Post-Internship Blues: Coming Back to VCU After a Semester of Work
By Abby Reasor
Returning to Richmond after a seven-month internship at Walt Disney World was a shock to my system. As I drove north in early January, I could feel the temperatu
re drop at each gas station. It took me a few days for reality to hit me; my time working for Mickey Mouse was over. I was no longer a cook at Walt Disney World — I was back to Abby Reasor, VCU public relations major and honors student.
I chose all online courses for spring 2022 to avoid leaving the comfort of Richmond’s suburbs. I thought it would be easy to coast through my final few months of college from my couch, joining the occasional Zoom meeting and skimming some online textbooks. I was quickly trapped by the inability to step away from the computer screen. I couldn’t escape to Epcot on my day off — I had to take art history notes and write a half-hearted discussion board post. My Apple notifications informed me that “your screen time was up 100% last week,” which only led to a spiral of shame. It wasn’t my fault that I had to be a slave to the screen!
I miss the freedom of working without technology. Online school feels a lot less “real” than doing hands-on work in a bustling kitchen for 40 hours a week. In Florida, I got to toss salads instead of typing essays and watching pre-recorded lectures. As a Disney cook there were immediate consequences if I burned food, ran out of an ingredient or took too long to fulfill my orders — and I got paid to do it! There is no tangible fallout if I procrastinate or even skip a quiz. The little grade percentage on Canvas decreases, but what does it matter? It’s just a number on a screen with no paycheck attached. My bank account doesn’t see a boost when I get an A.
Do not fear, especially if you’re my mother reading this – I’m not actually missing my assignments. However, the temptation lingers in the back of my mind like those catchy song lyrics from Encanto. I have yet to rediscover that motivation that drove me to succeed as a bright-eyed freshman. Taking virtual classes feels very fake in comparison to sitting in a lecture hall to take notes. Where is the professor pacing in the front of the room? Where is the student slumped in the back row? Where is the girl in the front row asking questions every ten minutes? She would be me if I were back on campus, but instead I’m on mute on my laptop.
Doing an internship outside of your field can be beneficial if you’ve fallen out of love with your major. Step back and think about what you really want to do while trying something new. However, it makes the start of the next semester that much harder. I don’t regret taking a break from college, but it is bittersweet to be right back where I was before. Nothing about my schooling has changed in those seven months — I’m still a public relations major at VCU and the pandemic is still impacting day-to-day educational methods. I gained a life experience that changed my perspective on work, school and the world that I can’t wait to implement once my final semester is over.
Above: Abby Reasor in front of the oven at my restaurant, Ale & Compass, at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort