FINDING “NORMAL” OR NOT: MY EXPERIENCE AS A COPYWRITING INTERN
By: Lizzy Stock, Copywriting Intern, Razorfish Health
Life has never been the easiest for me, in ways I am only recently coming to fully understand. Some of my earliest memories in school are of taking obsessive mental notes on what other kids wore and mentally tallying the days I wore an Aéropostale or Abercrombie t-shirt, figuring if I hit an optimal weekly ratio of name-brand to non-name-brand clothing, I would magically become popular.
The complex social environment and changing classes introduced in middle school left me constantly drained, with no social energy to even interact with family. I stared out the window of the bus to church camp in high school, listening to Radiohead and pretending I didn’t exist—the only way I knew to manage my steadily tanking mental health.
Because of these experiences, I knew I wanted to help other people in some capacity. I felt if someone had explained what I was experiencing in my teen years wasn’t unique to me and I wasn’t broken in some fundamental way, it would have made a world of difference.
So I became a psychology major. As I moved on with the program, I learned more about the wide variety of differences in brain function. Specifically, a lot of ADHD traits resonated with me. I mentioned this to a good friend of mine, who suggested that there’s a lot of overlap between the presentation of autism and ADHD, and he saw just as many autistic traits as ADHD traits in me.
As I learned more about these two conditions, I felt, for the first time in my life, there might be a reason for my forgetfulness, my data-driven understanding of social interactions, my frequent burnout due to lack of awareness of my body and emotions, and my intense interests and strong desire for community with intellectual-minded people. I wasn’t fundamentally and irretrievably broken, as I’d always subconsciously believed, and there were many other people like me.
Although just existing and functioning “normally” is often more challenging than not, there are many unique joys in my life that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I’ve found many artists over the years whose work makes me feel deeply understood, and thinking about them is basically an instant dopamine hit, as well as an easy in to connect with others both on and offline. I also enjoy fiction writing as an emotional outlet—exploring my often-overwhelming emotions is typically much easier when it’s fictional characters feeling them.
Finding meaning, fulfillment, and creative freedom in my work is extremely important to me. During my summer 2023 internship search, I looked for companies that prioritize creativity and uniqueness, and I was super happy to accept my offer from Razorfish Health, since it seemed like a company that valued authenticity and self-expression.
I’m happy to be able to do work that makes a real difference to doctors and patients, while also pursuing my psychology-related interests in my free time. Allowing my own uniqueness to flourish helps me feel at home as a copywriting intern; my love for science and attention to detail allows me to flourish in a copywriting role, and my ability to think and tell stories creatively greatly helps me contribute uniquely to my team’s summer group intern project. It’s wonderful being in a creative industry that allows me to come as I am—lip piercings, awkward mannerisms, and all, and not force myself to put on the exhausting act of buttoned-up corporate professional.
