or opportunities, but I’m not exactly sure what and have a lot on my plate right now. At this point, I think I would prefer to work in an internship that is already offered, rather than working alongside someone. I like structure and instructions and am concerned that someone could be doing great work, but just being there and doing some stuff sometimes wouldn’t be as fulfilling as interning in a designed position they already intended to have. But if I get a different type of opportunity, of course I will consider it.
In Ideals into Practice specifically, I want to take all the work I’m doing for the tour guide program and reflect on it, get good at presenting it, and think about how I could apply it to other jobs and opportunities in the future. Sometimes I feel like there are so many little things to do, get this guide coverage, get that tour staffed, answer those questions, that time goes by and I’m not the most present. I hope to change that and live in the moment a little more whether or not I’m working, while still accomplishing what is expected of me and what I want to. After 124 tours, at the time of this writing, it can sometimes feel like going through the motions. I want to look back and have enjoyed even the repetitive stuff and live in the moment. I think of the quote by John Lennon: “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” I don’t want the future to just happen without any forethought, but I also don’t want to be so caught up in what comes next that the present is always passing me by.
