An Intern's Guide to Figuring It Out (Eventually)

Nobody tells you that the hardest part of your first day won't be the work.

It's trying to remember everyone's names while also acting like you definitely know what a "KV" is.

Or that you'll spend your first few days convinced everyone else has it all figured out. They don't.

They've just been around long enough to know when to nod confidently.

Nobody tells you that your first round of feedback might make you stare at your screen for a solid five minutes.

Then someone will pull up a chair, walk you through every comment, and somewhere between "this line can be stronger" and "don't overthink it", you'll realise feedback isn't scary. It's just part of the job.

Nobody tells you that lunch is a whole thing.

Someone's already asking who's ordering what. Someone (Yash Parekh) is passing around his dabba because "just taste this." Someone cracks a terrible pun, everyone groans, and then, for reasons nobody can explain, the next ten minutes become a competition to see who can come up with an even worse one.

It's loud. It's chaotic. It's oddly wholesome.

And then, one day, something funny happens.
You stop being the person quietly listening in brainstorms and become the one throwing ideas into the room. The acronyms don't make you panic anymore. You catch yourself explaining something to the newest intern and think, "Wait... when did that happen?"

Somewhere along the way, Ting stopped feeling like the place where I interned and became the yellow family that gave me the space to learn, stumble, ask questions, and slowly find my footing.

As it turns out, the biggest lessons for me weren't just about copy or campaigns. They were about the people who make you feel like you belong.