Being an Iowa City Artist

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Iowa City is like an oasis of art amidst the never-ending farmland that controls the state. Even amongst other cities in Iowa, like Ames, Iowa City stands out in its deep passion for art and artists. This is something I knew nothing about when I first came here my freshman year, but I’m so glad that I happened to choose a place that puts such value in art, and as an artist, that makes it really easy to create.

I’m a film student, and while I’ve talked about that before, I haven’t ever explained how filmmaking goes in Iowa City. For my final project in my Film Production: Fiction class, I had to write and direct a 6-minute short film in roughly 6 weeks. The script I wrote includes a lot of location changes, including a gas station and the Iowa River. In a lot of cities, including places like L.A. where filmmaking is THE thing, people really don’t respond well to people filming in public locations. Storeowners will be quick to kick filmmakers out and the general public shows a lot of hostility to them, but Iowa City welcomes it. The city’s appreciation for art, as well as the scarcity of filmmakers in the Midwest, make it exciting for people to see someone shooting film, and they respond very positively. In public, people will be sure to stay out of your way and storeowners are very happy to allow filmmakers to shoot on their grounds.

So, when making this final project, I was very nervous at first to shoot in all of these public locations, but I was pleasantly surprised to not run into any hiccups. Not only does the process of making art go over smoothly here, but the art is celebrated once it’s been created. For example, the downtown theaters in Iowa City always involve local filmmakers in their productions, including a film festival they put on every semester that shows the work of students at the university. There are also a lot of art shows on campus and around town that highlight this passion for art.

I’m not told to come on here and make the University of Iowa or Iowa City sound good – there are a lot of things that I get frustrated with as a film student here (which I’m sure I’ll go into detail about soon), but I genuinely am very thankful for how the community here values and welcomes artists.

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Fall in Iowa City

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One of the things I look forward to each year is the first day of fall; and by that I mean, the first day it’s chilly enough to wear a hoodie. That came 2 weeks ago, and since then I have been trying really hard to do as much fall-themed stuff as possible. I LOVE fall, but I always put off enjoying it because I’m busy with something. So in my second year in Iowa City, I decided to see what fall activities this place has going on.

1) The Farmers Market
Now that I live in an apartment off-campus and have to pass through downtown to get to class, I’ve become more aware of all the things the downtown has to offer, and one of them is the farmers market located on the other side of my favorite movie theatre in town. I went last Saturday for the first time and it was the perfect way to start off the chilly weather season. I didn’t buy much (because I am both broke and cheap), but there was a huge variety of stands to look through and plenty of people to talk to. I met up with a few friends I hadn’t seen in a while and had a very relaxing morning eating honey sticks and cookies before I went back home to watch…

2) Football
Probably the most unexpected change I’ve made since coming to college is becoming a huge college sports fan, particularly football, and basketball. Iowa has that kind of effect on you as a student here since we have pretty good sports programs, but watching all of the college football games has become my favorite way to relax on a fall Saturday. But obviously, the best is when we have a home game. The whole city makes its way to Kinnick Stadium, and getting to see such a giant community come together to have fun and get angry at the same time makes you feel very connected with the town and the school.

3) Watching the Leaves Change
I get that you can do this pretty much anywhere, so it’s not very specific to Iowa City, but seeing the campus lose its leaves after a long summer of green foliage is a very fresh feeling. There is one specific tree near the Old Capitol that starts to turn orange a bit earlier than the other trees in the area, so it’s sort of known as *THE* autumn tree by most of the students. It’s also a pretty popular spot to take pictures, so if you see any photos of a big orange tree on Iowa’s campus, it’s probably the one I’m talking about.

4) Downtown Scary Movies
This one might be my favorite on the list. The University’s film program has a pretty good relationship with FilmScene, a local theater chain with a few locations in Iowa City. Every week, they show select movies for cheap for all students, and in October they start showing some scary ones. The best is when they play them on the projector outside, so everyone can just walk up and join in on whatever part of the movie is playing. It’s a pretty cool experience and one of the unique things that I think makes Iowa City feel like a small town even when it’s, well, a city.

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How to Adjust to Life on a Big Campus

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One of the best parts about the University of Iowa is how big the campus is. But depending on the person, that might also be the scariest part about UI. And while a big campus isn’t for everyone, there are ways to make it feel a bit smaller and more like home. Here are a few:

  1. When you come to campus, try to quickly learn the bare minimum about campus. Get familiar with where your dorm, the dining hall, and your classes are. You can take the time to figure out other important buildings and locations later, but getting these few places memorized will make your day-to-day routine much less stressful.

