Life Update: San Fransisco

Last week was Exploration Week at my school, and I got to travel to San Fransisco. I'm not sure if anyone read my post from last year's explo week, but basically once a year my school organizes a week in the spring called Exploration Week. It is a week full of trips to places in the US (along with a few local Boston trips) that are supposed to give students a chance to travel and learn things about the world that they might not otherwise learn in school. There are trips such as 'The South Trip' where they get to travel through the south and learn about the Civil Rights Movement, or the 'NOLA' trip where they travel to New Orleans and help rebuild homes that were struck by Hurricane Katrina. The trip that I went on this year was 'Bay Area Protest Movement', which traveled to San Fransisco, California to learn about activism during the time of the AIDS epidemic.

Not only was it a lot of fun going to the Bay Area and being in a warmer climate, but it was also one of the most educational trips I could have gone on. We met with a handful of speakers who lived through the epidemic and lost their friends and partners, and they told us about their struggles and how they overcame. We learnt about what AIDS really is, how it is received, and how to prevent from getting the disease. 

If you ever get the chance to travel somewhere, I really suggest learning about the history of where you are and meeting with locals. It made the trip even more amazing than if we were just there as tourists. Also, I got a lot of great photos from the trip and I thought you might enjoy them!

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: Schools Out For Summer by Alice Cooper

Life Update: Making the Most of a Snow Day

I woke up this morning, and received the best news ever. School was canceled due to snow! So then I had to decide what to do all day.

I started off by going to the gym, and yes I walked there. Then after an awesome Zumba class I came back home and ate a light breakfast while watching Netflix (I just started Glee from the beginning). Then I took a relaxing bubble bath along with a cup of coffee. Exactly what I needed after a stressful week of school. And finally, I painted my nails and took some fun shots in front of the mirror. It wasn't very eventful, but there is nothing more rejuvenating than a calm day at home.

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: The Only Exception - Paramore

Life Update: Its Only 2016 Once

Hello! Yes yes, I know it has been a while but I have a lot to tell you about. The past few weeks I have been away on break. I left school 10 days early and flew with my family to Israel. We spent those days visiting family and friends, traveling the country, and eating a lot of food.

This vacation was also a very pivotal couple of weeks. Before we left our house for the airport, and I mean literally only a second before, I received my first college rejection. I was crushed, and spent the entire taxi ride and most of the plane ride in tears. I experienced all five stages of mourning throughout the course of the 13 hour plane ride. Fist came Denial, then Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. It took a bit longer then I would have hoped, but I got over it and I actually gained a lot of strength from it. To make it a bit easier, my mom and I decided a while back that if I got rejected from college then I would get a cake and eat my feelings. So we brought a whole cake onto the plane and I throughly enjoyed every bite of it.

Once we arrived in Israel, every bit of news I received on the trip (which was quite a bit) happened to have been good news! One piece of news was that I actually got in to The New School, and the more I think about it the more I am convinced that this is really the perfect school for me. It is a small university that specializes in interdisciplinary studies and really excels in art and media studies. Exactly what I was looking for in a school, and it is in New York City, the place where I really wanted to be!

If it interests anyone to see some of the photographs I took over the course of the trip, let me know and I would be happy to dedicate a post to some.

But now to the cliché portion of this post, new years resolutions. As you all know, the year is now 2016. What you should also know by now is that 16 is a very important number to me. I would go as far to say that it is my 'lucky' number. Of course there is this blog, Sixteen Once, my Birthday is August 16th, I am my school's class of 2016...and I could come up with a few more. That is why, I know for a fact that this year will be AMAZING! This is the year where I graduate high school. This is the year where I move away from home. This is the year where I start college. This is the year where I will end and begin two stories of my life. Thankfully this is all happening in the year 2016, because that number assures me that everything will be perfect. I can't wait to see what this year holds.

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: Cry Me a River - Michael Bublé

Life Update: Thanksgiving Dinner 2015

Thanksgiving. When family comes together and eats too much food. The holiday with the most leftovers. The time of year when its okay to eat two different pies and whatever else is served for dessert. 
But on a more serious note, this year I am thankful for my family and friends (I know, its a bit cliché). But more specifically, for the support I get from each and every one of them. This year so far has been pretty stressful with school, college, and everything in between, but in particular these past few weeks have been really hard. There is a lot of tragedy in the world, and never before has it hit so close-to-home. I am so thankful that I have the support I need from the people I love surrounding me and helping me stay strong when I really need to.

