I've spent the past three months living in Boston and having one of the greatest summers of my life. It was seriously unforgettable and I had so many wonderful moments that I will always remember. Here are seven of them.
THE TIME: PORTUGAL. THE MAN PLAYED "HEY JUDE" AT BOSTON CALLING.
Last summer, I was lucky enough to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics in Victoria Park. After the ceremony ended (sans Illuminati interruption), I walked out of the park with thousands upon thousands of people singing "Hey Jude" at the top of their lungs. Having so many people from different cultures and countries come together to sing that one song was such a unifying and humbling experience: it will forever be one of the best moments of my life.
This summer, I was lucky enough to attend Boston Calling, a two-day music festival that I referred to as "Mini Sasquatch" and featured a ton of indie bands. I was able to get up really close to the stage when Portugal. the Man played their set and I can honestly say it was an experience I will never forget.
First of all, every single one of the band members are gorgeous. Like, legitimately the most attractive hipsters I have ever seen in my entire life. The least attractive member looks like a chubby Ryan Gosling to give you a gauge of their hotness factor, so yeah, they're doin' okay.
Second of all (and more importantly), they are so, so talented. If you haven't checked them out yet, you definitely should. It's so clear that they are all extremely passionate about their music and the work that they create. In fact, they didn't really say much in between songs because they were so focused on the energy that the crowd was feeding off from their music. (The only thing the bass player ever said was, "Boston doesn't give a f--- it's raining!" It was awesome, and we didn't).
Anyway, the guys played "Sleep Forever" as the last song in their set and instead of ending the show completely, they transitioned it into "Hey Jude." It was perfect. Even though the crowd singing back to the band at Boston Calling was obviously much, much smaller than the hoards of people at the Opening Ceremonies, the feeling was exactly the same and I've never been more content.
THE TIME: I HAD THE GREATEST INTERNSHIP EVER.
I had the amazing opportunity to work for Cercone Brown Company this summer and it was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had. I was able to work with incredible people in a very cool office and I know that I have become a better designer and illustrator in the ten weeks I worked there.
I was so sad to leave the office on the last day of my internship. For one thing, I'd just finally learned how to transfer someone to voicemail successfully and I was feeling pretty proud of myself because that is a super hard task to learn, even after ten weeks. But, more importantly, I was sad to leave my job because I loved the environment I worked in. I'm so excited to go back to school and finish out my senior year, but I know I'm definitely going to miss all of the people that made my job so fun, the cool projects that I got to work on and, of course, illustrating corny tomato jokes. (Seriously, I got to combine illustrating with corny jokes... it was the best internship ever).
Also, this is unrelated, but I succeeded in wearing a different outfit every single day of my internship. This is maybe the most proud I've ever been of an activity I've done in a long time (except, of course, for that whole voicemail transfer thing).
THE TIME(S): SARAH & I GOT OBSESSED WITH EVERY CHEF GORDON RAMSEY SHOW.
Before I accidentally signed my family up for Hulu Plus, I wasn't aware people binge watched cooking shows, but that's definitely what my brother's girlfriend, Sarah, and I did for a large portion of our summer. On rainy days that I didn't have to work, we would spend multiple hours sitting on my couch and watching Chef Gordon Ramsey either tearing apart professional chefs on Hell's Kitchen, terrible restaurant owners on Kitchen Nightmares or awful hotel owners on Hotel Hell... and it was awesome.
Because, seriously, look at Chef Gordon Ramsey. He's precious. He acts all tough and mean, but really, he's totally a huge teddy bear... just watch the last ten minutes of any Kitchen Nightmares episode (except Amy's Baking Company... that B was cray). For God's sake, HE'S POSING IN A PHOTO WITH A LAMB AROUND HIS NECK. I have a huge old-man crush on him and every time I see something sketchy in a restaurant now, I'm just like, "Man, Chef Gordon Ramsey and I totally could bond over this," but then I remember that the extent of my cooking skills culminate in microwaving frozen chicken and cry because he will never love me.
Anyway, one of the episodes of Kitchen Nightmares takes place in Hull, which is a town right next to my house in Massachusetts. Sarah and I got way, way too invested in this episode. We were super concerned that the owners were going to get a divorce and even though their marriage seemed like it was in tact toward the end of the episode, we still felt the need to check in on them and make sure everything's still going smoothly over at Barefoot Bob's since Chef Ramsey left. It became our number one priority and we talked about the fate of the owners constantly. (I'm 100% sure that we are the only two people in the world to get this worked up about a cooking show).
Unfortunately, we ran out of time and the summer ended before we had a chance to visit Hull. As disappointing as that is, it just gives me something to look forward to during Thanksgiving break (and something to binge watch on rainy days at school).
THE TIME: ANNIE & I GOT TO EXPERIENCE PTOWN DURING BEAR WEEK.
There are no words. Just Google it.
THE TIME: I WAS ABLE TO SPEND AN ENTIRE SUMMER WITH MY BROTHERS.
Once, we overheard a stranger describe us as the hippest family they'd ever seen and, let's be real, it was among the top twenty best moments of my life. These two are my best friends and it has been incredible finally having all three of us living in the house for the first time in over two years. Whether it was running errands with Jonny that ended up turning into shopping sprees at Marshalls or letting Dana drive us around after he'd just gotten his license, I was so thankful for every moment that I was able to spend with my brothers this summer. Words can't describe how much I will miss them when I'm at school and I am so proud of everything that they've accomplished in their lives. I am beyond lucky to get to call them my brothers.
THE TIME: DANA & I WENT TO SEE THE BACKSTREET BOYS.
When Nick Carter stood on a ledge and started hip-thrusting while wearing a three-piece suit and singing "The One," I'm pretty sure that I got pregnant. So, yeah, it was a good moment.
THE TIME: I FINALLY FELT AT HOME IN THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF BOSTON.
It's been two years since my family moved to Boston, but these past three months are the longest I've ever lived here. And, honestly, I finally feel like I can call Massachusetts home. I feel so comfortable in this city now and that's because it's my city. It's where I was able to spend every morning commuting with my dad, catching up and listening to talk show radio. It's where I went on outings with my mom, where we could do anything from seeing a movie to going grocery shopping and it was still perfect to be spending time together. This city is where I belong and I cannot wait to come home in November.
Boston gave me a perfect summer filled with incredible memories. I am so, so lucky and if these past three months were any indication, I can't wait to see what this city has in store for me in the future.