I’ve always loved reading books and magazines, writing, television and the Internet. I built my first web site when I was 7 and have been a self-professed “internet nerd” with a strong caffeine addiction ever since. Maybe it’s the amount of television I’ve watched or the movies like “13 Going on 30″ and “The Devil Wears Prada“, but I’ve always been a big believer in following your dreams and doing what you want to do (not what other people are pressuring you to do). But I also believe in taking caution and being sure of what you want to do. What if you pick a career and soon realize you can’t stand it?

Internships are meant to expose students to the field and get a taste of “the real world.”  That’s the reason why I pursue internships–I want to be sure of the career path I choose by dabbling in the different fields I’m interested in. My dream is to make it in the media industry with a career that I love in New York City. I am interested in so many different parts of media (photojournalism, news journalism, public relations, television networks, writing, social media marketing). Interning in different fields will help me narrow down what I like and what I don’t like. That’s why internships are so important.

I transferred from UC San Diego to UCLA because Los Angeles is a city that is more fitted toward the careers I’m interested in. When I was deciding whether or not I should transfer, I contacted some UCLA students who were Communication Studies majors. They all interned in different places–law firms, TV networks, newspapers, public relation firms, and I heard that one student was an intern on the set of “Glee.”  So, I left a school that I loved and I’m starting over in  brand new city at a university that seems quite foreign to me.

Just like how “The Hills” star Lauren Conrad once said (or whichever script writer wrote this) when she moved to Los Angeles, “This is my chance to make it all happen, in the one city, where they say dreams come true.”

There’s always that joke of the starving journalist in New York City–sitting in a cardboard box with a sign that says “Will Write for Food”. And, maybe, someday I’ll end up on the streets of New York City as a starving journalist–but I’ll know that I picked that career because it’s what makes me happy and it’s what I want to do. And, of course, my sign will always state “Will Write for Coffee”.

Serena is a junior at UCLA majoring in Communication Studies and pursuing minors in Accounting and Film, TV & Digital Media. She has a strong addiction to coffee, tea, and television and has the dream of someday working in New York City. Follow her on twitter @serenalee18 and her website www.serenaleeonline.com.

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