If I’ve learned one thing it’s that the real world is tough: you’re working 40 hours a week, commuting 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back, trying to cook your own food so you don’t eat out every night, running to the grocery store so you don’t run out of your favorite foods, doing your laundry and your dishes, and maybe if you still have some energy left you go and lounge by the pool or enjoy a glass of wine. I’ve taken to calling this summer a trial run for the real world because honestly, that’s what it feels like it is. And let me tell you boy am I happy when my head hits the pillow every night.
For those of you who don’t know, this summer I’m interning at Emerald Creek Capital as their marketing intern at their West Palm Beach office. Pretty much my entire family outside of my immediate family lives in South Florida so that’s part of the reason why I chose to come down here for the summer. It’s been great spending lots of time with them, plus obviously, the beach! My grandparents stay up at the lake in Georgia for the summer so they offered to let me live in their house. Living here alone has really made me feel like such an adult, and despite it all, I’ve been really enjoying it. So I thought it would be fun to share a little update on how things are going.
The main thing I was worried about was cooking; when I got here I was on the cooking level where I couldn’t make a grilled cheese and burned a metal pan. But I knew I wanted to save money this summer and one of the best ways to do that was to be able to cook for myself. So I put my mind to it and at first, I really enjoyed cooking, it was fun to experiment with different recipes and ingredients but eventually, the novelty wore off. The last thing I wanted to do when I got home from work was to cook an elaborate dinner for just myself. As a result, I’ve taken to eating a lot of pasta and grilled chicken during the week and try out more elaborate things on the weekend. Two weekends ago I made homemade pasta sauce and it was delicious. It’s so satisfying to try out a new recipe and see that it actually turned out pretty good!
I was also worried about working full-time. It seemed like a lot of time to stay focused every day and like just a long time, in general, to spend sitting in an office. But I’ve found it actually passes by fast. I’ve been really enjoying my internship, it’s not the most interesting of work, a lot of typing in excel. But my boss includes me on a lot of things, so I’m learning a lot. Plus the excitement of the nice paycheck every two is a pretty good motivator as well. Like I’ve said I’ve been trying to save a lot this summer, I created a budget and am trying to be more cognizant of my spending. I’ve learned that I’m a big impulse buyer. I’ll end up spending money on all these little things that I don’t really need, and they add up quickly!
Overall, I absolutely love living on my own. I think it’s freeing to be completely in charge of exactly what you are going to do. No one’s going to tell you to eat dinner or clean the dishes. It’s your responsibility. And I think it’s done a lot for me feeling more confident and decisive. Plus I feel like it’s a summer focused on me, it’s everything exactly the way I want to do it. I was worried a lot about being lonely or bored, but I find I never feel that way. I’m with people all day at work and I have a lot of family in the area so that helps, but even if not someone I love is only a call or facetime away. And when I want to just turn everyone off and enjoy time on my own I can do that too.
Plus, the next few weeks are full of excitement so I have lots to look forward to. Next Wednesday, I’m headed up to Georgia to the lake for the 4th of July. I’ll be there for a week and then the next weekend my boyfriend is coming down to visit and the week after that I’m headed to Orlando to see some friends from Wake. So even though I'm adulting, there is definitely no shortage of fun this summer!
I was also worried about working full-time. It seemed like a lot of time to stay focused every day and like just a long time, in general, to spend sitting in an office. But I’ve found it actually passes by fast. I’ve been really enjoying my internship, it’s not the most interesting of work, a lot of typing in excel. But my boss includes me on a lot of things, so I’m learning a lot. Plus the excitement of the nice paycheck every two is a pretty good motivator as well. Like I’ve said I’ve been trying to save a lot this summer, I created a budget and am trying to be more cognizant of my spending. I’ve learned that I’m a big impulse buyer. I’ll end up spending money on all these little things that I don’t really need, and they add up quickly!
Overall, I absolutely love living on my own. I think it’s freeing to be completely in charge of exactly what you are going to do. No one’s going to tell you to eat dinner or clean the dishes. It’s your responsibility. And I think it’s done a lot for me feeling more confident and decisive. Plus I feel like it’s a summer focused on me, it’s everything exactly the way I want to do it. I was worried a lot about being lonely or bored, but I find I never feel that way. I’m with people all day at work and I have a lot of family in the area so that helps, but even if not someone I love is only a call or facetime away. And when I want to just turn everyone off and enjoy time on my own I can do that too.
Plus, the next few weeks are full of excitement so I have lots to look forward to. Next Wednesday, I’m headed up to Georgia to the lake for the 4th of July. I’ll be there for a week and then the next weekend my boyfriend is coming down to visit and the week after that I’m headed to Orlando to see some friends from Wake. So even though I'm adulting, there is definitely no shortage of fun this summer!
Ashley
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