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: One Time - Justin Bieber

Life Update: A Social Introvert

If you were to ask me for three words I would use to describe myself, one of them would be introverted. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines an introvert as "a reserved or shy person". Literally, introvert means "to turn inward or in upon itself". In certain ways this word describes me perfectly, but in others it maybe goes too far over the line. I don't consider myself a shy person, at least not any more-so than most people. I find myself to be pretty comfortable with public speaking or performing. And yet, when it comes to social situations, I have avoided quite a few due to fear.
I often get nervous around new people because I never know what to say, and as a result I might just not say anything at all. In class, I am the type of person who thinks about what they are going to say before speaking, so when a class is full of louder personalities I tend to sit back and listen to conversations rather than join in. Even on the weekends, I normally prefer staying home and watching Netflix all day, rather than spending time with friends.
Even though I may be introverted most of the time, I still love being around my friends and being social. It just happens to be that because I choose to be alone with my thoughts more often than others, I don't spend as much time with friends and doing fun things. And I know I'm not alone in this.

So, from this day forward I have made myself a promise. When ever a situation arises, (whether it is with my friends and people I know, with people I have never met before, or anything in between) I will jump at the opportunity. I will not let Netflix keep me locked in my room anymore. I will not make up excuses to get out of a situation. And, most importantly, I will make an active effort to spend my last year at home with the people in my life. I will go out of my way to hang out with friends, and do things that I have never done before. 

If you can relate to anything that I have said, than make this oath with me. On the count of three say this out loud in defiance: 1...2...3... "I WILL!" (if you are ever so inclined, read my promises written above aloud as well). 

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: Summer Lovin' - Grease

Life Update: The First Week of My First Job

As I arrived to my first ever internship job, I realized how unprepared I was. It’s not that I wasn’t able to work, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. When I got to the building I expected to enter a giant office space and walk up to the assistant’s desk to introduce myself as “the new summer intern” (I had practiced my speech the whole morning commute). unfortunately, when I was buzzed into the office I found myself staring at an empty desk wondering who to look for, and that threw me off course for the start of the day. Until a woman came up to me from around the corner and introduced herself as Katie (I later found out that I misheard and her name was actually Kane). After that it was smooth sailing. 

The office is much smaller than I expected so it wasn’t hard to find my way around. It only took me two days to learn the names of the 8 employees working there, and the office is very casual so no need to stress about what I wear every day. I showed up to work the first day in my most put-together professional and stylish outfit, but after meeting Kane who wore jeans and a striped T-shirt I felt very out-of-place. 

I was expecting to be assigned work that would allow me to do some photography (since that is what I signed up to do), but it wasn’t until the last day of the week that I got to work with any physical images. 

The first day consisted of cutting paper, entering data into excel sheets, and making lunch runs. Not really the most exciting first day, but I really enjoyed meeting my colleagues (one is British!) and learning bit by bit about the company and about the fashion photography industry. The next day was a bit more interesting because I did some research on potential clients for one of the photographers we work with. Did you know that every brand and company works with specific advertisement agencies to create each of their ads? I had no idea how much work goes into one advertisement. 

Every day I learned something new about the photography industry and each day the work that is assigned to me is more and more interesting and hands on. I am also realizing that sometimes in order to get the more interesting work I have to be more proactive. Sometimes it is hard for me to speak up and ask one of my colleagues for extra work if I have nothing to do, but this week has really brought me out of my comfort zone and that helps me get the most out of this internship as I possibly can in one month. I am very excited to work more and learn more from this internship.

Another great part about working there is that I get to go out for an hour long lunch break in Soho and find cute cafes every day to eat lunch at (hint hint - next week's post). It is such a great area to work in.

Life Update: Northeast Corridor

Allston, MA

Northwood, NH

Brooklyn, NY

xoxoxo

Nina

Song stuck in my head right now: Linger - The Cranberries