Flowers. Flowers all around me. Shades of pink and lavender. Little did I know these were the petals of milkweed: the native plant to Indianapolis that provides monarch butterflies with a sanctuary in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was golden hour. I felt the warm, gritty surface of the bench upon which I rested as I gazed at the luscious greenery surrounding me. Before I sat down to catch my breath, I had spent one hour driving around Kroger searching for parking — desperately trying to navigate my way through the one-way streets. I struggled to decide what groceries to buy. “What will I cook for dinner tonight?” I thought. “What will I cook for dinner the rest of the week?” I was exhausted, and I was overwhelmed. I had just finished my first day of interning in the city. As exciting as change can be, it can also be quite daunting. […]

My internship with the Harrison Center has held countless surprises, lessons, and memories. Looking back on all of it (the good and the not-so-good), I wouldn’t change how any of it played out– mostly because everything I’ve learned has been one more puzzle piece I can add to my unknown, post-graduation future. One of my most unexpected epiphanies didn’t make itself known until my last couple of weeks in Indy but it greatly affected that span of time. I didn’t anticipate becoming apathetic to writing– blog writing that is. I know it’s a bit meta and ironic with this being a blog post but between the Harrison Center and the freelance writing I do for an addiction recovery center, this reliable use of my Creative Writing degree has grown less appetizing. Upon reflection, I think what’s deflated my love for blog-writing-as-a-career, has been the way it has zapped my energy […]

When I was just beginning my CAPS placement process, my dream of what this summer would hold was a filmy concoction that I excitedly stirred; my recipe grew as I poured in stories that previous fellows had told me, sprinkled in the advice of every person that would answer me, and threw in a dash (or two) of anxiety for good measure. This past Wednesday marked exactly one month (it’s felt like two weeks!) that I’ve been interning at the Harrison Center as one of their many summer Cultural Entrepreneur Interns. I can confidently say that my dream had as many holes as it did substance and that I didn’t even need to cook it up (but who am I kidding– I’m definitely already gathering the ingredients for what I imagine the upcoming school year will bring). One of the many epiphanies I’ve acquired and tucked away has been that […]