It has been a little over a week since I returned from my trip to New York and I am starting to have post trip depression SOMEONE TAKE ME BACK PLEASE!! Although it has been nice to not have to worry about humidity or dirty subways, I do miss the city and the girls that I met, especially Emmy, Carly, Katie, Camila, Madison, Samanda and Sidney (miss you guys so much!!) Overall, I learned so much and as someone that hopes to work for a magazine one day (specifically Seventeen hehe), I couldn't have asked for a greater opportunity like this one! Learning the ins and outs of the publications world has ensured me that I am choosing the right career path :') ANYWAYS here is the second installment of my New York trip themed posts! If you haven't checked out my one for Week One, then click here! If you have, then yay :) Once again, I am so grateful to my parents for letting me go on this trip as well as Westcoast Connection and Seventeen Magazine for putting the trip together! I hope you guys enjoy Week Two! Here we go...
The first day of Week 2 began with a beach trip! 30 subway stops later (which sucked bc I stood for 29 of those) and we finally reached Coney Island! It started off a little rocky because it was so hot and there were so many people on the sand, but once we got to the amusement park area, that was when the fun began! There was this one ride called the Thunderbolt - I actually thought I was going to die while on the ride - it was that insane! By the time we left, I was happy that I finally visited Coney Island, but I'm not sure if I would go back anytime soon.
We then spent our evening at Brooklyn Bridge Park. My friends and I decided instead of walking around DUMBO, we would get some Shake Shack and have a picnic in the park - it turned out to be the most perfect thing ever. Golden hour with the Brooklyn Bridge to my left and the Manhattan Bridge to my right, good music in the background, and a yummy burger in my hand - ah just thinking about it is bringing back such good memories :') It was the perfect ending to Day 8!
Day nine wasn't a very photo-heavy day, but it was far from boring! Our day started off at the Hearst Tower where I got to meet with the Creative Director of Seventeen, the Photo Director of Cosmo & Seventeen as well as the Executive Editor for Cosmo & Seventeen! It was honestly a dream come true to meet with someone who has my dream job and Nicole (the Creative Director) was so sweet! It was so cool of her to show us how she designs the cover of Seventeen since it is her handwriting that is on all of the covers! They even have a wall where they lay out all of the pages so that the issue ends up looking cohesive, it was basically heaven for me!
We then went to Macy's where we got to sit in on a panel that consisted of individuals that work with merchandising, branding, social media, and even event planning! Following the panel, we got a tour of the Macy's store and the one in Herald Square is HUGE! Much nicer than the one at the Brea Mall (tbh) We then had the pleasure of hearing from the CEO of Macy's Terry Lundgren! It was a pleasure to hear from him and finding out that he grew up in Orange County, California was pretty cool hehe (Fun Fact: He was once the store manager of Macy's at the South Coast Plaza!) They then let us roam free with a $50 gift card, which was so generous of them! I got a $70 olive green vest for $12 after the gift card and a 10% discount for not being from New York (score!)
Our evening was spent at Union Square where we had dinner/dessert at Max Brenner. I had high expectations for this place since I heard that their desserts were incredible. My friend Katie and I ended up sharing a peanut butter & chocolate sundae which was good, minus the fact that it had these "spicy peanuts" which were no bueno - definitely would not get the sundae with those peanuts again! Unfortunately our dinner took so long that we didn't get the chance to explore Union Square :( When I get back to New York, I want to try and take a trip out there, but overall day nine ended on a sweet note!
Day ten was a LONG day! We started the day at Hearst with hair tutorials from Chi, followed by a tour of the photo studio, which was SO cool! It was interesting to see all of the work that goes in to something as simple as taking a picture of a perfume bottle for an article to something more complicated like an entire scene for an organization piece! Four girls in our group had the pleasure of being in a Seventeen shoot so at the end of the tour, we got to see a couple minutes of it, which was so fun! Lucky girls ;)
We then headed to City Kitchen for lunch! Thanks to their aesthetic mirrors and yummy donuts, we were all set for our next adventure! Lunch was followed by a trip to a dance studio where we got a singing/dancing lesson from a swing in Wicked. It definitely brought me out of my comfort zone and One Short Day will never be the same for me haha Unfortunately, they made us put our phones away for the session so I have no pictures, but I don't think you really want to see photos of me sweating and dancing like an idiot anyways haha ;)
Following our Wicked adventure we went to Barbizon, the modeling and acting agency. If I'm being completely honest, I'm not really sure why I am including this in the blog post because the 3 hours we spent there were all for nothing!
