Hello friends and lovers! Sorry it has been a while. Since my departure from the great Manhattan life has been a little bit crazy. 2 days after moving out of the city I left for California for my PADI X marketing internship training and open water dive certification. Returned from that little trip and left almost immediately for a weekend vacation with family friends to Montreal. They call me the jet setter for a reason.

So to give a little recap of my adventures: SCUBA DIVING IS AWESOME! It was by far the most physically and emotionally challenging thing I have ever done but also the most rewarding and fulfilling experience of my life. The 4 days I spent learning how to breathe and dive 20 - 60 feet underwater were incredible. There is something so serene and peaceful about being on the ocean floor - all you can hear is your breath and your body sways back and forth with the current. You are left completely alone with your thoughts in a state of meditation and relaxation. Inflate your BCD with just a little bit of air and you hover right above the ocean floor, suspended in water effortlessly. But the time I spent in California was more than just an individually moving experience. The people I met there and worked with for 4 days became a mini family to me. We all supported each other through the good and the bad, had a lot of laughs and a lot of really deep conversations. I guess I should've expected it to be a group of awesome people since we were all there for the same reason - to learn to scuba dive.

PADI X August 2010 <3 forever in my heart

You for scuba?

Ahhh!! I can't believe that MTV internship is over and I'm currently in Lake Forest, CA training for my PADI X Scuba Marketing Internship. Arrived last night and met some really cool people already. Woke up early today to finish my online score and skipped a lot of the questions because honestly who wants to take an exam at 7am so I got a 77%, just enough to make it over the 75% minimum required score. Woot woot! Got a full day today (and every day this week for that matter) but expect lots of funny pictures of me and my group in wet suits and general sillyness when I return. YAY WEST COAST!

xxx Bear

A toast...

Born in Queens, raised across the GW Bridge in Bergen County, NJ .... This bear has always dreamed of living in Manhattan. When I was a wee, little bear I used to tell myself "One day I'm going to live and party and work and be awesome in New York City."  So Summer 2010, thanks for making one little girl's dreams come true this season.

I came into this summer the same way I come into every situation and opportunity life throws at me - excited but about to poop my pants from nervousness. Sure, I went to Buenos Aires, Argentina last year without knowing anyone and barely speaking Spanish, but somehow this summer seemed more terrifying. Looking back now, I can't really remember the reasons why. Maybe it was because I was taking my first professional steps into the media industry with my MTV internship. Maybe it was because I was afraid my expectations were going to be too high for my realities to compare with. Or maybe it was just because I am what I am and I tend to worry about things. I don't know. What I do know is that every expectation that I had seems silly and small compared to the reality of what my summer has been. Every minute that I have spent in this magical place has gone above and beyond anything I could have dreamed or hoped for. There was never a dull moment (maybe I should have scheduled some in however to protect my poor, exhausted body) and knock on wood, nothing horrible happened. Good times were had with good friends, relationships that mattered became stronger, and I have to say that I am incredibly proud of me and my go-to-team for surviving. But more importantly, I am incredibly impressed that this city survived us haha.

So here's to you, New York City - the concrete jungles where dreams are made of, and there's nothing you can't do. I'm still in New York. And you can be damn sure that I will be back here again one day. Consider Summer 2010 the trailer to the feature film.

Stay tuned for updates as I spend the rest of my summer in Jersey, Los Angeles, Montreal and then head back down to Miami for senior year of college EEEEEKKKKK!! Thanks for reading this summer (all 4 of you hehe).