Having a NYC Summer (2023 edition)
The summer of 2023 was filled with cooking, baking, my first lab experience, navigating the city independently, and finding joy in both solitude and in company. It was listening to Speak Now Taylor’s Version while cooking Trader Joes White Cheddar Mac and Cheese (pro tip: if you add Mexican shredded cheese, chili flakes, and broccoli to the mix, it's a GAME CHANGER), spinach mushroom quesadillas, and tofu stir-fry with rice (my rotation as far as dinners went). I got to live with T and M, my fellow roommates who were also working in research labs. Each day, we would come home from work, cook our respective meals and eat together while chatting about how our days went. We would finish off the day with store-bought dessert and would shut off the lights at 8:30pm for a solid 9 hours of sleep before our morning practice. There’s something very freeing about summer in the city, a 9-5, a weekly Trader Joe run, taking the NJ transit to get to the closest beach, the sun not setting until 9 pm, and spending time with friends. Summer in NYC is so much different than the regular school year where it gets cold and dark quickly and where homework and tests linger.
The summer of 2023 was the first time I felt truly independent. I was making meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the first time rather than indulging in my mom’s home-cooked meals or relying on the dining hall. My weekdays would consist of going to practice, cooking breakfast, packing a lunch that would make me excited during work, going to work, lifting after work, cooking dinner, and sleeping.
If I had to describe this summer in a color it would be bright pink. I wore pink pants to channel my inner confidence in a male-dominated work setting. I went to Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour in May and watched Barbie at 9 am on a Sunday in July, sneaking in bagels to eat in the theater. I went on morning runs on the Hudson Greenway. I went on food tours to find the best pizza in Brooklyn (Fini’s Pizza wins). Everything was bright pink (for the most part).
For the parts that were more a dusty rose, I look to see them as learning experiences. I learned to find a balance and learned I had a choice when focusing my energies.
All in all, the summer of 2023 was quite spectacular. *Queue “You’re On Your Own Kid” by Taylor Swift*
NJP
