So, it's official.

I'll be taking classes this summer! I'm excited to be living in the city, although I know it'll be unbearably hot for the majority of the summer. I'm thinking about stealing all my friends' fans that they are too lazy to bring home when they move all their stuff. I'll make a fan circle and cry in the balmy heat of the July nights. Anyway, Macaulay covers two classes over the summer, so I decided to take up the offer and get some of my major requirements out of the way, since double majoring will literally consume my life during the year and I wanted some time to space it out. Summer (and winter) classes are a good way to spend some extra time on a difficult class, find an interesting passion, or just get some requirements out of the way. So I'm taking Philosophy 218, Revolutions in Modern Philosophy, and English 322.50, Queer Voices. Both of them are in the first session, so I'll be done with school by July 29th. After that, who knows! I'm definitely going to take a nice, long needed break from school for August. Maybe I'll go on a roadtrip with my friends or just chill at home with my family for a bit. It's crazy how summer is already a definite thing in my life.

In other news, I went to a fabulous production of Our Town last night at the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts near Lincoln Center. This play is the most meta thing you will ever see. (Meta meaning kind of self-aware, or self-referential.) There was a narrator that moved throughout, giving us time and place, framing the whole thing for us. It was a semi-existential play, dealing with the stages of life and its meaning in death. I have to say that for a high school production, this was one of the most amazing casts I've ever seen. There is some incredible talent in there! If you have a chance, I'd recommend it very strongly. I believe it's only running this weekend through Sunday, so get on that.

Last, I've started using Yelp a lot more frequently. Living in the city, there are tons and tons of restaurants to go to. So how do you find the right ones? Well, you can go off of suggestions from friends or upperclassmen. But if you want to take it into your own hands, I'd recommend downloading the app for Yelp onto your phone, or just checking out the website. You can find some pretty great places near wherever you're going. It filters by cuisine, location, price, and more. I've found a ton of great places to eat before plays with my family all over the city at reasonable prices. It also lets you explore the city in an interesting (and delicious) way! I kind of pride myself on the fact that when my parents come into the city, I can show them around to all the good restaurants. It makes me feel like a real New Yorker.

Erica