Another summer in the books

One word to describe my summer would be "surprising." 

When I left campus and came back home in May, I had no plans for the summer. I realized after only a few days at home, however, that I wanted to be anywhere but there. So, I packed my bags and drove out to Maine for about three weeks.

I had a lot of fun over that time and loved exploring New England. My camera and I went to a family friend's cottage in Litchfield, Maine, climbed up a mountain in New Hampshire, shopped around in Portland, Maine, and even stopped for breakfast once in Boston. Despite routinely paying $30 for parking only for an hour or so, the little trip was a much-needed break from school, technology and Ohio.

After returning home, I found myself bored. Small-town Ohio has a lot less to do than beautiful New England. I sent a few emails to 4 Paws for Ability (read more about UD's 4 Paws Club) and picked up my first foster. I was paired with an 11-month-old golden retriever named Onyx, who I was tasked with teaching the basic obedience necessary for a service dog in training. We went on lots of walks, even on rainy days, which led me to get him a little raincoat with dinosaurs all over it. I thought it was adorable but Onyx did not. He would try to paw it off any chance he got.

Later in the summer, I found out that my favorite band, Twenty One Pilots, would be participating in a charity celebrity softball game in Columbus. I sent a few emails and somehow got approved to shoot the event. My history with the band started in 2015, and since then, I have seen them live 13 times. I likely wouldn't have even toured UD if I hadn't gone to their 2019 concert in Cincinnati. This experience meant a lot to me, and it was the coolest thing ever seeing my photos being posted in all different corners of the internet by their fans.

All in all, this summer was nothing that I could have ever imagined. Lots of unexpected twists and turns happened along the way, but I am very pleased with how things panned out. I hope that my first summer post-grad will be as exciting as this summer was, but we'll see.

Welcome back, Flyers!