A Nashville Summer…
At the end of the semester one of the older girls in my sorority who was graduating sent out an e-mail to all of the younger girls, giving us a list of things that we should make sure to do before we graduate. Among the urgings of not sweating the small stuff and making sure to take at least one trip to Panama City, was the advice to live in Nashville for a summer. Luckily, by the time this e-mail reached me in April I had already made the best decision ever to stay in Nashville this summer, the summer before my senior year. I thought it was going to be great, I had a fun music management internship lined up, I was living in my house (meant for 4 people…) for next year with 5 other girls (including fellow blogger, Laura Pierce), and was so pumped. Well little did I know, but it would turn out to be even better than I expected! Below are some of the highlights so far, accompanied by my reasons why EVERYONE should spend a summer in Nashville!
- If you stay in Nashville for a summer you will meet people you would have never met otherwise. And I’d say they are pretty awesome people too! Since I am living in a house with a variety of girls: some of my best friends, and some that I didn’t know that well before this summer, I have gotten a chance to meet all of their friends that are still here that I hadn’t met before at my 3 years at Vanderbilt. Everyone who is in Nashville for the summer usually has a few friends that are still here, but is also open to meeting new people. This makes it so easy to bring everyone together for a fun cook-out, night at the bar, or pontooning trip (to be highlighted later)! I’ve learned that I have my friends that I have known since freshman year, but it is never too late to make more!
- You get to see what people do outside of school. In my house this summer we have people taking classes, hostessing, working at an internship, working at Vanderbilt, babysitting, or doing research in the lab, and some people a combination of all of these! It is really fun to be able to talk about all of our different experiences during our house dinners or when we’re just watching TV. You can also get to be a part of some pretty cool things through your roommates activities… Let’s just say that a few weeks ago I ended up at a private party on a country music star’s roof with him through one of my roomies internships…
- There are so many opportunities in Nashville! I don’t mean to be too arrogant but Vanderbilt is awesome and all of their students are awesome! So many of the companies in Nashville know this too and are extremely welcoming to Vanderbilt students who want to work with them for the summer, either paid or un-paid. It is a big enough city that is contains all of the industries that you may want to pursue but also small enough that you can explore so much of it during a summer. The Vanderbilt Career Center is also a great resource to hear about some really cool opportunities, and also how I found out about and was able to apply to mine!
- I know a lot of people may not want to stay in Nashville for the summer because the closest beach is about 9 hours away. Well… we have come up with a solution to your watery needs and it is called pontooning! Grab some friends, head out to Percy Priest lake (about 20 minutes away), and spend the day lounging on a boat!
- There are tons of free events all around Nashville in the summer! A few that are close to campus are Movies in the Park and the Musicians Corner. These are just a few of the so many fun – and cheap – things to do around Nashville during the summer.
- Living off campus is a totally different experience than living in a dorm and I think everyone should experience it before they graduate. It gives you a good idea of what it is going to be like when you graduate – having to pay your own electricity, water, gas, and cable bills – and let’s you enjoy all of the amenities of a real house, except without your parents around. It is really fun to have your own room, kitchen, dining room, etc and to share it with some of your friends for a few months.
Well that is all I have for now… but the summer is only half over! I’ll add all of the excitement from the end of the summer later…
Hope you are all having wonderful summers wherever you are!