Student Blog: “Perfect Summer” Didn't Go As Planned And That's Okay

Hanging out with friends, enjoying the warm weather, and not having to worry about homework or school — that’s summer. The time to wind down, kick back and relax. Objectively, I should be pretty stoked about the summertime, but as a rising senior in college, there’s this dark cloud looming over me, reminding me that this is my last summer as a college student… How can I make the most of this summer before I venture out into the real world?

Summer has just begun and already, I’ve experienced some twists and turns along the way that kind of threw off my plans of what I thought would be my “perfect summer.” I thought I was going to land a media and press internship, but two weeks before summer break, I was notified that I was not selected for it, even despite having all of the qualifications and more. Additionally, I thought I would be moving into an apartment with a friend of mine, but due to financial reasons, I had to back out of our agreement, so here I am at home while my friend moves in next week. 

The FOMO of it all is really getting to me. Securing an internship, moving out, and just general adulting is almost expected of college students and it’s been kind of discouraging watching my peers achieve their own goals while I feel like I’ve fallen behind. Despite what’s happened, I’m slowly realizing that I can find my “perfect summer” in more unexpected ways. 

This summer, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my friends and family. I’ve already had some amazing experiences like going to my first ever pride parade in Washington DC and watching an illuminated fountain performance at Longwood Gardens in PA! Hopefully soon I’ll be able to take a trip to New York City to see a Broadway show or two (or maybe three!). I haven’t seen a Broadway show since 2021, so I definitely need to make up for lost time. Fat Ham is next on my need to watch list. 

In addition to hanging out with friends, I also plan on preparing for my school’s upcoming theatrical productions. The line-up includes: Pippin, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, SpongeBob, The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong, and this year’s SAST (Short Attention Span Theatre - it’s usually a themed student written production.) For both Pippin and The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong, I am Lighting Consultant and for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, I’m Production Manager (which is really exciting because it’s a very new role for me!). Mostly, I work in Lighting Design but I wanted to challenge myself and branch out into new areas. Keep an eye out for a more in-depth blog post about those upcoming productions!

Lastly, while also writing for BroadwayWorld, I will continue to write for my school’s Arts & Culture section of the student newspaper and become more immersed in the journalism industry through attending arts specific journalism workshops. Journalism has always been an interest of mine, and so the fact that I get to write articles about the arts is just amazing. For BroadwayWorld, I’ll typically write about things relating to theatre, college, and just different things happening in my life! 

So, is this what I thought my summer would look like? Nope! And that’s okay. The eagerness to live up to expectations might’ve weighed me down a little, but I’ll still be doing the things I love, while making new memories and having fun.