My first red carpet
Junior Lila Shanker works the VIP check-in at the Hollywood Critics Association Awards.
Coming out to Los Angeles, I was looking forward to being in an area where there was always something to do. Growing up in the small town of South Bend, Indiana, I often found myself going to Target with my friends for fun. There is always somewhere to eat and something new to explore in L.A., and I’m proud that I got outside of my comfort zone in doing so.
I have always been intrigued by the festival life out in California, and I was grateful for the opportunity to attend Beyond Wonderland. I’m a huge fan of electronic dance music, and some of my all-time favorite DJs such as Biscits, Zedd and Seven Lions were playing at this event. My best friend and fellow media major Karen Cheng was an intern at Insomniac Music Group where she would always get us on the guest list for various events. When she asked if I wanted to come with her, there was absolutely no hesitance in my answer.
The day of the festival arrived, and we met up with some influencers who were known in the festival scene. We were both grateful as they welcomed Karen and me with open arms into their group. I love how the festival and rave culture is so open-minded and accepting. I especially enjoyed how everyone wanted to go to new, different stages and sets to listen to all the various genres of EDM.
One of the biggest highlights of Beyond Wonderland was being asked to help make a TikTok video for the official Beyond Wonderland TikTok account. I love all things content creation as I was a social media intern for The Passionistas, so this was an amazing opportunity!
This was definitely something I wouldn’t have been able to experience in Bloomington, and I will be forever grateful that I was bestowed this opportunity out in L.A.. The semester granted me the ability to explore outside of my comfort zone, and I can’t wait to come back in the future.