There are Some Things Money Can’t Buy

By Sylvia Ogilvie, Intern (@sylviaillini)

I know everybody always says this, but where did the time go? As my eight weeks closes, I’m left with a lot of mixed emotions. I’m leaving a city that I absolutely love and want to live in forever and I’m leaving a company that has taught me so much and that I know could teach me more. When I first arrived here in May, I was afraid of so many things – from getting on the wrong subway to having my co-workers not like me – that, at first, it really skewed my ability to see the amazing opportunity I had in front of me. Not only did I end up knowing several subway routes by heart, but I added a fantastic group of connections to my network, and dare I say a few friends?

Additionally, I learned a set a of extremely important skills that I know will help me in the future regardless of what kind of industry I end up in. When I got to Fusion, I wasn’t even on Twitter; now not only do I have a Twitter account (which I use actively) but I also have a LinkedIn account – something I didn’t even know existed before this. I’ve also been really inspired to start my own blog, because as I’ve learned from Bennie Sham, my supervisor and account executive, you should never be afraid to voice what you feel or think, especially if you think what you’ve got to say could really be worth something.

Not only that, but successful blogging these days is like knowing a second language- it’s becoming increasingly useful and in some cases necessary in order to gain ground in the PR world. Essentially, if you want to be seen or heard you need a blog. I’ve mentioned several times in my previous blog posts the increasing importance of the everyday blogger and social network user. It seems this phenomenon will only grow in time, given the buzz over the death of traditional media and the emergence of the user-based media in which the line between consumers and producers is becoming more and more blurred every day.

As I leave, I feel like not only did I learn about the ever-so popular concept of participatory media, but also about how I can actually be a part of it if I just try. So along with my debt from the fine restaurants and boutiques of Manhattan, I also took home something extremely valuable that can’t be bought, which is knowledge – knowledge of not only what it’s like to live in New York and work at an amazing public relations firm, but also the knowledge of how I can use both of those things to take my future to the next level.