  2. Find a good study spot you can rely on. There are a million places to study on campus, but just try to find one good, reliable place you can escape to where you can relax and get some work done. 

  3. Stay out of your dorm room as much as you can for the first few weeks of college. It can be really tempting to retreat to your private space when the rest of campus feels alien, but it’s very important to get out as much as possible early on. Spending your early free time walking around campus and getting outside while the weather is nice makes it very easy to make friends and see all of the opportunities the campus has to offer. On the other hand, if you do spend too much time in your room early on, it can be very difficult to get yourself to come OUT of your room.

  4. Find a coffee shop or restaurant downtown that you seem to like and make it a point to visit it frequently. When you add something nice and small to your weekly routine, it will brighten your day and help the new place you’ve found yourself in feel more familiar.

  5. Make friends with people who know the area better than you. They can help show you around the places that you haven’t found the time to explore yet. For example, a guy on my floor showed me a really cool comic book store in Iowa City, and even though I don’t see that guy very often, I stop by that shop all the time, thanks to him.

A big campus definitely has its ups and downs, but even for those who think it might not be their scene, there are lots of ways to adjust to the new setting. For me, one of the best parts about the University of Iowa’s campus is that it becomes familiar to you very quickly, but there is always another cool spot in the area to discover.  🙂

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What to Look For in a Freshman Roommate

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One of the most stressful, unpredictable parts about going to college for the first time is figuring out who you’ll spend your year living with. It’s the first major choice you make once you settle on a college, and it feels like it will have a huge impact on your experience at college. So, here are my tips on finding a roommate for your freshman year.

1) Make a list of the qualities that you value most in a roommate. That could be cleanliness, bedtime, common interests, etc. Then, rank these from most important to least important, and keep them in mind while you search for your roommate. To make this easier, when you commit to UIowa, you have the chance to fill out a questionnaire that will automatically match you with the people you are most compatible with.

2) Join the University of Iowa Class of 2026 Facebook group / Instagram page. Here, you can view people’s profiles and message them much easier than you can on the university’s roommate finder. It’s nice because you can create a post introducing yourself to a lot of people on a platform that everyone is already familiar with.

3) Talk to as many potential roommates as you can, and don’t be afraid to turn people down. Again, this is someone that you’re going to live with for a whole year, so you should feel pretty decent about the choice of roommate you’ve made before you dedicate (This advice also goes the other way around; people may turn YOU down, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean they don’t like you, it might just mean that their lifestyle isn’t super compatible with yours.).

4) Don’t stress yourself out looking for the PERFECT roommate. No matter who ends up as your roommate, they will have quirks that you’ll just learn to live with.

5) Take time to think about how to best introduce yourself to people. Maybe just write a few sentences in your notes app that hit on all sides of your personality. And don’t take it too seriously! People will like you most when you present yourself honestly.

6) Above all else, look for someone who would be a good friend. Being friends with your roommate will make it easy to look past a lot of their faults, as opposed to being stuck with someone you’re not friends with, which can amplify all the things that bother you about them. Plus, it’s really nice to have someone that you can see every night that you feel like you can be yourself around.

Bonus tip: Relax! Most people don’t continue living with their first roommate after freshman year. Even if you’re not super happy with the person you’re living with, you have an entire year to meet people that you know could make good roommate(s) for the years to come. It might seem like your roommate will make or break your year, but their role in your life is only as big as you allow it to be.

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Weather OnIowa(!)

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With most of the winter finally behind us (fingers crossed), I finally feel like I can write about what experiencing the University of Iowa at its hottest and coldest is really like. Coming from Pennsylvania, I expected a climate similar to the one I grew up in when I came to college; hot summers, cold and snowy winters, with plenty of rain and thunderstorms scattered throughout the year. I wasn’t wrong – but I wasn’t right, either.

From what I’ve experienced, the weather in Iowa City is like it’s trying to be extreme at all times. When I moved in during the middle of August, I expected the end-of-summer heat before moving into fall weather for a couple of months, but I completely missed the mark there. It was constantly in the high 90s with humidity through the roof all the way through September. And when it wasn’t deathly hot, it was downpouring. On the morning of my very first day of classes, the thunder and rain were so loud I would’ve believed a Civil War-era cannon was being shot right outside my window. I practically had to swim to class through the knee-deep puddles.

