So this is a stretch, but does anybody remember the BBC miniseries Gormenghast? It was on… maybe ten years ago. No? Based on the novels by Mervyn Peake?  No? The name Titus Groan doesn’t ring a bell? Steerpike? Lord Sepulchrave? …No? Well, go on YouTube and look it up. It’s how I spent my entire Wedndesday evening: four hours of esteemed British actors and really bad CGI. Not like I had papers to write or anything.

But I don’t just bring this up to show off my geekiness, but to prove a point. See, Gormenghast is about this guy Steerpike (played by an incredibly young and oh-my-heavens-beautiful Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who starts off as this lowly kitchen boy and lies, cheats, steals and kills his way into power of the castle Gormenghast, playing the members of the ruling House of Groan off each other. Along the way there are roomfulls of Persian cats, a set of creepy twins, a murderous chef, and Stephen Fry. It’s awesome.

But back to Steerpike. Even though he’s pretty evil, you can’t help but root for him. The fact that he’s Jonathan Rhys Meyers helps up the sympathy a little (homeboy is gorgeous) but it’s really because of his passion that he’s such an interesting character. He wants to be ruler of Gormenghast, and you get the feeling like if he ever accomplished his goal, he’d be totally competent. But then, uh, you remember how he drove an old man to insanity and tried to kill a baby. Uncool. But (spoiler alert) he gets his comeuppance in the end and his face burns off and nobody loves him. Because that’s what this is all about, right? Having people love you and being pretty like Jonathan Rhys Meyers?

WRONG. I’m writing this blog entry for Career Planning & Resources, not Looking Like Jonathan Rhys Meyers Planning & Resources. And while going the Steerpike route and killing people for an internship may be a little too brutal, I think the real-life lesson from Gormenghast is that you can’t be afraid to get aggressive. It’s about toeing the line between chasing after what you want and getting crazy. There’s nothing wrong with ambition, as long as you know where to stop. I know I never want to step on any toes when I’m looking for an internship, but chasing after what you want is never a bad option.

I’ve had an email from a potential employer sitting in my inbox for a while. It’s not a job offer or anything like that, just a “here are my contacts if you want more information”, but I haven’t followed up yet. Actually, I’ve barely done anything in my search for a summer project aside from, well, blog about how I’m not doing anything yet. So maybe it’s time to take the Steerpike route and get a little more active. I’ll call that lady back and see what’s up. I’ll start looking a little more thoughtfully at my opportunities. I can overcome my odds, too! I don’t have to be a kitchen boy anymore! I can become ruler of Gormenghast—

–wait, no, I can’t. That’s not on The Gateway yet.

Bis später,

Julia