"Summer afternoon-- summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." Henry James
And I have to agree... despite the fact that I'm holding down two "jobs" (one, an internship that doesn't pay, another, a managerial job that I've been at so long, my bosses are like family) I really am enjoying summer now that the sun has come out! June was long, rainy and gloomy, and it was starting to look like July would be like that too. But (knock on wood) I finally feel like it's truly summer with the sun out, and the temperatures rising.
June was quite rainy, but an awesome month for me, because I attended a journalism seminar at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. If I could have one piece of advice for college students, it would be don't hesitate to step out of your comfort zone. Attending this seminar was something I was looking forward to for months, but as I packed and started the three hour drive to Philadelphia, I felt all kinds of butterflies in my stomach. What if I was the odd one out? Would the other students be smarter, more educated than me? Would I want to drive home as soon as I got there? As soon as I left the first session, where the organizer of the program gave an introduction speech, I knew I was in the right place. All of the people, people who I called friends by the end of the week, were there because they loved journalism and politics as much as I did, and they wanted to learn things too. Sure we did a whole lot of serious conversating-- probably most of our day was spent in intense discussions and debates about political theory, ethics of journalism, etc. But lunch time, and our social hours were spent joking around, getting to know each other, and going out to have a good time.
Of course this is just one example of how you can push your own boundaries. I was invited to this seminar after applying for an internship that I pretty much knew I wouldn't get. It was competitive and required a level of experience I didn't really have. But I gave it a shot anyway, and was given the opportunity to attend the week-long conference. If I had just brushed off the application, or ignored the e-mail invitation, I wouldn't have had such a wonderful week. And now, it's a wonderful thing to add to my resume. Plus, I got a ton of free books ;)
Well, that's my pitch for now! I've been terrible at updating, but I have so much to catch up on--- my internship, my job, the great activities that are coming up for next year...
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