Lucky 46
By Jordan Brown
I knew I wasn’t going home for the summer. I knew that at 3am sitting in my dorm filling out my 46th internship application. I knew that if I stayed at home, I wouldn’t grow. I wanted to learn more about myself as a filmmaker and as a person. I had gotten rejected from 45 of the internships I applied to and I didn’t think I would get anywhere with the 46th, but I was wrong.
After consulting with my friends and family, creating a pros and cons list and relying a little too heavily on a coin toss, I decided to make the move to Philadelphia and take the internship at JTWO no matter the cost. Initially, I had nowhere to stay. I commuted (almost two hours with rush hour) and stayed in a hostel while searching for apartments for the summer. I was burning through money on gas and failing at making friends at the hostel. It turns out, people aren’t too keen on you after you accidentally walk in on them in the shower at 1am, but that’s another story. I talked with some people online and was able to secure an apartment in West Philly in a matter of hours of seriously inquiring.
I don’t want to tell you I was nervous at first, but I also don’t want to lie. I was standing in the middle of an apartment I just rented by myself, in a city where I didn’t know anybody, taking an internship that seemed promising but only I was able to judge because I hardly told anyone when I first got it. I realized that everything is what you make it, so I went all in.
Right off the bat, I became really good friends with all of the other interns. This helped me become more comfortable at work. As time progressed I got to know everyone and I found my comfort at JTWO as a whole. I learned the workflow of JTWO and how to work with them. They taught us their equipment and they treated us like coworkers instead of interns, but sometimes we still had to run errands or build office supplies. This internship kept me busy. I was able to work on two projects of my own, help each intern out with their projects and help JTWO out with some of their work as well. The experience was definitely worth it and I am so glad that I was able to do the internship at JTWO. I learned something new everyday and I made friends who I hope to stay in touch with after I move on from Philadelphia.
Overall, I’d say I had a pretty great summer. I met some incredible people outside of work, went on countless adventures and was able to make some memories that I’ll never forget. I indulged in cheesesteaks, discovered new music, went to my first pro-baseball game, connected with strangers on the subway, tried falafels, found a month’s rent in heads-up pennies and overall, created work that I can genuinely say that I am proud of.
I’m heading back to New York soon and summer will be over, but I’m going back with stories that’ll last me a lifetime and a new set of experiences that did the only thing I was hoping to do this summer; grow.
This project was created as part of the JTWO [INC]ubator Project. A semester long internship program built from the ground up to give young filmmakers, content creators, and all around hungry for a challenge individuals a place to stretch their creative minds while preparing them for the road ahead.