Today was my first day at my new internship and, much like every first day I’ve had when I started working somewhere new, I was excited, happy, grateful, overwhelmed and a little lost, all at different points throughout the day.

The work day itself went by quickly, yet so much happened. I met a bunch of people in the department, and their names didn’t cling to my memory, aside from a few key ones. My supervisors treated me to lunch, which was a pleasantly sweet surprise.

Later, we all (about fifteen of us, all girls and only one guy) had ice cream cake for one girl’s birthday, which was yesterday (I keep referring to them as girls, when I should probably refer to them as women, even though they’re not much older than me. We’re at that ambiguous age, I guess, haha).

I’m pleased that my supervisors especially were very welcoming and helpful. I can already tell that everyone there gets along very well, and thus, I need to find my place so that I can begin to fit in and feel more at home there as well. That’s always difficult for me, being that I’m so quiet and reserved. I need to push myself to go beyond simply wishing people a good morning by making friendly chit chat.

Things like that really do make a difference, though, because if you’re just there to do your job and not talk to anyone, it’s not going to lead to anything. It’s about the experience as well as doing your job right. That’s something I’m continuing to learn with each internship I do. This is my third one now, and I need to do my best to turn it into bigger opportunities.

So, those are my challenges, as I begin to get acclimated to my new work environment as well as get to know my new co-workers. I’m always hard on myself sometimes; I’m a very serious person. It’s just how I am. I want to enjoy this time, too, because it is exciting, and I’m hoping I’ll make some great new friends and have a great experience along the way.

Here’s to new beginnings!

-Ali