DISPATCH: Creating an unforgettable summer

I’ll probably spend every Princeton summer interning in New York. The thought of this depresses me a little bit. Before the summer started, I worried I would become a profoundly boring person. I suspected that my summer days would entail waking up early, getting dressed, going to the office, and pretending to be in my “corporate girl era.”

At the end of last summer, my friend and I walked from Inwood to Battery Park: a walk across Manhattan. At the end of the walk, we sat on a concrete slab and stared at the water towards New Jersey. He told me that he had been trying to have unforgettable days and that this was one of them.

In many ways, working so close to home and so close to school did not feel like a recipe for unforgettable days. My roommates spent their summers in Beijing and Austria, and my younger sister is currently living in Rabat for a gap year before college. In comparison, spending your summer in an office building in Manhattan seemed well, forgettable.

Throughout the school year, however, I kept thinking about what my friend said last summer. I decided, then, to try my best to have unforgettable days as well. It didn’t matter if the day was good or bad, just as long as it was unforgettable. I kept this mindset in the forefront of my mind while at my internship.

Over this summer, I again tried to make choices that would lead to unforgettable days. During the work days, I tried to talk to as many new and different people as possible, while taking on projects and tasks that I knew would stick with me long after my internship ended. After work and on the weekends, I would kick myself out of my apartment to make sure I wasn’t coming home and rotting away. After work, I had to do something out of the house. On the weekends, I made a rule that I wasn’t allowed to be home between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

This approach worked well. Following up on our walk through Manhattan, this summer, my friend and I walked the length of Staten Island and did a lap around the Bronx. I made zines, agreed to be a CA leader, and went on too many first dates. I went to an architecture party, Pride, and had someone crashing on my couch most weekends. I even went camping for a weekend, a big step for someone who, two years ago, rigged her orientation preference form to ensure she had AC and a shower.

While I made the most of my time outside of work, I ended up enjoying my internship as well. With the many coffee chats I had over the summer, I was able to meet many new and interesting people. Aside from the people, I challenged myself by dedicating my time to projects that interested me. The work experience was more than just staring at Excel sheets.

Looking back, though, those unforgettable days didn’t only consist of times I went out and did something new. They were largely unforgettable because of the company I kept and the friends and family I saw. I had unforgettable days just hanging out with my childhood friends in their apartments or going home for the weekend. In those cases, I don’t remember what exactly I did with my friends or family, but I do remember what we talked about.

As a result of my effort to create excitement in my summer, I was able to strengthen my existing relationships and create new friendships. Turns out, you can have unforgettable days even if you’re working all the time and not going far. You just need to put in a little effort.

Suthi Navaratnam-Tomayko is a head Data editor and Sports contributor for the ‘Prince.’