*Update as of 4/28/2017: I got another internship at Touch of Elegance Events & Design in Detroit for the summer. Instead of pursuing the ACL internship, I went with T&E. This is because I switched my majors from Event Management + Hospitality Management to Event Management and Public Relations. The post is still relevant, however.

It feels absolutely fantastic being able to write an article pertaining to internships. I have this feeling because a) I am a freshman, and b) I have an internship with American Cruise Lines this upcoming summer. Let me be completely honest with you all: I did not expect, nor plan, to get an internship during my freshman year. I was always told that companies did not really want first-year students; they wanted juniors and seniors, and sometimes, sophomores. But let me discredit that for any and everyone who has ever been told that obtaining an internship - or even a job - as a first-year undergrad is impossible. It's not.
Earlier this semester, I went to both the Career Fair and the Internship Fair that my school hosts yearly (and I guess every semester?). I was extremely nervous to go to the career fair because of how everyone talked about it. I was under the impression that it would be the most stressful and suffocating event that I would ever go to. Lies. While the career fair is not casual and you should definitely be prepared, dressed nice, and ready for anything, it is also not suffocating or unreasonably stressful. Granted, I went to the People to People fair (which pertains more-so to careers that work with, you guessed it, people) and not the engineering fair (which I suppose could have been far more stressful), so I am going to only talk about my experience with that. Anyways, I did not go there looking for a job. I went to check out what companies were there and get my face, resume, and name out there, which is always recommended regardless to what year you are. 
I spoke with a few businesses and learned more about them and allowed them to learn about me. Doing that allowed me to ease my nerves; as a freshmen, I hardly know what I want to do with my life, so going to career fairs where you most likely will be asked about your aspirations and goals can be nerve-wracking. But I learned that simply being honest can do you a world of favors. It will also allow you to make genuine connections. Do not let your nervousness stop you from going to a career fair because a) these companies want to see first-year students, and b) getting the career fair experience now puts you at an advantage because when you are seriously looking for a job, you will be less nervous about what to expect and can focus on who you want to talk to and your presentation. 
Next, I went to the internship fair, which is basically a fair where you can go and talk to students who recently completed an internship. It's semi-formal, but I went after classes and I had on jeans and a t-shirt and felt just fine (it was a spontaneous decision to go). I learned so much about so many different internships available as well as how to pursue getting one. I spoke with very helpful students who wanted to share their experiences and gave me some really amazing advice. They told me to always ask how someone got somewhere. That's a question that, apparently, they do not get asked a lot. You may find out that someone got their internship because of a friend of a friend or because they took the initiative and made a phone call to a company, despite the company not having an internship position listed. 
That piece of advice is what actually motivated me to write this post. I want to share how I got my internship with ACL. Now, don't leave yet. I appreciate everyone who is still with me and reading. Yes, I have been talking forever and I still haven't shared how to get an internship yet. But don't worry: I'm about to tell you. And once I do, you're going to say, "Is that it? Seriously?" And I promise you - it works. Now are you ready?
Okay...
I...
I...
I decided that I wanted it. 
What does this mean you ask? It means that I did the research; it means that I completed the application; it means that I didn't shy away because of my education status. On a night that I was supposed to be doing homework, I was instead looking up internships for this upcoming summer. Somehow, someway, I came across the American Cruise Lines hospitality internship. After reading up on it, I knew that I wanted it. I wanted to get the experience. So, ignoring what I had been told for a long time, I said "Screw It!" and applied. Not one week later did I get a request for an interview.
Sometimes you have to ignore the things that will initially make you not go for an experience. Maybe the job ad says that they want you to be proficient in XYZ, but you only feel confident in X and Y; STILL APPLY. A lot of things can be learned on-the-job and won't be a deal breaker. The worst thing you can hear back is no.