FOMO: am I the only one!
Being an intern is not an easy task especially when it’s your first
time. My experience has been very challenging as it was my first internship
ever and my first ‘job’ that I’ve ever done. Even at 21, my first interview and
internship made me freak out. I was so scared that I would not be able to
fulfil my duties as an intern. As an intern you are more likely to commit
mistakes and lack the understanding than a full-time employee; and this fear
has made me persevere and better myself beforehand. I was more apprehensive for
my interview than my internship in itself.
As an intern, I felt very awkward in the beginning, as in the firm
that I was working, there weren’t any other young staff or interns as such. The
few interns were in the finance department and not PR. On top of freaking out,
having no friends or people your same age is extremely frustrating and boring
too.
In addition to that, having a large office to yourself definitely
does not make it easier. It is like being alone by yourself most of the time,
and that kind of created a FOMO feeling. This fear of missing out concept
really got to me but then I started to enjoy my work and now I must say I kind
of miss it too. Waking up, getting ready, wearing classic and chic clothes,
travelling and working the whole day was actually an amazing experience.
However, I don’t know if its just me but I was experiencing FOMO a
lot. This preliminary phase before the internship was hectic, stressful yet exciting
too but when it comes to actually working, I started to feel that I was missing
out on something. Forasmuch I was doing the internship during my holidays, I had
this feeling that other people are having fun and travelling and I was in an
office, working on events and reports. Fear of missing out is a disease that
can take a toll on you somehow. But luckily public relations is not a 24/7 office
bound or desk clog type of job, it allows one to move and meet people. That was
one very fantastic aspect of my internship that I could be part of the events
being held or organised. Networking is what public relations practitioners seek
when they work in that sector and this opportunity has made me grow as an
individual in the work sphere.
