Someday, I'll Find My Way Home

Karl is an intern!

I knew I entered the right career path when I found out the salary at the IT industry compared to other sectors and industries. Of course, it came with a curse--a high salary needs a competitive skill set to match that. And I thought--would I choose this path knowing the money that it gives?

When the semester ended, all five of us had internships at Manila, but I was the only one who went in Ortigas. Axel and Candace got positions in BGC, while Paula and Marvin were on Makati. 

My mother and I took a trip to Divisoria the weekend after I announced that I got an internship in Ortigas. My father's polos and long sleeves never fit me well because they were a size larger. When we went to Divisoria, we bought five polos, three long sleeves, and two denim pants. I practiced wearing them during the semester so I could be comfortable on wearing these on the office.

(To be honest, I couldn't stand it. How Axel does this everyday, I do not know.).

I wasn't looking forward to my internship since it was a change of scenery for me. I brought a couple of clothes with me on my dormitory room in Pasig. I shared it with another intern in the company as well who is a UP Diliman student named Matthew from Batangas.

I wasn't very keen that I would be exposed to pollution. I was accustomed of living a carefree life in Los Baños. The air I breathe was clean. Trees everywhere. I could go outside at 2AM by myself and come back alive. This dormitory was nothing compared to my home in Laguna.

But I accepted the offer, and I need to stick with it.

The only positive things I could comment on this dormitory was it was sleek and modern--the beige walls complimented the wooden furniture. A bit cramped compared to my room. It had a double deck with two tables and large cabinets in front. We couldn't cook or do laundry here, but the place was abundant of fast food chains and carinderias. The toilet had bidet (an absolute plus!).

It was a jeepney away from our building. It was the best the company could offer, so no complaints here. It was pointless to complain on a free thing.

Matthew was, for the lack of better term, cold and scary. I was intimidated by his toned body at first (come on, how could you find time to hit the gym with all the deadlines?). He wore a cold look with his glasses and short-trimmed hair. He chose to wear long sleeves that he would fold up to his elbow paired with denim pants and leather shoes.

We talked briefly, but he made sure that he wasn't the speaking kind. My response to that was my signature Okay-I-don't-care look.

He didn't even wait for me for our first day on our internship!

I wasn't late per se, but still, we could've chatted or anything. I knew my main qualities was I'm approachable (yes, verified by my tutees) and I don't bite when I talk. 

Rather than overthinking, I looked at the positive side of things. This was a whole new experience for me. For someone who lived in the province all of my life, I didn't have an idea how tough it was to live in the Metro. Instead of trees, I would see tall buildings. Instead of fresh air, I would breathe smoke.

Shake it off, Karl.

I entered the building with a smile, and greeted the security guard (even though he didn't greet me back). When I arrived at our floor, I was still taken aback on how clean and modern it looked. The white and grey walls, the see-through windows and doors, a lot of cute employees...

During the first day, I tried to be as approachable as possible. There were only four interns accepted in the company--me (UPLB), Matthew (UPD), a girl named Pauline (UPD), and King (ADMU). I befriended Pauline first because out of all of us, she seemed the friendliest.