I have always believed that the modeling industry holds this negative and awful reputation and the session we had with them proved me right! During the panel, they basically told us how you need to be a certain size and look a certain way to even have a shot in the modeling industry! You would think in an era of body positivity and loving the body you were born with, that they would want to be encouraging us to appreciate the unique qualities we have rather than conform to what someone wants for the possibility of being in a magazine or on TV...The only exciting part about this session was that they made a Snapchat geotag for us and I love geotags haha (I apologize for the awful selfie btw) Including a real life Tower of Terror moment, it was definitely an interesting end to the day. Thanks to Barbizon, I will always remember that confidence equals cash, as well as no palms, no pits, no bones, no hips, no prom pose, and NO CLAW (the girls on the trip will know what I'm talking about haha)
Day eleven began at Hearst Tower where we got to tour the fashion and beauty closets at Cosmopolitan and honestly, it was like I had died and gone to heaven. So many shoes and makeup and clothes, I didn't want to leave! I also finally got to take a picture on THE 17 couch! At that moment, it really hit me that I was sitting on the couch that I have seen countless of celebrities, many of those that I look up to, sit on in the room of my dream magazine publication. The 13 year-old inside of me was screaming and crying (I'm not joking)
We then headed to the Meatpacking District where I had probably the best ice cream I have ever had. It was the Ooey Gooey Butter Cake from Ample Hills Creamery. I am so sad that they don't have any locations on the west coast BUT they do ship nationally so I might just be needing to order from them soon hehe (the withdrawals are beginning to be real) We then walked to the river where we enjoyed a lovely view of the sunset and sharing laughs together! Looking through these pictures made me so sad because I really miss these girls and New York so much gah
We ended day eleven with a karaoke session, which was really fun. We sang a lot of throwback songs, my voice was so raspy by the end of the night! Also, I tried really hard to take photos while the other girls were singing, but shooting in such dark lighting was so hard that I just decided to go with blurry photos :-) idk I kind of like the fact that they are blurry haha
It was our final day at Hearst and we ended our time with a panel of various editors/writers for Hearst Publications and it was very helpful to hear their stories of how they got to where they are and their tips for aspiring journalists! The best part was that while we were eating, a couple tables away from us was THE Nina Garcia!! If you don't know who she is, she is the EIC of Marie Claire and a judge on Project Runway. Fun fact: in 8th grade my english teacher required us to research a possible career (that was when I realized I wanted to be a fashion journalist!) and we had to do a biographical report on someone in that specific career field & I did mine on Nina Garcia! It was a surreal moment seeing the woman that I had to write about four years ago in person :')
After Hearst, we headed to American Eagle Outfitters where we got to see an inside look of the presentation they were planning for their Fall/Winter 2016 Collection release. I got a lot of woodsy vibes, which makes me very excited to see what they're going to come out with!
Our evening was spent on Broadway! We had dinner at The Stardust Diner, which brought back vivid memories of my 8th grade DC Trip haha, but I'm pretty sure it was better than I remembered. We then saw Wicked! The last time I saw it, I was really young BUT I still remembered the lyrics to Popular, which is pretty much all that mattered hehe If you haven't seen Wicked yet, then you really should! It is definitely a must see show! It was our second to last day of activities and it couldn't have ended on a better note! I just wish the Wicked soundtrack was on Spotify so I could have it on repeat!
It was the last day filled with activities and I couldn't believe at how fast the two weeks went! We started our day with a ride on "The Beast," which is basically a really fast boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and I was not a fan. It would be fine if it was just going fast, you see the Statue of Liberty, and then come back BUT I guess the "fun" part is that they purposely land on waves so you get wet. Let me just say that whatever river we were on does not taste good...Could you tell I was having so much fun based on the picture below as the lovely wind blew through my hair? (sarcasm included) By the end of the boat ride my hair was a hot mess, but at least I got a picture with Lady Liberty hehe
After our boat ride we headed to Soho for a couple hours of shopping and walking around. When we were in the Meatpacking District, there was this burger place called Black Tap that my friends and I were dying to try because they were known for outrageous milkshakes, but we didn't get the chance to go because the wait was too long. Since there was one in Soho and we had three hours to kill, we thought it would be the perfect timing to try the famous Black Tap milkshakes. Looking at these photos to post has brought back some horrible memories of those milkshakes though. I definitely have PTBTD (Post Traumatic Black Tap Disorder) It's not that they tasted bad, the one I had was delicious, but I have never felt so sick after eating something in my entire life. We made the mistake of ordering one for each of us rather than sharing and even though there was still so much left of the milkshake by the time I called it quits, I still felt so sick and gross afterwards. Now anytime I see a milkshake, a little part of me cries..If you do want to try Black Tap, I definitely recommend it but SHARE!! I got the Sweet n Salty one and it was delicious, but again, SHARE & if you think you could take on one of those bad boys by yourself, don't say I didn't warn you!
My last full day in NYC ended with a little banquet that the staff leaders threw for us! It was a bittersweet moment having to leave everyone and pack for the next morning, but this trip introduced me to so many great girls and created so many new friendships that I knew it wasn't "goodbye," but "I'll see you soon!"
Day fourteen - my last day in New York :( As I got to JFK running on two hours of sleep, I was happy to be heading home to my family and California, but I knew that I was going to miss everyone that I had met and the city that I love!
The plane ride was filled with sleeping and more sleeping because I was so exhausted haha The best part though was that I got to see one of my favorite actresses as I walked through first class to get to my seat - Hilary Duff! It was so surreal to see Lizzie McGuire in person! But, six hours later and I was back in the Golden State, bringing home with me advice that would help me progress my career and memories that would last me a lifetime :')
As I look back at all of the memories I made over the course of the two weeks, I am so grateful to have shared them with so many kindhearted and incredible people. It was ultimately a trip of a lifetime and I cannot believe it's over! The many months of planning and preparing were gone just like that, but I now know FOR SURE that I am going down the right path - to a career that will bring me happiness - and I cannot wait for you guys to come along with me on that journey :')
Until next time...
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