I stepped out of the parking garage, sunlight reflecting off the tallest buildings in the city as I frantically pulled up Google Maps on my phone. I was due for my interview at PATTERN Magazine in ten minutes, and according to my GPS, I was…a 20 minute walk away? Absolutely not.
I felt that awful sinking feeling in my gut as I began my trek, coming to terms with the fact that I had not parked where I was supposed to for this interview in the slightest. After consulting with Maps, I came to the conclusion that I’d made a single left where I was supposed to make a right. Great.
All I could think as the minutes went by and I sped-walked through the streets of downtown Indianapolis was that this was such a shame. PATTERN seemed like such a cool place to work, exactly the type of creative vibe that I had been desperately searching for in my internship hunt. But here I was, “timeliness” a key skill I had listed on my resume, about to be pathetically late for this interview.
Finally, the Stutz building appeared up ahead. I was at last where I was supposed to be, almost 30 minutes late, and sweating profusely through my sweater. I climbed the stairs and entered into the magazine’s office space, instantly annoyed with how cool it was. All I could think about was how welcoming everyone was, how my desire to work for this organization was growing with each passing second, because all the while in the back of my mind, I knew there was no possible way I would be getting this role, not now at least.
The interview ended, and I said my goodbyes, a knot forming in my stomach as I walked out the door. Well, that was that.
I’m sure you can imagine my surprise when a few weeks later, I got an email I never would have seen coming: one from PATTERN with the subject line “Congratulations!”
Next thing I knew, my internship was beginning. I met the best people I could imagine, had some of the most unforgettable experiences of my life, and terrorized all of my social media followers by posting about my position constantly. I became a published author, created and posted content that I helped imagine into existence, and got to work behind the scenes for some unforgettable photoshoots.
Now, I sit here, in the same fluorescent-yellow seats I had nervously perched in on that fateful day, pretending I wasn’t mortified by the way I had messed up my chance, pretending I wasn’t utterly devastated by the fact I thought that there wasn’t any possible way I’d land this role, a proud intern for PATTERN Magazine.
Maybe I should have done more planning ahead of time that pivotal day. Maybe I should have left earlier, examined the directions better, asked more questions. But maybe, in the corniest way possible, everything that was supposed to happen, meant to happen, is what happened.
Maybe, sometimes, things don’t have to go right to end well. Maybe, sometimes, things are meant to go left.
