A Road Rarely Traveled

I spent some time this break in New York and among a hundred other memorable experiences, I was lucky enough to find a Jack Kerouac exhibition in the New York Public Library.

For a couple years now I have been actively chasing the original manuscript of "On The Road" as it has been being displayed around the country. The original manuscript is on one long roll about one hundred feet long. It was there. I saw it. (There is no photo unfortunately as the squatty security guard yelled at me).

Kerouac has been somewhat of a personal guru to me for a long time and I do my very best to look at things from a "Kerouacian" perspective.

So this prompted a thought...

In about a month or two, internship fever is going to sweep through our little school. Everyone will no doubt be clamoring for a coveted spot at a place we all think we want to be. And the truth is, for most it will be a huge learning experience, a great opportunity to network and to possibly find the place you will spend your time post brandcenter.

But here's another thought: Do agencies want new people who already know how an agency operates and understands the social politics found there -OR- do agencies want people who have made a conscious effort to experience and observe life and humanity.
What if, rather than an internship, you took a page from Kerouac and simply hit the road come May. Take your three months and work in a waffle house, work on an organic farm, work trade shows in Chicago, do a dirty job...anything as long as it's a departure from what you typically do. At each job, talk to the people whose lives actually exist in what you're simply sampling. Learn from them and then bring all of those insights back.

Sitting in the interview chair one year down the line, would you rather have the internship under your belt or be wearing a belt you picked up in Lindsborg, Kansas in exchange for moving boxes?