Are you watching closely?

A post which such a clichéd title is expected to usually circumscribe the regular two month long escapade which most people in my friend list are currently excited about, but being a part of the (un)-privileged few who still have a week between them and their internships, I sought to use this time to elaborate on what might be in store for us during what is touted to be the most exciting part of the MBA program, of course after the coveted Student Exchange platform.

THE PLEDGE

Contrary to popular B-School folklore, an internship doesn’t begin on the D-day when you slither inside that perfectly tailored suit but it starts immediately after you receive an offer from the (Wo)-Men in Black. That day marks the inception of an idea, you start building a dream, brick by brick, laying down all your fantasies around that office building, the close by people, the long parted friends and the petty stipend which for some is a quick indicator of your performance in the first year at college.

Just like other fantasies this vision too has certain fabricated elements, the high certainty that you will bump into this pleasant looking girl/guy from some other college who will fall for you much before the curtains on your career do. The fact that you will be awesome at your office despite being a pathetic, worm-like, inconspicuous creature in your college, the hope that wisdom which has been eluding you since a year will somehow dawn upon you during internship and propel you one step closer to a better life PPO.

But not all mortals seek shallow goals, for some wiser fellows an internship is all about learning opportunities and challenging projects. They aspire to exceed expectations on this run of the mill project and end up changing the way the company has been functioning since years. And if this wasn’t enough, the realists they are, they believe that the path to the CEO’s chair passes through an intern’s desk.

We all have apparently given a thought or two to these appealing avenues, in case you haven’t - I bow down to thee, Lord Budha!

THE TURN

Cometh day one at the office and you slide into those leather shows which for most part of the year had only found utility during the company presentations. If you’re lucky enough you might as well get to go through some induction program which is tantamount to a ‘free lunch’ at the corporate.

But once you’re past this, you’re naked. Yes, the company culture could be engaging, the seniors might be supportive, the colleague could well be helpful but at the end of the day it’s you who has to get the job done. And if you’re lucky or unlucky enough to bypass the photocopying and documenting hurdles, you will be searching for answers sooner than anticipated.

The friend you promised to meet at 9 pm is probably looking for similar answers but in a different context, that glass of alcohol that you’ve been longing for since Friday morning will appear further apart, the appetite which was building since dawn suddenly vanishes as deadlines start encroaching on your personal space. The boss who thus far had an enticing smile and calm demeanor, all of a sudden transforms from Sanjeev Kapoor to Gordon Ramsay. 

The relationship which was fledgling since the past few months suddenly becomes a non performing long distance liability. The weekend meeting with a pal, the long planned trip all seem to fade as Saturdays and Sundays serve only to catch up with your sleep. And you begin to wonder was it the paradise you had bargained for, is the dream already over?

Now you're looking for a way out... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled.

THE PRESTIGE

That's why every internship has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Adaptation".

While browsing through Quora I came across this interesting piece of information on how some wild dogs in Moscow send forth the cutest pup while begging for food to appease the giver. They weren’t like this since the origins, but they adapted. So when even wild dogs in Moscow can adapt to riding the metro and optimize their begging behavior to suit the scenario, why an MBA grad though similar in the way it’s treated, cannot?

And hence when you realize that you have bent enough and you’re about to break, there arrives a moment of epiphany. Your subconscious has already found a way to tune itself to the new environment. The once hostile surroundings, turn less fierce and your back begins to straighten.

Expectedly or unexpectedly for some, the most flexible species under the sun starts learning the tricks of the trade. Some do it through keen research, some through collaboration, some through repeated efforts but they all do it nonetheless. Personal life is resuscitated by the mere understanding that work and home can no longer be treated as disjoint sets but rather overlapping ones. The food, the alcohol, the people all make a comeback into the Venn diagrams.

In a Renaissance of sorts, gradually your body acclimatizes to the pulse of work, you gain experiences, you make new friends and suddenly you realize the problem wasn’t the lack of home but the housed feeling of homelessness. And though you might have boarded the plane with a different destination in mind, it got you someplace else, a place which might have not kept those initial promises but endowed you with experiences you surely can’t say no to.

And that's magic! Ain't it ?