The writer describes abandoning their ambition to work in fashion after an episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt prompted them to reassess the cost of unpaid internships. The personal account highlights how promises of “experience” and possible future jobs can mask financial insecurity and unequal access within creative industries.

In 2017, aged 23, the writer had spent 18 months completing unpaid placements in London while living in £12-a-night hostels and working evening jobs to survive. They often relied on hostel breakfasts and peanut-butter sandwiches, carried their possessions daily, and felt unable to disclose their situation; after watching an episode in which Kimmy is advised that quitting can be difficult but necessary, they told their employer they could no longer work for free and left.