Intern

Continued from Sunday, February 3, 2013…

I was fortunate enough to have been blessed with good genes and an eye for fashion, which was why Rachael approached me to do a photo shoot for Glamour during my internship. I did not mind working for free, because I knew I would have a full page spread in the Glamour October 2012 issue. This angered Jodie during the day of my shoot, because she realized I was more physically appealing to Rachael. I stood out physically from the rest of the interns because my appearance was so unique, and was more likable than Jodie because of my social capabilities. Throughout the 3 months I interned there, I was mistaken for the models that would come to be casted in the office. However, I felt I was not taken seriously, and this pleased Jodie. Rachael always asked Jodie to take the trunks and racks out of the closet, and pack them up because they were heavy, and weighed twenty pounds each. I never thought this internship would require physical strength, in which I am strong enough to pack the trunks, but Rachael always turned to Jodie because she was bigger boned. My whole life I have been looked at differently because of my physical beauty. People don’t believe that you can be physically beautiful and intellectually smart. I believe that having the best of both worlds is possible.

At the end of every day, Rachael always acknowledged and thanked Jodie until one afternoon, when the editor-in-chief wanted to see what style Rachael pulled. Rachael asked us to merchandise the clothing she had pulled, which meant color code and categorize the articles of clothing on the racks provided. She asked us to pull various color belts, hats, sunglasses, and shoes from the closet. Jodie started ordering the racks, and I started pulling accessories from the closet. Since I have a sense of style, I pulled items that I loved and would wear, and knew Rachael would love too. However, Jodie had no sense of style, and pulled items that would never be worn by anyone. Jodie started asking me if the sunglasses that she pulled would work for the shoot. I did not want to hurt her feelings so I said yes to items she asked about, then went through the items she picked, and put back the accessories that I knew were not suitable to pack. This turned out to be almost all of what she picked among the large selection that was available to her. I felt like I was doing the job of two people, and was constantly approving her choices. Whatever tasked she performed or items that she picked, reflected upon me because we were supposed to work as a team and communicate with one another for Rachael’s sake. I had no idea what I was doing, yet I learned quickly and picked up on Rachael’s sense of style. Jodie could not do this, always questioned herself, and would ask Rachael her opinion on every task she was given. Rachael entered the closet, five minutes before the editor-in-chief was to arrive, and saw Jodie and I working. Jodie had the easier task of merchandising the clothes, but did not do it correctly based on the look I saw on Rachael’s face.  Rachael’s expression was enough for me to run over to where she was, and start redoing the racks myself. I felt like the assistant in Devil Wears Prada, who was about to get bitched at for doing a job incorrectly. I said to Rachael that the racks were done by Jodie, and I would redo them correctly to the way she specified. Rachael did not say anything, and looked at me with ease. I knew that this day forward, I would be the favorite intern who was attractive and smart enough for the industry. I felt that Rachael underestimated my capabilities because of my physical appearance. Even though I am skinny and fashionable, I am emotionally stable and competitive, which allows me to prosper in this type of industry. If the racks had been left alone with the way Jodie did them, Rachael could have embarrassed herself in front of her boss. From this point on, Rachael depended on me in order for a shoot to run smoothly. To this day, she emails me saying she wishes I was still her intern, because I was the backbone for her photo shoots. 

~Cristina Mollis