Hey, girls!  My name’s Leora, and I’m a senior in high school. I’ve been interning here at GL for about three weeks now and it’s pretty much every girl’s dream job. Not only do I have the opportunity to do what I love—writing—but I also get to give advice to girls searching for solutions to real-life problems and to help them develop the confidence they need to be who they are!  How awesome is that?

OK…I’m going to be completely honest with you—I’m a little bit of a bookworm. I completely confess to willingly signing up for AP Chem this year and two summers ago I really enjoyed interning at a science research laboratory where I wore a lab coat, splash goggles, and gloves—basically the entire chemist ensemble. Simply put, I worked with chemicals and test tubes and conducted a ton of experiments. You  know, gel electrophoresis, growing bacteria, developing neurons…that kind of stuff. I’m not gonna lie. I had fun trying to cure diseases and study proteins!

So you can understand why I was in for a little change when I came to GL: No lab coat, no goggles, and no chemicals. Just me, my laptop, my secret obsession with pop culture and my enthusiasm for writing. I’ve always been fascinated with the publishing business, and through my internship with GL, I’ve been lucky enough to learn about the inner workings of a successful, national magazine. I’ve come to learn how truly important it is for everyone to work together as a team. And how crucial it is for creativity and originality to be expressed and embraced.

Entertainment obsessh? Check!

As an intern, I get to write articles for the GL website. One of my favorite things to do is write about relevant health and entertainment topics. I love covering stories from red carpet events like the Oscars to the health risks of sugary sports drinks. I love keeping you girls up to date on anything and everything you’ve gotta know to stay informed.

So like I said, this internship is an incredible opportunity and has taught me so much about the magazine world.  But what I’ve learned most of all from this experience is that if you really want something and have, well, a crazy dream, if you turn your aspirations into positive action, anything is possible. Like Miley Cyrus sings in her hit-single (you guessed it) “The Climb: “It’s not about how fast I get there, it’s not about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb.”  So whatever your hopes are—from curing cance to becoming the editor of a successful newspaper or magazine—never give up on your dreams.  Perseverance and determination are everything.  And like Miley says, it really is all about the climb.

by Leora Friedman | 2/1/2016