Our Dream Internships: Five Women Weigh In
By Zibby Owens
Sliding Doors is one of my all-time favorite films. The notion that one decision or one moment—like whether or not you catch a particular train—can have the most significant effects on the course of your life is profound. In Gwyneth’s case in the film, everything from life partner to kids to job hung in the balance of one instant.
Whenever I make decisions, big or small, I am usually paralyzed by the weight of the aftereffects. What if I decide to go to my friend's 50th birthday party and there’s a fire in my apartment while I’m gone and something happens to my kids and they can’t reach me and…. ? Or what if I end up not selecting someone’s book for my GMA round-up and they get depressed and are rude to their spouse who then….? It can go on and on.
For someone like me with an anxiety disorder (I didn’t even think anxiety was a disorder), the rumination can be endless. Sometimes the least consequential decisions, like who should pick up which child, are the most challenging; while the big ones, like should I open a bookstore when offered a prime location in Santa Monica with very low rent, seem fairly obvious.
The existential notion of infinite choice is something that not only affects our personal lives, but our careers, too. In Alisha Fernandez Miranda’s new memoir from Zibby Books, My What If Year, she tries four internships in the dream careers of her youth. She assists with a Broadway production, becomes a fitness instructor, works for a high-profile art dealer, and waits tables at a luxury resort—quite a departure from running her own successful business.
I was privileged enough to have several amazing internships when I was in college. I worked at Vanity Fair magazine, the adolescent inpatient unit of a psychiatric hospital, and the brand planning group of a big advertising agency. (These three have more in common than you might think.) But at this point in my life, what would I do? And what does everyone else fantasize about doing?
I decided to ask some powerful women I know. Amy Griffin, Founder and Managing Partner of G9 Ventures, would love to spend a week with a journalist, either in a TV broadcast or at a newspaper. Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Cofounder and Managing Partner at Clerisy, and Cofounder of Gilt, GlamSquad, and Fitz, would intern for Elon Musk, “learning how to be fearlessly innovative in solving problems of the future by creating revolutionary, bold businesses; observing his transformational leadership style in person; and seeing how he juggles his responsibilities between SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter.” Actress and activist Alysia Reiner craves a peek into the FBI after prepping for her Ms. Marvel character; she’d be interested in “interning at a start-up incubator focused on green/clean/eco ideas about water and energy.” (Think Tiger Toilets powered by worms.) Finally, Amy Williams, CEO of Citizens of Humanity, would choose to work with Phoebe Philo for a day.
Maybe we should organize a Women’s Internship Day where we all work in each other’s jobs for a week. Personally, I feel like I am doing my dream job right now. But I’d like to be a fly on the wall in the restaurant kitchen of a famous chef or perhaps sit in the writers’ room of a hilarious TV show.
As we head into middle age, what if we all tried out more fields that interested us? It’s never too late.
What would you pick?!