A Reflection on my Summer Internship

By Madeleine Lyon

It is my final day at Two Twelve and I am currently looking out from the window closest to me and admiring the view for as long as I possibly can. As somebody who has never spent a decent amount of time in a large, developed city, this all feels like some sort of daydream. The summer here has been so bright and charming it is downright ethereal. I sit in the moment and I can barely remember, or even care to remember, what my hometown looks like. I arrived what seemed to be a day ago, but months have passed and soon, so shall my co-op. I will have to drag all of my belongings to LaGuardia early next morning and within a blink, a breath, and a few tears, I will be back in what I thought was the only place I would ever truly love. 

On May 1st I arrived in Manhattan expecting looming, sinister, futurist structures and billowing clouds of smog to block out the sun like some sort of nineteenth century industrialist dystopia. I was prepared to be shoved into the street by uncaring businesspeople commuting to some some bleak cubicle, be stolen from, suffer countless panic attacks, be catcalled, or even assaulted. None of that happened. My convoluted perception of New York, crawling out of the primordial depths of the shallow ideological koi pond of suburban thought, evaporated as soon as I caught a glimpse of what I would soon call my home for four months.

The light from the clearly present sky illuminated the clear, uncrowded sidewalks. The gentle breeze didn’t bring any sort of noxious fog. It was as clear and as natural as the skies above. People of all sorts strolled by and they weren’t loud or forceful. Over time I would even meet some of them and find some incredibly sweet, creative, and outgoing individuals just by my early commute.

I thought it would be incredibly loud but I have found peace in parks, coffee shops, and even within the crowds. When I draw here, which I often do, I draw from a fantastical point of view. This is significant as it means that I am comfortable enough to think creatively and dream. When my mind is clouded I see only what is before me. Not only that, but people have also approached me and have complemented me on my drawings. In a place like Cincinnati there is an unspoken concept of personal space that spans a yard in diameter where most people can’t even bear to look each other in the eye without shuddering. In Manhattan I have experienced confidence with creativity and conversation that may have been borne out of the necessity to stand out in the vibrant crowds but is appreciated nonetheless.

I walked into work the first day beneath the vibrant sunlight and left my first evening feeling like I had known these employees for weeks. I am a very withdrawn person so during the entirety of a co-op semester, anyone who wasn’t my supervisor would be lucky to extract more than one paragraph’s worth on non work-related conversation. During the past few months it has been made clear to me that the current composition of Two Twelve has been meticulously selected, both voluntarily and involuntarily, so that they functioned both as great workers and friends. Contrary to the occupations I have witnessed before, the welcoming atmosphere, magnetic personalities, impressive skill sets, reasonable hours, and engaging group activities have people wanting to work here. I have grown to respect everyone here and will hopefully continue to do so whether it is in person or looking back on memories of what was. I will hopefully leave them with a shared knowledge and respect that is unique to this place and will ultimately change my outlook on my classes, future career choices, and my life going forward.

I could ramble on for hours about the fresh ideas and lessons I have witnessed in the workplace and in New York in general, or what was probably brought back to Cincinnati from New York from a design and cultural basis…but then I might as well draft and publish a memoir the size of a novella, and I doubt I can do that within the eight hours of my last day so hopefully this reflection will do.

With Warm Regards,

Madeleine Lyon - Intern at Two Twelve from May 8th 2017 to August 17th, 2017