Thursday, March 1, 2018

The Lost Files Vol. 4.5: Around the Horn Internship pt. 2


Josh  
  Hope this holiday season has treated you well. After just opening presents with my family, there are so many different thoughts bouncing around my head that I have to write something. I feel that it is important to me to let you know how I am doing. Getting an interview for a position at Around the Horn and ESPN was the most exciting thing I have ever done. I had watched Around the Horn for almost a decade at that point, making it a surreal experience to find myself face to face with Tony Reali. After hearing the results of the interview, I found myself both very depressed and yet elated to have been in the running for such a position. I was very sad and angry at myself that I did not receive the job and I took the news very hard. I felt that I was more qualified for such a job than any person out there. At the same time, I also suddenly felt very entitled by the fact that I had been selected out of many to interview for such a position. It was very hard for me to stay humble after coming so close to getting the position and it took me a long time for me to come down from this thrill. It has been extremely hard for me to focus on schoolwork because I find myself thinking back to the possibility of getting the position. Since May, I have found myself very distracted by the fact that I almost had a position at ESPN. It would have truly been a dream come true to have been selected to intern for Around the Horn. In the past months I have found myself often wondering how my life would have turned out differently had I received such a position. Instead of living in Washington DC and working for ESPN this summer, I lived at home for three weeks before ultimately moving back to my apartment in Pullman and finding an on campus job at a calling center at WSU. I was very depressed at this time because I felt that my life would be so much better had I been living in Washington DC and working for ESPN. The job that I had found was both wildly unsatisfying and unfulfilling for me as I compared it to the alternative. It has been very tough for me because I feel that I could have been much more prepared for the interview. At this point with one semester left in Pullman at WSU, I find myself completely distracted by the desire to work for ESPN. I did very poorly in school this Fall because I find what I am studying is insignificant and irrelevant to what I want to do with my life. While I understand that it is important to have a GPA that is good enough to stay in school, I can't seem to connect the dots as to how my college GPA may affect my life in the least after this May. I want to be a part of a company like ESPN so bad that I would work for free. I don't know what I am trying to accomplish by sending an email like this but I felt it was necessary for me, as this feels like therapy. The truth is I hope that this email may lead to some sort of opportunity in the future. I just love to write and there are many things that I have wanted to say since May. The only way I know how to communicate this is by pouring my emotions into a long letter. Even though I didn't get the position, being a part of the process changed my life and my perception of my abilities completely. I find that I am much more confident in life, that I have the ability to put my mind to something and that I may accomplish that something if I put my mind to it. I plan on moving to the East coast in May to pursue my dream of being a part of ESPN because I know I would always regret it if I didn't give it my best shot. I am very excited to get out of Pullman in May and begin this pursuit because following sports and writing are my two true passions. It would be a dream come true to combine them to lead to a career. I believe in my heart of hearts that one day people are going to know my name. I would be thrilled to hear back with news of an opportunity, recommendation, or any good news in the future that I may pursue after I am out of school in May. I am very wishful that this email may find the right hands, regardless it feels great to finally see all of these thoughts in written form. Once again, this experience was the wildest roller coaster ride of my life, one that I still find hard to believe I was a part of. Happy holidays to you.
Chris Arneson  


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