The Windy City

Greetings from Chicago--wait, what?

I think I should start from the beginning!

Around the time I posted my last post (Positivity Pt. 2) I had an interview with Easter Seals for a summer internship. It would be in their headquarters office in Chicago, as an Interactive Marketing Intern. I had another internship lined up in Rochester, but something in my gut was pulling me towards Chicago. Maybe it was the idea of bright lights, bright city living--or it was because I really did feel like the experience would be worth the uprooting of three months for.


I was right. I'm only starting my third week of internship here in Chicago, and I am loving it.

Naturally, over the course of March, April and May I've lost my way with the resolutions, but I didn't lose it completely. I had it integrated in me, a part of me already--so I really did not need to write posts reminding myself to be happy, to be positive, and to complete several missions for myself. I was capable of doing that, because I was doing something I loved doing.

In those three months I didn't blog, I spent my time with good friends, really catching up with them. I knew I would be away for three months, so I really wanted to make sure I was leaving on a good note with everybody for the summer. The three months were a whirlwind after I returned from spring break in Austin, TX. Then it was onto midterms, projects and eventually, final exams. It didn't even feel like a semester, it felt like quarter systems all over again (I wasn't complaining!) and I truly liked the busy and on the go parts of me. I had something to do everyday, along with being stressed, I knew I had to finish them. Along the way, I pushed the blog to the back of my head. Sorry!

Now I'm sitting here after a really relaxing weekend in Chicago, I'm thinking of the experiences I've already made with Easter Seals and they are truly remarkable. This is an internship I will remember compared to the past few internships I've done.

The relocation to Chicago was the most toughest part of this experience, I had to look for a place to live (and apartments/studios in Chicago are not cheap at all) then finding a mutual friend who was willing to open up a room in her apartment--yay! Next was to find a summer sublet for my Rochester place, then once that was all set--it was graduation weekend. What a whirlwind weekend that was, friends and Taylor's family visited so I was on the go all weekend. Before Taylor and I knew it, it was time to drive west to Chicago.

Let me tell you this, driving a 13 hour trip with a cat meowing then eventually sleeping scared in her litter box is not an experience I want to go through again, but I will in August. We took few detours to see Cedar Point and University of Notre Dame. Detours were worth it, pretty sure Lila didn't think so...

Arriving in Chicago was a scary feeling, it finally hit me, "this is real, I'm here for the next 10+ weeks." And I really wanted to turn back home. But when I got to the apartment, that feeling was gone. I met the adorable little Wiki and my roommate, Katie. I felt truly welcome. (Wiki and Lila hit it off, by the way!)

Taylor and I spent the next week exploring Chicago, and lounging watching Game of Thrones. He left for his internship in Seattle with Starbucks HQ (really cool, I know right!?). Gina visited and I started my first day of work with bundles of butterflies in my stomach. Again, that went away when I met my bosses, they were cool and laid back. The entire HQ made me feel really welcome here and I became very excited to work with them for the next 10+ weeks.

Like I mentioned, I'm starting my third week of internship and I do a lot of metric/analysis on tweets and FB posts. I also help with scheduling posts for Twitter and Facebook. I do a lot of little projects for my bosses here and there. I show up to work motivated and ready to take the day--and that is such a change from my previous internships, I will not stop emphasizing this... Seriously, wow.

I'm truly grateful to Easter Seals for providing me with this experience and I will forever cherish this. I also will try my best to remember to blog a little more often about my Chicago experiences!