For a long time now, the word “intern” has carried with it the baggage of stigma. Coffee-fetcher. Busy-worker. Unpaid. And probably the most fearful for those seeking internships: Inconsequential. Sure, we interns want to gain any experience we can get our hands on. But the companies we strive so hard for, that we seek approval from, mean so much more to us than we let on. Our greatest fear is that we won’t bring anything of importance to the table; we won’t be remembered after our internship has ended.
At the beginning of the summer, I wasn’t sure of what contributions I could make to Creative Loafing. None of us was. We were clay, malleable and willing.
It became very clear from looking at previous interns’ issues what those who came before us had left behind. Many preferred to draw attention to the fact that they were interns. Stories in those issues covered similar territory: “college-aimed,” “don’t want to grow up,” “becoming adults,” “intern clichés.”
We knew that we wanted to be different and break from the patterns of years past. So instead of an “intern issue,” we decided on an “issue written by interns,” showcasing our abilities and what we’ve learned over the course of our time here. By keeping the issue as close as possible to normal, we hope to impress upon readers, and the wonderful staff here at CL, our effort, dedication, and usefulness to those who took the time and energy to further our experience and education.
The theme for this year’s intern issue is wanderlust, a yearning felt by young and old alike. Whether it leads to travels abroad (as in Sarah Conner’s piece on teaching in South Korea or Angelina Bruno’s adventures in Swedish cuisine); a move to a new home (my story on affordable cities for young people); jaunts around the state (Jasmine-Wildflower Osmond’s Florida travelogue); or a project that bridges the bay (Thais Leon-Miller’s story on Creative Clay’s collaboration with Pyramid), wanderlust spurs adventurousness. The stories in this issue note the intrigue of foreignness and the allure of the places true to our hearts: the places we call home.
—Matthew Cruz
Matthew Cruz is a senior at USF majoring in creative writing. He was the lead editor for the intern-created content in this issue.
