Internship Blues and Harp Girl

I want and need a freaking internship this summer and it's making me very upset that I haven't found one yet.

My resume looks really good for newspaper stuff- I have awesome clips- an awesome cover letter- what's going on? I don't know if it's because I'm too young or if because I tend to submit applications on the day they're due or what...but this is getting frustrating.

I have an interview tomorrow. ThankGodfinally. It's the first one I've gotten so far, I'm embarrassed to say. It's via phone- I don't really know the etiquette for that. I hope I do well.

If I don't get an internship the fall back plan is to take classes this summer and work at the restaurant to make lots of money. That wouldn't be bad, it's just not quite what I was hoping to do this summer (Aka build my resume).

I'm already looking for internships abroad for next spring. I really want to just spend a couple months in a foreign country working in the profession I love- I think it'd be fun, enlightening, and a great thing for resumes. I've contacted the LA Times about possibilities in their bureaus- they basically gave me a list of all their bureau chiefs and were like- "here, go talk to them- it's up to them if they take an intern or not." So I'm going down the list now- London's a no go because of issues in the bureau, I just contacted Rome, and I'm hoping to also talk to Buenos Aires, Bogota, Johannesburg, Tokyo, New Delhi, and maybe a few others. I'd love to be either in Europe somewhere (so I can travel and see everything around the country I'm staying in) or in South America, where I could polish my Spanish (a skill I really want to work on more). That would be so cool. I have an awesome former professor looking into an opportunity in the Netherlands for me...

I just really want this to work out- I want to start getting experience abroad so I can make this whole foreign correspondent dream a reality.

We'll see what happens.

In other news, I played harp and sang in the Vox Pop talent show today- I was nervous as hell but it went really well. (hey that rhymed!) The crowd really liked it- they kinda made me come back to do an encore. I was hideously embarrassed because I only had the one song prepared- I just played it over again. (I'm never going to make THAT mistake again. My teacher always told me to bring extra music just in case- now I know why!) I picked up a new nickname in the process I think, apparently people couldn't remember my name so on the voting ballots they just wrote some variation of "Harp Girl."

I think I'm okay with that. It was a great feeling- being up there performing. I love singing and I love music- especially rock and folky type stuff. I did it a lot in junior high, a bit in high school, and really haven't done anything with it in college until now. I've been wanting to get back into though- I get such a rush from being in front of people. Plus, who am I kidding? I'm the kid who not only rocks out in the car to music, but also harmonizes, plans duets, and choreographs stage movements, equipment, and costumes in my head. It's kinda sick honestly. I've just been held back until now because of my um, limited piano talents and nonexistent guitar skills (I did figure out how to play the guitar hook from Crazy Train though!)

But this whole experience has made me realize- maybe I can use my harp experience for more than just playing songs with the Orchestra and the occasional luncheon. Maybe I can harness that and use it to pretty much...rock out. The thought definitely appeals.

I love writing lyrics and melodies- anyone want to help me write harmonies and such and pull together some songs? (background music is my weak point) This could be very fun- and I've heard Vox Pop might be doing another show soon. : )

I also find it amusing that the new nickname, Harp Girl, has the same initials and set-up I gave myself when I started this blog- Hyperbole Girl. Hm.

Anyways. I should probably finish studying for my Spanish exam now.

Peace, kids.

Rach