It might seem an obvious point, but difficult decisions are a big part of planning your future after college. While some struggles are internal (like my current struggle between going to Prague or a small town in England for my study abroad next year), others are conflicts between yourself and those around you encouraging to pursue certain daunting opportunities. One such conflict/struggle that I was involved in last semester was how to spend my summer break. I was more interested in taking a couple of classes at UCLA to keep myself preoccupied in an academic setting, where I was more comfortable than I was in applying for an internship at a studio in the greater Los Angeles area. As I am not an LA-native, this would have required renting an apartment on my own as well as potentially getting a paying job so I could support myself for the duration of said internship.
There were several pros and cons to each option. An advantage of taking classes at UCLA would be getting some extra credits, as well as the fact that I could use campus housing and I wouldn’t be as stressed out as I might be with a job or internship. I would also have more time to spend time with friends in LA and I could experience what life is like at a big university. A disadvantage would be that I would have to pay for my classes.
On the other hand, if I got an internship, it would look great on a resume for future years and I could get a head start on learning the business and making contacts. I would also gain independence and develop a better sense of the Los Angeles area. This was the option that was pushed on me by my CP&R consultant and a couple of my friends.
After many tears and stressful conversations, I decided on taking the classes at UCLA. I felt like getting an internship would push me too far out of my comfort zone and that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I would like taking classes. And since I was only going into my second year of higher education, it was unlikely that I would be able to get any internships in the first place. The rest of my then-transcript wouldn’t help me much, either.
In the end, I’m glad I went with my gut and took UCLA classes. The film program at UCLA is such that it’ll still look great on a transcript when applying for actual internships this year, when I’ll really be ready to live entirely on my own. I also discovered that I am NOT a big university girl and that the small community at Scripps is perfect for me. And, on a more frivolous note, had I not had a flexible university schedule, I might not have been able to wait in line at Amoeba records for ten hours to get a ticket to a Doctor Who DVD signing with the two stars, Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.
My final advice would be to only do what you feel ready for. Don’t let people push you into something if you feel as uncomfortable about it as I did. The circumstances are different for juniors and seniors, but if you’re only entering your sophomore year, just make sure you’re doing SOMETHING to build your resume.