My Summer So Far

This is my first and last summer I have been on Furman's campus the entire time. I have worked two jobs, taken a class, spent time with my Dad, connected back with an old friend, made new friends, and continued hobbies. It's been quite eventful, so I wouldn't say I have really had a favorite moment. These will be some of the highlights.

I work as a summer RA (resident assistant), and I do summer research with Dr. Drucker. Some of the perks of being a summer RA are free food and a sense of community with your co-workers. The lows are a 5am spam call.  I really have enjoyed helping with the moves, to be honest. It is a job that keeps you on your feet, literally. I have gotten about 17k steps in one shift. In my summer research, I have been learning about the 1970s game show Match Game (and, of course, conducting research on it).My favorite part is doing deep dives into celebrities and finding out the drama. It has been so fascinating to learn about a time I frankly didn't know much about.

I also took a MayX with Dr. Hick called "Let's Watch Horror Movies." I got to watch classics like Psycho and Halloween and engage more with the horror genre. My favorite part was hearing other people's perspectives and delving into the question "What is a monster?"

My Dad on his phone after Crepes at Tandem!

My Dad visited me a couple of times. One time was to help me move, and another was for his birthday/Father's Day! The day before he moved me in, I did a double feature with Backrooms and Carolina Caroline. Despite him being in town for only two days, he wanted to watch at least two new movies. I was up for the challenge. We spent the time going back and forth from one side of Clark Murphy to the other. We hit a great burger joint (Windy City Burgers, highly recommend)! Then we watched Masters of the Universe and Power Ballad. It was a great time, and they were fun movies, but the memories made along the way were the best part. For his birthday, we got Crepes and went to the Greenville Zoo. I got to show him Red Pandas, which I unfortunately did not get a photo of. We got great coffee from a local spot that I can't remember, and I started one of his favorite shows, The Rookie, and I'm now already on Season 4, which is a bit concerning.

Tortoise from the Greenville Zoo.

I started hanging out with an old friend from Freshman year. We bonded over mac n cheese and Community. We had a couple of watch parties, and we got a group together to celebrate the Fourth of July. We grilled burgers, played games, watched TV, and just had a great time. It was probably one of my favorite celebrations of the holiday ever!

Lastly, I have had so much time for personal growth and development. I am on my third draft of a feature-length film script. I have been watching many, many movies, both great, like The Invite, and not so great, like 100% Wolf. I have made many, many coffees. I am writing more blogs (hello there!), and writing another first draft of a script. I finally made my LinkedIn. I have scheduled lunches with friends both online and in person. Overall, I am very proud of the progress I have made this summer.

Although there isn't really a highlight I have really been enjoying how my summer is going, even though it is almost over. I am still looking forward to the things I have left. I still have more bad movies to watch (and hopefully good too). I have to get my results together for my research. I am going to spend time with my Film Club friends and get my braces removed. I can't wait for what's next, but there's many things I am going to have a hard time saying goodbye to. I already packed a bag for my study away, and the clock is ticking. Thankfully, I still have some time, but the end will be bittersweet. I am almost about to graduate college, once summer is over it will be the beginning of the end. I have made many friends here at Furman, and I am looking forward to meeting more abroad!