As October settled in, I thought I could finally enjoy some nice fall hoodie weather for a while – but that only lasted ~two weeks. Before I knew it, I was freezing the whole way across campus for the rest of the semester. And when it getss cold in Iowa, it. gets. cold. When I came back for the spring semester, I got used to it feeling like -20 degrees 3-4 times a week. My hands have never been so dry in my life! But at least the city and campus look pretty in the snow.

But by far the most noteworthy aspect of Iowa’s weather is without a doubt the wind. The wind will take a hot day and make it bearable, but Iowa wind on a cold day is insufferable. As an example of just how brutal the wind can be here, finals week of last semester culminated in a tornado drill for all on-campus dorms when winds passed 80 mph. I guess I never realized how nice the mountains in Pennsylvania are for breaking up the wind, because Iowa is as flat as land can be, and the wind definitely proves that.

Iowa definitely gets the widest range of weather I have ever experienced, which can make life on campus pretty interesting. With that being said, it’s finally starting to warm up now, so I’m hoping to move into an early spring, and (once again, fingers-crossed here) some mild weather for once.

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5 Ways I’ve Changed Since Coming to College

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College is known for being a life-changing experience by most standards. The combination of moving out, meeting a TON of new people, living on campus, and studying topics of your choice is bound to change you in some ways, big or small. Now that I’m close(ish) to the end of my freshman year, I feel like I’m finally beginning to take note of the ways I’ve changed since coming to Iowa. Here are 5 of them.

 

  1. I’ve become more responsible (duh). This one is pretty obvious. Living on your own for the first time practically forces you to take on more responsibility. I now have an actual laundry schedule (crazy, right?), as opposed to just doing it whenever my laundry basket begins to overflow. And I’ve actually started using a planner! I always thought that was something for people who had their lives together, but it turns out I can pull it off, too. It sounds stupid to point this change out, but there are a surprisingly high number of people who fall apart when they come to college because they aren’t ready for the responsibility of it. I’m glad I’ve been able to adapt to independence, well… so far, because I have definitely come a long way in that department since high school.
  2. I’ve started to enjoy running again. In high school and junior high, because of the sports I played, I was running year-round at a high intensity. I used to be pretty serious about my athletics, which in turn caused me to get anxious about running – I’d be so focused on performing well that the actual act of running got ruined for me. Lately, however, I’ve picked running up again and have started to realize that I don’t need to make excuses for myself if I’m feeling off. It’s just nice to run again for enjoyment.
  3. I have a better vision of what my future will look like. When I entered college, I knew I wanted to make movies and that I was interested in making space documentaries. Over the time I’ve spent here, however, after talking to and learning from people who have made actual films and done the things I want to do, I’ve begun to realize how I plan to get from being a kid interested in film to a professional director. I’ve also learned a lot about what actually goes into making a film, and how I can make one by myself. It’s nice to finally begin to see a path for myself.
  4. I stay up later. I can’t just make this list about all the ways I’ve changed for the good – there have definitely been a few ways I’ve changed for the worse, and this is one of them. Since a lot of my friends live on the same floor that I do, it’s really easy to get roped into staying up to hang out a little. Plus, when a lot of your classes don’t start until after 10 AM, it’s hard to drive yourself to get out of bed earlier than you need. I’ve been working on fixing this, but with so many midterms to juggle, it’s been difficult to prioritize my sleep.
  5. I’ve started to live in the present more. All my life, I have always been thinking about what my next step will be, how much better life will be in the future, etc. Lately, however, I’ve begun to notice that while thinking ahead is useful, it distracts me from getting to enjoy what I’m living now. There’s a lot that I love about my current lifestyle, and I don’t want to get so caught up in what’s next that I don’t appreciate just being a college kid.

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Attending Iowa as a Film Student

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As my second semester at Iowa really starts getting underway, I thought I’d share a bit of what it’s like to be a film major here. It’s not a very common major at most schools (including Iowa), so I figured I’d give a bit of perspective for those who are wondering what it’s like, especially at the University of Iowa.


