Not-So-Humble Beginnings
When I think about what my "first job" was, it's such a vague term. It could be my first paying job when I worked as a camp counselor at 15, or the job I have now, which is the first job in my field that is consistent, stable, and has benefits. But my first internship out of college was an unpaid, remote internship for an independent film production company in NYC. I had interviewed via Skype, and got the job but always had a weird feeling about it for some reason. I was a "Social Media Intern" aka constantly emailing and messaging people to promote this crazy boss' kickstarter campaign for a film about her relationship with her mother. The first day they ever gave me work (also via Skype), I got really depressed and was hysterically crying. Little did I know I was right...
After going back and forth with the boss' assistant and working from home for 2 days, they asked me to come into their “office” in NYC for the first time (I’ll explain the quotes later). First of all, it was raining, A LOT. So that automatically ruined everything. My dad drove me to the bus stop and I waited for the bus for 20 minutes. It turns out the bus didn’t even come, so he drove me to the second closest bus stop and the bus came on time. But it was already 10 and I had to be at at work by 12. The bus ride is about an hour and a half (and I have to leave time for the subway/walking). The ride in was fine, THANK GOD. It was my first time taking the subway alone, which I was VERY nervous about. I went to the subway station and my mom suggested to buy a MetroCard from an actual person, not the machine, to be safe. I paid fucking $30 for a 7-day MetroCard I wasn't even going to use because the lady said they weren’t selling 1-day passes (I later found out she was lying) and ended up giving it to my sister who lives in NYC. ROOKIE MISTAKE!!!
I found the right subway and got off when I was supposed to. That was probably the easiest part of the day. When I left the subway station, it wasn’t raining as hard but I didn’t know where the fuck I was going. I asked a guy in a coffee shop where to go and he had no idea. Then, I asked a random college activist student and she helped me a little bit. I walked around aimlessly because at the time, I was a stupid tourist and have never been in the West Village before. I mean, the streets aren’t even numbered in order so who can blame me for getting lost? I asked a guy in a shoe store where to go, and he helped me a lot.
Luckily, I FOUND THE RIGHT BUILDING!! I arrived at 12:15, which wasn’t too much later than I expected. I actually wasn’t too far from it after I asked the guy in the shoe store. So I walked in this building and I realized it wasn’t an “OFFICE” IT WAS AN APARTMENT BUILDING. WHAT THE FUCK? I knocked on the door and the boss' assistant answered but it wasn’t her apartment, it was the boss’. The boss was there but didn’t even introduce herself or say hi or anything? I wore a semi-nice outfit because I thought I’d be walking into a professional office. So, the assistant (or the boss? I can’t remember) says “take your shoes off, we’re a no-shoes kind of place” OR SOMETHING. BUT I WAS “WORKING” IN A FUCKING APARTMENT. FOR NO PAY. WITH ONLY TWO OTHER PEOPLE. So, I did the tasks they asked me to and that was that.
THEN IT GOT AWKWARD. I can’t explain much about this part for personal reasons but the boss was being a complete bitch while discussing my schedule. AND the whole time we worked in there she was cussing and crying and obnoxiously chewing gum. She was a weird person. But the other girl was nice. SO NICE. So I was happy about that. But before the boss bitched at me she actually asked if I wanted Chinese food and I said yes, but after she asked me again and I said no. (I hadn’t eaten all day, but my anxiety was still bad and I wanted to get the FUCK out of there). So, after I told her no she’s like “Did I make you lose your appetite?” LIKE FUCK YOU, BITCH.
So, I worked for a little longer. I was just sending Facebook messages to people promoting whatever we were doing. It was taking FOREVER. The FB page had over 1,000 people to contact, I had already finished 100 (which is a lot!) It was around 3 and my mentor asked me when I had to leave. I just said 5 to be safe because I am commuting and I had to leave in subway/walking time again. She said 5:30, I negotiated 5:15. Facebook was being glitchy anyway and it was around that time, so I left. I explained to the assistant that I felt uncomfortable (the boss was on the phone so it was perfect timing) and she understood. I FINALLY left and realized my mom was trying to keep in touch with me because I didn’t have a chance to look at my phone all day. I called her sobbing because it was literally the most awful experience of my life. I was happy just to be OUT OF THERE.
It started raining even harder and SHOCKER, I was lost again. I went to the wrong subway station and fucking flipped out, called my mom AGAIN crying (this was probably a half hour later). I finally got out of the station and went into ANOTHER shoe store (WTF WITH THESE SHOE STORES?) to ask a lady where to go. And FINALLY, I found the right station and got on the right subway! I went on the bus home and while I was waiting in line I called my mom A THIRD TIME sobbing again. (I was a fucking MESS that day) And that was it. The next day, I emailed the assistant and quit but she asked me if I could still work for them but only remotely, not going into the "office" or anything. In the email she asked if the boss scared me, but I didn't mention a reason why. I ended up working for them for a few more weeks, and by the end of that month they just stopped giving me work.
Things I learned from this experience:
- Taking subway is fucking HARD when you're not familiar with the NYC transportation system
- DO NOT BUY A 7-DAY SUBWAY PASS IF YOU DON'T NEED IT!
- Bad days are even worse in the pouring rain
- DO NOT TAKE ANY BOSS’ SHIT, ESPECIALLY FOR NO PAY
- Do not give up on getting what you want because of one bad experience, just try harder
- Do what’s best for you, regardless of other’s needs
- Some bosses are fucking crazy and if you have a good one, consider yourself very lucky!
- IT. GETS. BETTER.
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