dear intern:

it gets better.

♥️

ps. don’t wear a beret for awhile, k?

— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) June 18, 2021

The internet isn’t always a warm and welcoming place. While it certainly can be, more often it’s steeped with examples of the type of human nature we wouldn’t necessarily exhibit in real life.

Though there are those rare and wonderful exceptions—like the intern that has single-handedly reminded us all of what it was like to be new and learning new skills. The intern mistakenly sent an empty test email to a portion of HBOMax’s email list. And as it turns out, there’s no anger or frustration surrounding the incident on social media. Instead, people are sharing their own experiences and pulling for the newbie.

It’s a joy to see such kindness in a world that needs as much kindness as we can throw at it.

Hope the intern knows we’re cheering for them, we’ve all been there 🙂

— Adrienne Porter Felt (@__apf__) June 18, 2021

I still remember the time that I mistakenly cc’ed my manager hundreds of emails when testing a new CRM program. Or all the moments I’ve mistakenly shut down video feeds at the wrong time and it caught folks mid-sentence. And so many more things that I’ve forgotten, I’m sure. So yes, Intern, I feel your feels and I’m glad the internet has turned into a warm and squishy landing place for you in the midst of your trending story.

Take a look at some of the other (great) replies shared on the interwebs and give all of these good folks props for humaning, for surviving, and for sharing the love:

Dear intern,

I once globally took down Spotify. It almost happened twice. My team was awesome about it and I’m still here. You managed to find something broken in the way integration tests are done. It’s a good thing and will help improve things. Good luck <3.

— Daenney (@daenney) June 18, 2021

Dear intern,

I woke up to that email this morning and immediately thought, “oof – been there buddy.”

We’ve all broken production! Besides, as a great boss once told me, if you never make mistakes you’re not really trying. It’s gonna be ok! pic.twitter.com/TSAunSFXu4

— Jaylyn Stoesz (@jaylynstoesz) June 18, 2021

Dear Intern,
I once didn’t recognize then-VP George HW Bush and almost didn’t let him into a meeting…in the Cabinet Room. Of The White House. Where he worked. ??‍♀️
He was actually as gracious as HBO Max Help appears to be being…you’ll be fine.

— ͏Postcards4USA (@postcards4USA) June 18, 2021

To the intern:

Hi! ??‍♂️
I’m an Engineering Director on Google Play. Our team’s systems send the emails for the Play Store.

1. You’ll be fine! As replies show, everyone breaks production!

2. Congratulations on helping your team find missing guardrail features and capabilities!??

— Mekka ??? *My Mask Protects You* Okereke (@mekkaokereke) June 18, 2021

Dear Intern:

Once, when I was a junior copywriter, I applied to my dream job at @TheAtlantic and wrote “copyrighter” on my résumé. Like, I misspelled the job I wanted, which was a job for good spellers.

You’re doing great, okay?

— Angela Mayfield (@pinkrocktopus) June 18, 2021

Dear Intern,

You are my hero. Thank you for reminding us there is a human side behind these massive companies.

Signed,
The human side of Apple

— Novall Swift (@NovallSwift) June 18, 2021

Intern, you are a hero. But perhaps more important now is that HBOMax follows through with their promise to help you through it. To take care of their team. Mistakes happen. It’s how we react to them that matters, and in this case our eyes are on HBOMax.