When I accepted my internship back in August, I was excited to have my own little space and to be able to personalize it! All of my previous internships have been only for a summer, so I’ve never had my own desk for more than a couple months. This post is a bit overdue considering I’ve now been working there now for six and a half months, but it’s also taken me a while to get things how I wanted them!

This is a before shot of my desk area. I actually forgot to take a picture of my desk, so I snapped a picture of an empty desk a few cubicles over from mine. My cubicle is very white. And I mean, everything is this creamish, off-white color, leaving everything feeling bland and washed out. It was actually distracting me, the lack of color.

So that was my initial goal: to just bring some color into my work space. But I didn’t want it to be overwhelming either – I wanted it to remain professional.

I started with a few accents.I found a lot of cute pieces at the dollar section at Target. I used a little coral pail to hold my binder clips and found some colorful magnets to use for my cabinets. I drink a lot of water, so I also bought a floral coaster for a few dollars at Bed Bath & Beyond to set my cup on.

One of the other interns put a colored throw blanket over her chair which I thought was a great idea! I originally was going to use a bright teal colored blanket to throw over my chair, but decided it was too bright. So instead I used a really big scarf that my mom had bought me from Portugal. It’s definitely more subdued, but has such a pretty design so it was perfect to bring some color and design without being too over the top.

Then I moved to picture frames. I had already ordered my wedding pictures and received a couple of frames as gifts, so I brought those in to make my cubicle a little more personal. Since my desk area is so large, I knew I needed to bring in some more to just fill space, but I didn’t want the same black and gray picture frames. The purpose was to bring in color, and I didn’t really feel like spending $20+ on a cute picture frame, so I thought I’d make my own.

I picked a few frames up from the dollar store and Goodwill and picked out some spray paint and painted them myself. It took a few coats, but I’m really pleased with how they turned out. Not bad for under $10! That really filled in the space, and I love turning around to grab something and seeing pictures from the best day ever. I also brought in a vase from our reception (we have a million and I’m not sure what to do with the rest of them) to set in the corner. It goes with the general color scheme of the space and I think everything is better with flowers – especially when I can’t kill them they can’t die.

I’m a bit of a sucker for cute quotes – especially Bible verses. I found these pieces of art on Pinterest free to download (I love free) so just printed them off on the color printer and tacked them up to the back of the cabinet space. They’re nice to look at, bring some color, and are encouraging when I’m having a rough day.

It took me a long time to really get everything how I wanted, but I’m really pleased with how everything turned out! It’s a cute space that I enjoy working in and it was pretty inexpensive and fun to put it all together! It feels like me, albeit a very girly me – I’m not usually this girly or use this many variations of pink!

Back in September, I accepted a part time internship. I was a bit worried over the summer about finding something a little more reliable than the movie theatre (and something that paid more as well) when we came back to Kansas City. So I applied a few places through my university’s internship network, and received a couple of call backs. When I met with my now boss for the interview, I was very nervous. It’s a very large company in downtown Kansas City, with pretty high security (everyone needs access badges and I was escorted around). I was a bit intimidated because I had never worked for an organization anything like this before. It just seemed very out of my league.

But apparently not because I got the position! It was definitely an answered prayer, because I would be working less than last semester (I worked approximately 35 hours a week on top of my studies) and would be earning more! I have nights and weekends off and a set schedule, which I had at neither of my previous jobs here in KC. That also means Andrew I will have evenings together. The internship runs for a year, so I could stay until next August if I chose to, but I will probably only stay until I graduate in May. Seriously counting my blessings, guys, that I have a steady income until graduation. Most internships are only for a semester.

I am interning in the billing department, which is somewhat relevant to my finance degree. As it is an internship, I’m doing some more of the “entry-level” duties, including answering the phones and handling incoming emails with inquiries about invoices, etc. But I don’t mind. I also sync updates between the two programs the department uses, manage customer accounts, and credit card disputes (those are always interesting). It’s not super exciting, but I’m actually enjoying the responsibility. There’s occasionally down time, too, so I can work on some homework, which is really nice! Somedays I do all of my homework at work and can come home and relax.

My coworkers are fair. They are always helpful when I have questions, but most of them aren’t super friendly. I am okay with that, though.There is another intern and her and I get along really well. She’s very sweet and friendly – it’s really easy to strike up a conversation w with her. We actually have a class together! I’m really glad that I have a friendly face that’s my age that I can talk to.

The commute isn’t too bad. Our apartment is right by the highway I take so it’s only about a ten minute drive. It takes a bit longer for parking since I have to park in a garage but parking is paid for by my company, thankfully – parking is never free downtown!

I have my own desk and name plate (it has my name on it!), but I think what I love most is that my computer has two monitors. I haven’t worked with two screens before, and oh my gosh it is phenomenal! I want two screens at home now. It is so convenient to be able to have more than one application fully pulled up and to not have to switch every time you need to look at something. I’m a believer now. #twoscreensforever

Before this internship, my previous “internships” I had received through connections; one was my Sunday School teacher from church, another our youth pastor’s wife, another a lady that my mom knew, the last one a friend who had previously worked there. So this is my first internship that I’ve earned based on my own qualifications and merits. It feels good guys, it feels good.