Hi everyone!!!

We are officially in finals week and I’m feeling sooo nostalgic right now! The past couple of months have been an absolute whirlwind and the experiences, stories, and people have really shaped this semester for me. Before heading home and sharing all these wonderful moments with my hometown friends and family, I wanted to take a second to reminisce about this spring semester and some of the special moments that made this semester really stand out to me!

Iowa Women’s Basketball Games

This year was MASSIVE for Iowa women’s basketball, and I feel so lucky to have been on campus while Caitlin Clark and the rest of the women’s basketball team worked to get to the National Championship game! The spirit on campus was palpable for every gameday whether it was downtown in a restaurant or at home watching from television. I know that wherever I ended up, I really felt like I could feel the excitement and Hawkeye spirit, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be in a city where everyone was rooting for the same team. I’m definitely going to be cherishing those memories for a long, long time!

Getting Published in Eight Magazines (And Counting!!!)

This year has been amazing for my writing, and I was lucky enough to have gotten published in eight different publications and counting! Most of my publications were through on-campus magazines with the exception of one being online but I’m excited to say that I actually have two more pieces coming out over the summer that will be featured in East Coast magazines!

As I get older and wiser in my writing career, it’s nice to see how my writing has improved and how it’s been celebrated in the wider community. Being in a city of all writers is what I dreamed of when I was first searching for colleges, and it never fails to amaze me how much creative writing is celebrated at the University of Iowa and in Iowa City.

Traveling to Kansas City and New York

I was able to go on two trips this past semester; one to Kansas City for the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Convention, and the second to New York (my home state) where I was able to see my friends and family.

With both trips, it was nice to catch up with people I’ve known my whole life or people I met this past year. I’m also really fond of traveling, and I truly feel like there’s no better way to travel than with a buddy by your side! Both these trips were ten times more fun than I imagined because of the people I spent it with.

Getting Closer To Friends

Sort of mentioned in the last point, one of my goals for this year was to put more time and attention into my friendships, and I can happily say that it absolutely paid off! I’ve gotten so much closer to my writer friends, my tour guide friends, and even some friends who I lost touch with over the years but was finally able to reconnect and hangout with before this semester came to a close.

As I near my final year at college, I really want to continue fostering my college friendships into the next year and beyond!

Launching earthwords Issue 44

I posted about this in one of my previous blog posts, but I have to give it one more shout-out! I’ve been working on literary magazines for all three years of college (and I’ll be returning to earthwords for my fourth year!) and I’ve really found that the literary magazine community is one of my favorite communities on campus.

I love launch parties (especially when we get fun pictures out of it) and I can’t wait to work on another one this upcoming year!!!

The Solar Eclipse

This year, a solar eclipse passed over Iowa City, and everyone went outside to enjoy it! It was so cool seeing all the Hawkeyes out on the grass with glasses on and gazing up at the sky in awe. Me and my friends found a spot on the Pentacrest, and we joined in on the fun!

Seeing John Green

This semester’s main guest speaker was author, John Green, and I was absolutely floored when I was able to see him in person! My friends and I waited in line for hours, and the wait was totally worth it because we got second-row seats!!!

I swear I made eye contact with John at least three times, and my middle school self who read all his books was geeking out for the entire show. It was truly amazing!

Getting an Internship with HarperCollins

This technically hasn’t happened yet, but I do want to plug it in since I got the news this semester!

This past spring, I was informed that I had been chosen as an intern for HarperCollins in the summer and that I’ll be commuting into NYC twice a week to work in their office space! Isn’t that crazy!?!

I feel so lucky to have this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see what I end up learning over the next two months while I’m working.

Making a Field Guide

This year, I was in the Publishing II class in which our final project as a class was to make a field guide.

I had so much fun getting to know people in my class, working with a variety of student work, and overall, just having a finished book in my hand! Our launch party was also very special since we had it in the new Nonfiction Writing Building, and we had some guest speakers from the Iowa Writers Workshop.

I even got to read my published piece too which was such a nice surprise!

Making a Dent in My Reading Goals

Compared to some of the other stuff I mentioned, this isn’t as big and exciting, but it’s still something I’m really proud of.

I decided to set a goal of reading 30 books this year since I usually only read 24-25 books a year. So far, I’ve finished reading 11 books which means that I’m still on track to finish all 3o books by the end of the year! Fingers crossed I stay on that track. With summer right around the corner, maybe I’ll even get ahead on my reading!

These are just a few highlights of my semester! It still feels unreal that the next time I write a blog post, I’ll be a senior. It’s both exciting and terrifying, and I can’t wait to take you guys on that journey with me.

Until next time!!!