I was unsure about whether or not I wanted to be a film major, but I figured I would try it out for my first semester to see if I liked it – and it turned out I did. A LOT. The first class for my major I took was Introduction to Film Analysis, a class that teaches the basics of understanding, analyzing, and critiquing film. It completely changed the way I watch and understand not just movies and TV, but art as a whole – I find myself making interpretations on what the artist’s message is in the books I read and the music I listen to as well. And that is really, really cool. I feel like I can appreciate art now in a way I was never able to before.


The film class I’m taking this semester – Modes of Video and Film Production – is very focused on actually making a film instead of just interpreting it. I’m only a few weeks in, but I’ve been loving it so far. My TA (Teaching Assistant) is Hao Zhou, a grad student who recently won a Student Academy Award for his short film, Frozen Out. It is really cool to be learning from someone who has literally earned an Academy Award for his work, and to actually get to use proper film equipment – real cameras, tripods, audio recorders, and lighting tools as opposed to just my iPhone – is so neat and makes me excited to actually film.


My biggest problem is figuring out what I want to film about – luckily, there is a strong film community in Iowa City to help with that. Just today, I went to a film festival at one of the local theatres to see a handful of short films made by people in the Iowa City area. It was really beneficial to see what kind of work people have done around Iowa City and it made some of the ideas I have for films feel more possible to create while I’m here.

Overall, Iowa is the alma mater of plenty of successful directors and screenwriters, such as Joe Russo of the legendary Russo Brothers. It’s cool to be at a place where I feel like I can learn about and work on film in an environment that promotes so much cinema. If you have any questions pertaining to being a film major or going to UIowa, feel free to reach out to me! 🙂

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The Top 5 BEST Places in Iowa City

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When I was still deciding on where I wanted to go to college, I decided to take a tour of UIowa. While I’d always liked Iowa, I had never seen the campus, so I didn’t have a very good understanding of what school would be like there. After visiting, however, I realized that part of what makes the University of Iowa so great is Iowa City itself.

Iowa City consistently ranks as one of the best college towns in the country, and for good reason. It is the perfect balance of city and town and is connected to the campus, so it’s only a short walk from your dorm. In this post, I’ll rank my top 5 places in Iowa City that made me fall in love with the city (I’ll leave out my favorite places on campus – that could be a whole different post on its own).

#5: Target – I know this may sound like a boring one to start off with, but the Target in downtown Iowa City is amazing. I can’t even count how many times I’ve had to pick up something like hangers, Chapstick, notebooks, or laundry detergent and was so relieved that it was just a 5-minute walk to Target. The Target downtown is the perfect miniature size – it’s 2 stories tall and is just big enough to have pretty much everything you need, but not too big to get carried away (Pro tip: Make sure to get the Target app – for how much you’ll spend there as a student, you get a lot of deals and can earn a lot of loyalty points).

#4: Teemo – Teemo is a bubble tea shop right next to Target, which is directly across from the Pentacrest on campus. Boba is one of my favorite drinks, and Teemo is by far the best tea shop to grab some from in Iowa City. It’s also a nice place to go in and study, do homework, or just relax. They have a giant wall dedicated to sticky notes that customers can draw or write on and hang theirs up, which makes for something really entertaining to look at while you wait for your drink. Overall, it’s definitely worth checking out if you like Boba or any other kind of tea! (Side note: I think writing this entry has convinced me to go grab some Teemo tonight…)

#3: Insomnia Cookies – When I first heard about Insomnia, I didn’t really understand the concept. A cookie store that is open until 3 AM? Why would anybody need cookies that late? And then I got to college, and it completely made sense. There are plenty of nights that you’ll be up late, and maybe you haven’t eaten all day, or just want a reward for staying up late doing work, but all you can think about is downing some cookies. Not only is this place super convenient, but it has a great vibe and is on the same street as Target and Teemo, so it’s not a far walk at all from campus. Definitely check out Insomnia if you get a chance – their ice cream cookie sandwiches are addictive.

#2: The Iowa City Public Library – The Public Library is a place I hadn’t visited up until the start of the Spring semester, but I’ve gone back plenty of times since. I don’t know if it’s just the fact that I came from a really small town where the public library had about 7 shelves of books total, but this place blew me away. It’s multiple floors full of popular, up-to-date books, movies, and video games for you to check out as you please. The inside is full of decorations and rooms to sit down and study or read in a quiet space. There are also plenty of events that go on here, so it’s a place that is not worth missing.

