Interview Teen Vogue

Seated in Teen Vogue's head office, at my desk and facing my new Mac, I suddenly wonder how I got here. There are less-important, literal questions (like: How did I decode New York's complex subway map and actually make it to work this morning?), but I have deeper questions, too. These ones are farther-reaching and cloudy because even though I try, I can never pinpoint exactly when I traded my high school textbooks for designer look books. It seems that somehow, it all just…happened.

I transferred to the New School University (from Toronto, Canada) a year and a half ago to study Creative Writing. Once settled in Manhattan, I discovered the city's abundance of internship opportunities. My school offered credit for internships and it looked as if, understandably, every company in Manhattan wanted to benefit from the [free] labor of interns—students could send their resumes anywhere! I boldly applied for and landed an internship position in the Fashion Department at NYLON Magazine in October, and I worked there (packing and unpacking garment bags, shipping clothing, walking anything and everything back to designers' PR offices, etc.) for two semesters. I loved working for a publication that I enjoyed reading and genuinely respected, and at the end of the school year I knew I wanted to apply for an internship at Teen Vogue.

I've always loved writing and studying fashion, but I only really started to understand my personal style towards the end of my senior year of high school. Still, I was fortunate to know early on that I wanted to fuse those interests by one day working for a fashion magazine. I applied to Teen Vogue's Web Department this past November and hoped that I could develop my resume in a way that would be relevant to what I am studying in school and also learn more about fashion writing and the editorial side of magazine production.

That month, in preparation for my meeting with Teen Vogue's Online Editor, EJ Samson, I did what I always do when faced with an opportunity to dress up: I completely disregarded my own well-stocked closet, choosing instead to borrow pieces from friends. I wore my roommate's black dotted Swiss Debra Rodman mini-dress, opaque black tights and my brown Miu Miu wedges. To add a little edge—and warmth—to an otherwise "girly" outfit, I threw on my friend Chase's leather biker jacket by Rick Owens—the same one Rachel Bilson and Ashley Olsen wear. (A.K.A. I absolutely love it.)

Partly thanks to my ensemble, I felt confident when EJ and I went over my resume, my work experiences, my interests and career goals (NOTE: Interviews are not as scary as that sounds…). I had a great time talking to him and the workload of the position he described sounded both fun and challenging. Basically, if offered the internship position, I would be writing for the official website, researching photos of young, fashion-savvy celebrities, and, in general, completing tasks to help take pressure off EJ's crazy schedule. I was floored. Working for EJ meant that I would be working in a familiar setting (a fashion magazine office), but seeing that world in a new light. And what's more, I would have the opportunity to apply myself and demonstrate what I view as my "professional" strengths: my creativity, communication skills, diligence and ability to follow direction well. In short, I wanted the job, badly.

I was thrilled when EJ eventually called to offer me the position and I doubt I've stopped smiling since then. I've only been here for two weeks, and the days are sometimes long, but I am so happy doing what I do. In fact, I've already found that my bliss has affected other aspects of my life and that I'm enjoying living away from home now more than ever. On another level, it's also nice to be reminded that it's possible to see those lofty goals you've set for yourself, through to completion. Trust me: the effort and struggles to get where you dream of going are rewarded in the end. Please don't ever give up.

PS. For those of you wondering, yes, I am also an actress on Degrassi: The Next Generation. I am very excited to report that you can now contact me directly, for the first time ever (I don't have an official page or myspace or anything), through my Teen Vogue blog. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all, but let's stay on-track and talk about school, interning at Teen Vogue, and, of course, fashion! Thank you! XO