My Week at Vegan Life Magazine

Words to live by

Having just left university, I was scared at the prospect of making it on my own, as I'm sure most others are. However, I had previously arranged with the editor of Vegan Life magazine (my favourite!) to do an internship at their office, which is conveniently based only 7 miles from my house (meant to be or what?).

So with a thumping heart, I turned up on Monday morning at 8.55am (I forgot this hour existed) and prepared myself for office life. The early morning sun was already blinding, and didn't help the nervous sweat I was casually breaking into under my little black blazer. I strode over to the quaint, modern office building, my faux-suede shoes clicking on the car park tarmac.

I was greeted by one of the girls from the office, who brought me to the woman I'd been waiting to meet: Maria Chiorando. I'd stumbled upon one of her Guardian articles -for whom she is a contributor- focusing on vegan politics, which I used in the sources for my dissertation, so I was already in awe of her before realising that she edited my favourite magazine. Her kind smile comforted me in my haze of excitement and nerves.

After being introduced to the entire team, both Vegan Life and Om Yoga, I spoke to Maria about what I'd like to do during my time at the magazine. Having had no previous experience whatsoever, I didn't know what to reply with, so Maria suggested that I think of some ideas of what I'd like to write. Fast forward a few hours, and I was writing my first article - top 10 vegan apps (see previous post). Hopefully you might see it in a future Vegan Life issue (finger's crossed!)

Om Yoga magazine, the new Cook Vegan magazine, and the classic Vegan Life

As if that wasn't good enough, I also got to work on one of the regular features in Vegan Life: the 'Accidental Vegan' page! I scoured the internet to find 5 accidentally vegan products, which again might be used in a future issue! In the meantime I'm going to post them on my blog soon - watch this space.

Maria helped me with my writing a lot. She taught me the basic dos and dont's in magazine style writing, how to style it, what I need to work on, topics I should focus on, etc. She also helped me to sort out my social media presence, including Twitter - follow me @charleyEbone :) 

The early morning starts were the best part. I never thought I'd say that, but after the initial first day (it was the day after my birthday to be fair...) my body was used to it. This morning I woke up at 6.30am, sat in the garden eating my breakfast listening to the birdsong. It was so peaceful, almost as if I'd got some extra time in the day that no one else sees; this strange moment where it felt like only I was awake. Well, me and the birds. 

Getting used to that office life was both enjoyable and confining. Sitting at a desk all day isn't my dream, but being a journalist in a successful magazine is, and we all have to start somewhere. (They also have loads of dogs in the office, so you physically can't be unhappy). I'm hoping that this experience is going to open a plethora of doors for me. It's definitely reaffirmed my passion for journalism and veganism, which means I'm definitely on the right track.

Follow your dreams, no matter where you have to start. Allow your passion to integrate into your work, and like the quote says, you'll never work a day in your life. This past week hasn't felt like work; I haven't counted the hours down to finishing, or longed for the weekend. I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I only wish I could stay longer, but I've got some plans. I'm off to follow my dreams. :)