Close your eyes and picture this scenario: it’s the night before your first day at your summer internship. You have planned everything out in excruciating detail — you know exactly how long your commute is, where you can find the closest Starbucks to get your iced coffee fix before work and have stocked your “survival kit” with extra breath mints, bobby pins and band-aids. Then you realize that you have overlooked something very important: your first day of work ensemble.
Caught in this moment of crisis last night, I flashed back to 15 year old Maddie who painstakingly planned what to wear the first day of ninth grade a week in advance (okay, yeah I was pretty neurotic, but I meant well). Swap my flared, white jeans for anything business casual and the thoughts running through my head were almost identical to those of my adolescent self: what can I wear that shows my personality without being too out there? If I wear a shirt with cats printed on it, will it come across as playful or preschool? Is neon ever appropriate?
So for those of you faced with the same questions, spare yourself the worry! Below is my recipe for a foolproof first day of work outfit. And remember, it’s okay to stick with your trusty staples (e.g. the classic black pencil skirt, a neutral blouse) even if you feel like you look a little — dare I say — boring? On the first day, it’s better safe than sorry. Add a little pop, pattern or sparkle to satisfy your inner wild thing and leave the neon hot pants at home (that is unless you’re supposed to wear neon hot pants to your internship — coming from Las Vegas, you can never be too sure about these things).
Whatever you decide to don on your first day, the takeaway is simple. The more comfortable you feel on the outside, the more confident you’ll feel on the inside — and that leaves an impression on employers far outlasting any piece of clothing or accessory.
You know that feeling when you’re immersed in something entirely new and different and every experience starts to feel a bit like poetry for the senses? All of your excitement and fear runs together and makes you wish you could write songs or spit rhymes so that you could accurately convey all it is that you’re seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling.
I have been given the opportunity of a summer in Manhattan, brimming with the potential for adventure, exploration, self-discovery and development. I will be the advertising intern for Daryl Roth Theater; I start Monday and I’m teetering at the edge of a big, long diving board, just waiting to dive in. I’m a little nervous, very excited and, hopefully, I will make a splash.
Sure, I am living in a 100 square-foot apartment (get ready for a “room tour” — no really, it’s just one room so the tour will be short). Sure, I still question whether I am cut out for all of this. But I am starting to realize that all of these challenges and changes are just a part of a larger, more beautiful equation. And in this city, I feel electric.
A dear friend told me not too long ago that he thought my spark had dimmed and I acknowledged that there was definitely some truth to his words. This semester I chose to push to the back burner a lot of things that gave me joy, sacrificing them for the sake of school work and other responsibilities. While it’s hard to feel the every day impact of giving these things up, looking back on the last three months, I knew that I had become less happy with myself for not putting more into these outlets.
It has been a long time since my last post, and I am so thrilled to be throwing myself back in the saddle, especially when it feels like my life has gone from “pause” to “play”. And now, I will rewind to give you all a better glimpse at a couple landmark moments from the past few months worth sharing:
Many more big city adventures to come, and for this I couldn’t be happier.
A warning to everyone before I start this post — I have just spent the last four days back home on the West Coast and I am feeling introspective. It’s spring break, and I have been looking forward to this time off because every part of me has needed it. Not because I feel physically overworked or burnt out, but more because I have no idea what happened to the month of February. In January, I was in the starting blocks, waiting for the gun shot to indicate the start of the race. February was my 400 meter dash — I don’t think I was even racing against anyone but myself and maybe time. I was always on the move, updating a never ending list of things to do and places to be. There were a lot of joyful moments in the month of February, but also a lot of times when I wouldn’t know what day of the week it was or what I had eaten for lunch. During this time, I would always recall a line from one of my favorite movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:
“Life moves pretty fast — if you don’t stop and look around every once and a while, you could miss it.”
Spring break couldn’t have come at a better time — I have the chance to stop, reassess and take a cold hard look at where I am, the state of things. Going home for a few days was a good start to this. I road tripped to California with my parents, and while there were still times when my head would be moving in eight different directions at once, I had some chances to stare out the window and watch the giant windmills spin in the sky. Something about the movement of these giant mechanisms quieted the spinning in my mind.
From a sartorial standpoint, my trip home was also very good to me. Ever one to pursue a shopping adventure, my mom pulled off the road in Palm Desert at the first sight of a thrift store. It was there I picked up a sequin rainbow mini-dress (it is even cooler than it sounds) and some vintage Prada flatforms that will be a staple in my wardrobe this spring/summer. Looking forward to previewing both of these purchases on SLB in the coming weeks.
I also had the great fortune of inheriting my grandfather’s vintage Burberry trench coat. There is something so cool and authentic about owning an item passed down through the generations, especially something as timeless as a Burberry trench. This coat will stay with me through every major milestone in my life, until one day I can hand it down to a grandchild or niece or nephew who can appreciate it just as much as I do.
I also had the chance to visit a super groovy vintage shop in Palm Desert. The Fine Art of Design almost felt like a museum, there were so many fabulous designer pieces from across the decades, a collection that was clearly lovingly curated with just the right amount of whimsy and eccentricity. Enter fabulous Todd Oldham jacket that I referred to as “the technicolor cube-y jacket” when my mother picked it up:
When I get my first real grown up job out of college (with my first grown up paycheck), I will make plans to come back here so I can stock my wardrobe with a few more whimsical goodies — maybe this Moschino top will wait there faithfully for me…
I am writing this post on the plane en route back to DC. My break is only half way over and I plan to make the most out of these next few days, savoring every moment when I can silence that chatter in my brain. I have written out a manifesto for myself, similar to Emily’s — maybe at some point soon, I can post it, but for now it will remain tucked away as a reminder of all the beliefs I hold near and dear to my heart. It’s easy for me to lose sight of these things when I start running my race, but I’ve realized that it doesn’t need to be a sprint. I am hoping to finish off this semester slow and steady — it’s less about that moment you cross the finish line, and more about the moments that get you there.
