My Path to Privila
“I am writer, with dreams and big ideas!” said Louis Kamps, a writer whose article was recently featured in the April issue of Elle Magazine on the subject of ambition. Writing under any circumstance is hard, however, practice makes perfect. This familiar adage applies to any sort of literary or journalistic endeavor, whether it’s poetry, prose or Privila, Inc.
I’ve taken many classes at college where I was able to work on my writing as a craft. But I was really able to hone my skills interning as an online journalist for Privila last fall. My path to Privila began in the summer. I decided to weigh my collegiate options - either stay in art & design school studying photography (a subject in which my interest and passion had all but died) OR transfer to a liberal arts school where I could study English in the hopes of becoming a writer, honoring my dreams and big ideas.
I went with the latter option and decided not to take classes during the fall. I then started looking for internships which would help me gain writing experience. Specifically, I was looking for the kind of internship that would allow me, nay, require me to write. Writing was all I wanted to do. No answering phones or copying things, none of that extraneous stuff. I just wanted to write. So for weeks on end, I Googled “Editorial Internships,” “Journalism Internships,” and “Writing Internships” before discovering the Privila Internship Program.
As described, their Journalist Internship for telecommuters was exactly what I was looking for. The program required a minimum contribution of 5 articles a week. And I could participate from the comfort of my own home! I was so excited to find I could write from home. Here I was, all but prepared to move to Illinois for a few months just to complete the program.
After I was officially accepted into the program, I sent a list of my interests/hobbies. Providing a list of interests helped the editors in selecting the articles topics I would be assigned for the duration of my internship. My top interests included fashion, shopping, coffee, reading, movies, etc.
The first week of the internship was, by far, the most exciting. First, because I could research coffee - the history, how it’s made, how it’s good for you. Second, because it was the first time I had ever been published online. In fact, as soon as my first article was published, I emailed my mother a link to the article. She called me later that day and read a little of it back to me and told me she was proud of her daughter. My mother was proud of me!
After the first week of the internship, the Privila Editor contacted me about my articles and hours. Since I signed up for additional hours, she suggested I could write two articles a day, if I wanted. I decided to challenge myself and for the next two months I wrote about many subjects with ease (shopping) and some with difficulty (computer programming). While my editor did her best to assign interesting and relevant topics, sometimes I had to bite the bullet. The main part about being a journalist and a writer is that you don’t always get to cover things you love. Had I been unwilling to step out of my comfort zone and resisted the challenges presented, I never would have learned the difference between static and dynamic web templates or how to throw a great bachelorette party!
Although my internship was intense it was also a wonderful learning experience. I realized I made the right decision when I changed schools. I love being a writer. The Privila Internship Program is a great way to practice how to write the best way. It’s also a great way of building a portfolio. When I graduate from college and begin the voyage into the real world, this internship will definitely be on my list of experiences. I may even use it to land another internship at a magazine next year. If you have dreams and big ideas, an internship with Privila makes for a great starting point.
--- submitted by Lindsey Gregory, Savannah, Georgia
(Journalist via telecommute, Fall 2006)
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