Day One: An Intern in Manhattan

Training into the city was a spectacle in itself this morning: dozens of people filled the streets of my quaint neighborhood, creating a flow - a wave - that pulsed toward the subway stops.

With my John McEnroe book in hand, I found my train (not too crowded) and rode it through lower Manhattan into Penn Station, at the heart of the city. There I followed the same pulse into the streets, a part of the crowded sidewalks we've all seen on TV and in the movies - making my way to day one of my internship.

One thing that has awed me about New York is the entrepreneurial spirit. Everyone you turn, someone has a new idea on how to make a buck. Now, I'm not much for consumerism or useless goods, but I appreciate people's hard work to do what they can to support themselves and their family, and in NYC it adds flavor and culture to the streets.

As I walked to work, I passed dozens of street-side carts: peanuts, hot dogs, coffee, pastries, magazines, beverages, gum, sun glasses. You name, they got it. My favorite by far is the media cart: those guys with the magazines yelling out the headlines. I would love that job. Well, for five minutes at least. It's so Newsies.

TENNIS Magazine is on Madison Avenue and 27th Street, in a part of Manhattan known at Murray Hill. It isn't an incredible building - 17 stories tall, probably built in the '30s or '40s - and the magazine itself is on the 8th floor.

Introductions were nerve-racking and I certainly wanted to put on my best face for the first day. But as soon as the office tour was over and I was struggling to keep names to all the faces I was meeting, I began to feel in place in this big city office.

I spent much of my day fact-checking for SMASH, the magazine's junior publication. And worked for the online editor on adding content in the men's profile section. Boring work to most of you - fascinating to me!

The office is simple, sophisticated and - most importantly - laid back. Everyone was extremely nice to me and I can tell that they enjoy their jobs. Sure, there will be personalities that I just don't click with, but I can tell - if day one is any indication - I think I'm going to like this place.