There have been quite a few moments in my life when I was truly breathless. The time I stood on stage at my first World Choir Games in front of hundreds of people, including seven incredibly intense judges. The moment I checked my email nonchalantly as I drove home from Tahoe and realized I got into Scripps. And, of course, the time I was at the movies watching Paper Towns (**Spoiler Alert**) when suddenly, my future husband Ansel Elgort made a surprise onscreen appearance. I jumped in my seat and got so excited that I actually hit my friend in the face with my flailing arms.                        

Now this may seem sad to you, but that’s also my point…I know my crazed love of things considered pre-teen and childlike is just a part of who I am. I’ve been lucky enough to grow up in an environment that challenged my personality. Being bullied throughout my childhood forced me to figure out who I am and to accept myself. I now embrace my cliché love for all things and every thing Disney. I go to bed no later than 10 on school nights— sometimes as early as 8:30— and drink tea religiously. I do this weird thing when I walk around the 5Cs where I pick up any huge branch I find, name it, drag it along with me, and then give it to someone as a present— whether it be a friend, stranger, or squirrel.

(Tbh, I’m super surprised a photo like this exists. It sums up my relationship with sticks quite accurately)

Now, while I spent the majority of high school figuring out who I am, I never thought I would need to spend the time evaluating my future. One of the main reasons I fell in love with Scripps was because of the amazing English program. I’ve known since I was a little girl that I want to be an author. As a kid, I would read so much that my mom would yell at me to stop. I never really understood this because I’m pretty dang sure reading is good for you. However, I also began to imagine myself as an editor or a publisher or a teacher. I have always thought that as long as I am doing some kind of job that involves books, I would be happy.

Throughout my life, my summers have been dedicated to exploring the greater world and its beautiful outdoors. However, as the past spring semester came to a close, I realized I wanted to go on a different kind of adventure over the summer. I wanted a temporary journey into the “real” world. I applied for internships and looked into jobs, hoping to try adulting for once (yes, yes, I know. Adulting is not a word. Calm down). When I was looking into different opportunities, I came across an internship at a company called Books & Such Literary Agency. After applying and having an interview with the agency’s head and founder Janet, I was lucky enough to get the position.

So how does this relate to my blog? Well, because of my internship I have had the amazing opportunity to interview about 20 Scripps graduates with a humanities major. From founders of nonprofits to radio hosts to teachers and so much more, I learned how the opportunities for a humanities major are truly endless. I knew that it would be such a waste if nobody else had the chance to learn from these empowered women.

EXPLORATION CHECKLIST:

–Self

-Outdoors

-Future

            My blog, like the majority of my life, will revolve around the idea of exploration. While I’ve always thought I knew where I wanted to go with my future, I honestly can say that now I have no clue where I will end up. Just like I had to take the time to figure out who I am and what I stand for, I now know I need to reevaluate what I want to do with my future. I hope, with you my dear readers, to use these graduates’ wisdom to have another one of my breathless “aha!!” moments and figure out what path I want to head down.