#1: The Pedestrian Mall – The Ped Mall is maybe the most beautiful area of Iowa City. It’s a square right downtown that is full of trees, shade, fountains, art, and events. As you walk down the Ped Mall, you pass by some of my favorite places – a sushi place called Formosa, a theatre called Film Scene, the plant shop… There are plenty of events that go on in the ped mall, too; you can be sure to see dancers, Pride parades, musicians, and artists pretty much anytime the sun is out here. Unfortunately, it’s too cold now to spend much time in the Ped Mall, so I’m counting down the days until spring so I can hang out there again.

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Long Distance Relationships in College

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One of my greatest anxieties as a high school senior was wondering what would happen between my girlfriend and I once we went off to college. While I had chosen Iowa, she chose a school in New York, meaning we would not get the chance to see each other very often. It’s scary to go from seeing each other so often for 3.5 years to once every few months; but after doing long-distance for nearly four months now, I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve realized that it’s not as terrifying as I had expected.

After the first few weeks of long-distance and working through the chaotic, weird phase of trying to figure out how it’s going to work, you’ll start to form a schedule that will become the new normal. You learn each other’s classes and get used to the times when your partner is busy, and take advantage of the free time you both have. For example, my girlfriend chose to study abroad in Italy for her first semester, so we had to get used to a 7-hour time difference. While that was really intimidating, I got used to calling her in the afternoon between some of my classes and wishing her goodnight while the sun was still up in Iowa.

Luckily, now that the world has adjusted to COVID, there are a lot of fun ways to hang out virtually. Watching movies together, playing games online, and sending each other letters are all activities that we’ve been doing often. Of course, it doesn’t feel the same as being with that person, but it’s so much better than being long-distance 30, 10, or even 5 years ago; there are just so many more ways now to spend time together when you’re apart.

Possibly the most annoying part of a long-distance relationship in college is finding a private space to call from. You don’t want to constantly call from your room to bother your roommate, so you have to find some alternative spots. During early fall and late spring, sitting somewhere outside is a convenient option (just bring bug spray), but it gets harder to find somewhere in the winter. Some spots that I’ve found that work for me are stairwells, private study spaces where you won’t bother people (DON’T be that person that calls from a public study space), and empty lounges.

Overall, doing long-distance relationships in college is not easy. There are plenty of times where you’ll feel lonely and be jealous of the couples who get to be together; but if you’re in a relationship you’re happy with, it’s worth putting in the effort. It makes the time you get to spend together feel more valuable and special, and it helps you understand the reasons why you value your relationship. It’s like they always say: Absence makes the heart grow fonder.  🙂

 

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Going Home For The First Time

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As an out-of-state student, going home isn’t nearly as feasible for me as it is for most people who live within an hour or two from campus. While most of my friends had been able to go home for a weekend here or there, I wasn’t. Until Thanksgiving break, of course.


As much as I love it here, I was really excited to go home; to see my family, my old friends, my new dog, and my hometown. When I was moving in, I told myself that it would only be a few months until I was home again and it would go by fast. I was right; it DID go by fast because I was kept busy with school, events, clubs, etc. But once I got home, it hit me how much time had passed. New billboards were up, all the leaves I grew familiar with had fallen, my local gas station had been renovated, I got new neighbors, and the whole house had been redecorated. As stupid as it sounds, it was shocking how much had changed – when you leave for school, it almost feels like time should freeze back home while you’re gone. But it doesn’t.


I did have homework over break, but it wasn’t much at all. Since Iowa combines its fall break and Thanksgiving break, we start our break before most other schools and get over a week off. I got most of my work done in my first few days back so I could be free for the rest of the week when my friends would get back.


There’s a stark difference between the friends you make at college and the friends you have from home. Something about growing up together makes the friendship different; not necessarily stronger, but just different. This is a topic I could (and probably will) explore in its own post, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s refreshing to see those friends that you’ve known for a long time.


The worst part of Thanksgiving break is that you don’t want to go back to school once it’s over. Not because you don’t like it there, but rather because you know the next couple of weeks are going to suuuuuck. Once December rolls around, it is officially Finals Season – and you’re going to feel exhausted. I most likely won’t cover anything about Finals this semester just because I don’t actually have any in-person finals, so my experience will be different than most. But no matter what your finals schedule looks like, the combination of the grind and burnout is going to make it tough to push through… But before you know it, it will all be over, and you’ll be on your way back home once more. 🙂

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