The 31 days of March felt like 31 years.

I convinced myself that I was going to write a blog post every day during March. I was going to do it with a writing group I found online, but I didn’t follow through with it. Each day I’d get a notification on my phone for the day’s prompt and I’d tell myself I’d get to it, but I never did. I even tweeted about it to hold myself accountable. I felt a little disappointed with myself about it, but I didn’t worry about it too much. I was busy, and the month was long.

March was great and even though it feels like it was so long ago I am still able to remember the highlights. I turned 21 on March, March 24th. That was pretty cool. It feels a little different being able to eat out and order drinks, or just go out in general. I am happy about it. On the 24th I had a nice dinner and cake with my family, we had my mom’s green chile enchiladas, which has recently become my favorite food. The cake was also good, I’m not much of a cake eater now, but I enjoyed it. I remember that last year I was not happy with the cake I got, they had brought me a piña colada cake that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with. I prefer something simple and not so extravagant, but that’s beside the point. As I’ve gotten older birthdays have shifted from a grandiose affair to something more private and personal, and I don’t seem to mind it.

That weekend I went out with my friends. We were originally going to go out and get some Korean BBQ from this really nice and fancy place. I was ready for some soju bombs, but the place was busy, and even though it was worth the wait, I decided to get some ramen from one of my favorite places, Tampopo. I skipped lunch that day and at that point, that bowl of ramen was the best thing I had ever ate. The broth was steamy and hot, the accouterments were crunchy and savory, and the sake I had to drink was as hot as the bowl of noodles I was eating. It was my first time ordering something other than water there, and like the absolute rookie I am, I ordered a steaming, lemon-flavored, sake. I would’ve preferred something cold to mellow the hot ramen, but it was okay, it got easier and easier to drink throughout the meal.

After that, my friends and I went back and had a couple more drinks at their place. That was the best part. For me, spending time with the people I love and want to be with is the best gift I can receive. It’s my favorite thing to do. So that was fun and well-received. I also tried Travis Scott’s Cacti, and it sucked. Despite that, it was a good birthday month.

One of my goals for 2021 was to get an internship with a tech company and since the start of the year I’ve been sending out tons of applications for summer internships. I sent applications to companies out in California, Chicago, states out east, everywhere. Some of the companies included PayPal, Dropbox, State Farm, Bank of the West, and several others. I sent out at least 20 applications during the past 3 months and less than a quarter of them actually lead to an interview, a phone call, or something more than just a computer-automated rejection. It’s tough trying to break into that space without any resources, connections, or help. No one was coaching me, or giving me tips on how to interview, or anything like that. But after getting ghosted by companies, and rejected by robots, I did it.

Just this week I accepted my offer letter from World Wide Technology. I’ll be spending the summer as an Internal IT intern at WWT. The time between my verbal offer and the finalized letter felt like an eternity, and when I finally got that email, I was ecstatic. I felt a lot of relief when I finally got the good news.

My first interview with WWT was with the recruiter, she was an absolute sweetheart and I truly enjoyed the conversation we had. I went into it as I had done with past interviews. For me, it’s more of a conversation and getting to know the interviewer as much as they’re getting to know me. We even talked a little bit about a book we were both reading. It went well, and soon after I heard back from her saying the team would like to meet me and ask some more questions. This was GREAT news. I had passed the first phase and was moving onto the next portion of the hiring process.

She scheduled me for an interview with the team I’d be working with on a Friday. That day came around and I was dressed up and ready to go on Zoom for my interview. 9 o’clock came, and the allotted time passed, and no one showed up to the room. I was dejected. I immediately sent my recruiter an email asking her what happened, but it was Easter weekend, and she was out of the office. I kept my hopes up and assumed the interview was rescheduled without me knowing. My assumptions were right, later that day she sent me an email explaining that they had moved it to the following Tuesday, and had failed to notify me. The email was signed Sent from my iPhone. and it all made sense.

That Tuesday came and I did that interview from my car. The internet had gone out at home and I didn’t have keys to either of our shops so I parked outside and did it in my driver’s seat. I was in the driver’s seat physically and metaphorically. I’ve done interviews before and the skills for it come from experience. I was well prepared with answers, I was friendly and open to whatever they asked or said. Talking to strangers has been a part of my routine for years, so it’s second nature to me. But my favorite thing to do in an interview is that when the interviewer goes silent, I also go silent. Interviewers do this thing where after they ask you a question and you answer it, they go silent. They do this to see how big of a hole you can dig yourself by rambling on after you’re already done answering their question. The key is to also go quiet. I don’t remember where I read that, but it’s helped a lot.

The interview with the team went well. They were friendly and good people that had been with the company for several years. I liked that. It showed that they liked what they did and didn’t have reasons to leave or bounce at the first sign of danger. I let them know that I appreciated them taking the time to meet me and that I’d hope to hear from them soon. About two hours later I got the call from my recruiter, and she gave me the offer. She made my day.

I think that for the length of the internship I’m going to take some notes and record what I do so I can tell the story of it. It’s a good experience and I want to share it with those who haven’t had the opportunity to take part in something like it.

Another cool thing that happened in March was that I was elected as President of the Latino Student Union at my school. That was completely unexpected for me, and I had my doubts, but I accepted the position. I’m not sure what will come of it, but I know the type of weight that it holds, and I don’t want to let anyone down. I’m excited and looking forward to it. I’ve never really held a position like that, and I’m kind of worried about doing a good job, but a friend of mine said that I was chosen for a reason, and I’m starting to believe that.

Since March, I’ve thought a lot about finding a girlfriend. It’s the first time where I’ve actually thought about setting out and making that a goal, but it’s time for that, at least I think so. For most of my teen years, I’ve taken on the notion that if it happens it happens, and if it doesn’t then whatever. Now, I’m deliberately trying to make it a thing. So if you know anyone that’s single, or maybe you’re single, my dm’s are open.

One more thing that I almost forgot to talk about was the semester. I finished it and passed all my classes. We’re looking good. I will be graduating next spring, and it’s certainly come a lot faster than I expected. I just have to keep doing things right and stop for nothing.

This has been what I’ve been up to this month and last. They’ve been good months. I’m looking forward to the summer, my internship, and eventually going back to Seattle in the fall.

Thanks for reading.

-Jonathan <3