For those of you in Iowa, you know it’s been a very warm welcome for students returning to campus.
With heat waves amassing over 100 degrees, the first week of classes is well underway with blasted air conditioning, sweaty hairlines, and lots of golden sunshine. It really does give the heavy vibes of summer vacation but with the extra load of homework and classes. And while I’m sure most of us wish we were still spending our days sitting by the pool, this weather has really made me reminisce on my summer vacation. So, before the school year officially kicks off, I wanted to take a second look back and tell you guys about one of the best summers I’ve ever had!
Writers House Internship
As I write this, I’m actually still finishing up my summer internship with one week left to go! Earlier this spring, I was picked to be an intern for Writers House which is a literary agency in New York City that produced a handful of best-selling titles such as Twilight, The Fault in Our Stars, Eragon, and more.
I supported the desks of Rebecca Eskildsen and Merrilee Heifetz (the agent for Neil Gaiman, Alexandra Bracken, and C.T Adams!) where I read queries, partials, and full manuscripts and wrote rejection letters, reader’s reports, pitch letters, editorial letters, and submission lists. I also got the chance to talk with a lot of people working at Penguin Random House, Macmillian, Simon and Schuster, and other publishing companies who ran seminars and tutorials about marketing, sales, publicity, scouting, editing, agenting, and even what it means to be a good assistant in the industry.
As you can probably tell, I learned so much during this internship and it was influential in understanding the career I want to pursue and the industry I plan on one day working in.
Trip to the Met
For those of you who don’t know, my family is from New York, so I have a tendency to venture into the city during my winter and summer breaks to spend some time doing fun things with my hometown friends. One of my side quests into the city happened to be a trip to the Met to see Karl Lagerfeld’s collection a week after the Met Gala happened (sadly, I did not see any celebs there, but one can hope!).
The collection was absolutely stunning along with the rest of the museum and the trip served as a great way to kick off the summer with some of the people closest to me.
Weekend Getaway to Wildwood, New Jersey
I think the theme of this summer should be “How many places can I go?” because I ended up last minute going on a weekend trip with two of my best friends and their families to Wildwood, New Jersey. The famous boardwalk there consisted of rollercoaster rides, carnival games, shops, and lots of places to eat. We got to see live music from local bands, play mini golf, check out aquariums, and we even rented out a massive bike to travel from one end of the boardwalk to the other, so we got to see everything it had to offer!
Overall, it was a warm trip, and I was glad to get some alone time with my friends after we’d been separated for far too long.
My Return to Iowa City
I guess I couldn’t stay away for too long, because halfway through the summer, I found myself on a plane back to Iowa City to spend the week visiting my boyfriend. While both of us did have to spend time working, it was nice being back in my college town and being able to see what Iowa City is like in the summertime (void of students and full of the local community!)
My boyfriend and I split our time trying out some new things like going to the flea market and doing some old traditions like getting dinner at Sumo. It was such a relaxing week, and it went by too soon because before I knew it, I was back in the place and returning to the east coast.
Seeing Big Time Rush in Concert
I was making a long-time childhood dream come true when two of my best friends and I decided to go see Big Time Rush on tour for their newest album. After paying only 40$ for our tickets, my friends and I braved the rain as we waited for the gates to open and sprinted into the stadium where we ended up getting front-row seats! It literally could not have gotten better than that!
We had the best time watching the group on stage and singing along to all their songs. Overall, it was a concert to remember!
Seeing Taylor Swift’s Outfits on Display in the Museum of Art and Design
For those of you who don’t know, I’m a massive Taylor Swift fan, and while I couldn’t spend the money to go see her in concert, I did end up getting tickets to see her outfits on display in the Museum of Art and Design. Some of the clothes on display were her red ball gown from the I Bet You Think About Me music video, her cloaked bodysuit from the Reputation tour, and even some of her favorite instruments like her ukelele!
It was such a cool experience and I love joking around that it truly was “my Eras tour!”
Cutting My Hair
This isn’t a massive event, but still something to note! I had previously dyed the ends of my hair purple and I’ve been slowly bleeding the color out (even if the ends are holding onto that purple for dear life!) Considering how my hair isn’t totally its natural color, I was a bit nervous going to my good friend and stylist with the idea of trying out a butterfly cut, but she absolutely nailed it! She even made it so that the ends with color still on them blended together which is super cute if you ask me!
Going to My Friend’s Movie Premiere
Another massive highlight of my summer was attending a good friend of mine’s indie movie premiere!
My friend had been working on this movie for two years and he invited me and my friend group to join him at the official premiere. It was so much fun putting on my most medieval/formal fit (the movie was medieval fantasy, so I had to fit the vibes!) and getting amazing pictures with my hometown friends.
It was a great opportunity to get full glam and support my friend’s passion.
Lollapalooza
If there’s only one thing that I could tell people about my summer, it would be my experience at Lollapalooza. I might even write my next blog post on this festival because there truly is so much to talk about!
From seeing Billie Eilish sing What Was I Made For to being front row for Sabrina Carpenter to discovering new artists like rapper JID and then nearly being crushed in the mosh pit when Joey Badass brought out Chance the Rapper, everything about Lollapalooza was the experience of a lifetime and I was so glad that me and my boyfriend took the time to make this trip happen. Assuming the headliners are amazing artists next year, we’ll definitely be going back next August.
Moving Into My First Apartment
To end my summer on a softer note, I moved into my very first apartment right before the start of classes. Thanks to my family and my lovely roommate, the process went smoothly and I’m so excited to have a new place to call home. Yes, adulting is scary, and so is cooking and calling maintenance, but this is a whole new level of life that I can’t wait for and I’m super excited to spend it with one of my best friends on campus.
Wow! Reading this back makes me realize how crazy of a summer I had and how many memories I made. This past summer was definitely one to remember, but now it’s officially time to put my head down and dive back into my schoolwork.
Wish me luck this semester and look out for more posts from me in the meantime!
