Dear dad and mom,

The first week of internship is over.

There are still 9 more weeks to go till the end, and I had been assigned to trading, which is a field that is super duper unfamiliar to me. The post highlights looking at stock price trends and nothing about the stock fundamentals and business model.

The only thing I can say is that I seem like a fish out of water, and it seems that my MBA hadn’t really taught me anything relevant to begin with.

I felt like a total loser because I couldn’t really know whether the Japanese yen is going up or down just by looking at charts or whether oil would go up on Monday.

Then again, I am reminded that that’s what an internship is all about — it’s about showing up, realizing that there are still much to learn about, and trying to absorb as much as you can.

It’s not coming in and being a hero — but rather, it’s coming in and realizing that you know nothing. And to relearn everything there is in a practical sense.

These days, I sleep by 11pm and wake up by 6am. So is my life. I get to work by 7am, be at the morning meeting till 8am and try to do my best till work ends at around 6:30pm (though the market closes by 4:30pm).

Overall, it’s way different from my MBA life where I could go to bed at 4am and still be awake in time for class. Now, it’s all about discipline and I realize that I am ill prepared for it.

Regardless, I am not going to give up. I will try to survive as best as I can and read and learn more if possible. Right now am reading up a few “for dummies” book letting you know my state of mind and how humbled I am with the total internship experience.

Anyway, just wanted to leave you guys a short note saying hi and that I am still surviving. Hope all is well. Take care and love you!

Your loving daughter,
Bonita