Week Eight: It’s ending

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Sunday, July 25, 2021

By:

Madison Brewer

It finally hit me that the summer is coming to an end. With this week done, there are only two left in the internship. I’m sad it’s ending—I still feel like there is so much to do. 

I had another article published this week! The piece, titled “Jerk causes energy loss on the loop-the-loop,” is about the finer details of the physics of a ball traveling down the track. I’m pretty proud of this one—I think it’s my favorite so far this summer. I’m working on another piece about the International Physics Olympiad competition. With event coverage, you want to publish as soon as possible. It finished on Saturday so my plan is to turn my draft into the editors on Monday. It’s almost done, I just need to add the results and smooth the draft. I’m excited to do some harder news—it’ll be nice in my list of experiences.  

I also wrote two short reviews for the new books and media section of the September magazine. One was about a documentary and the other was about a book with high resolution science images. Plus the book review I wrote earlier in the summer will be published in the September magazine. I’m really excited to see my writing in print. 

Finally, I’m working on the Back Scatter section of the September magazine. I found a cool science image to print and I am currently working on writing the text. I’ve been looking at old Back Scatters to base mine off of, so hopefully I am able to match the style well. 

Speaking of endings, Maura is leaving Pittsburgh. I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with her all summer. It's hard to believe we went to the same school for the same major for three years without really meeting. I’m going to miss going to coffee shops and working with her. It is sad when things end. 

On Monday I video chatted with some of the other interns. One intern is moving to the city I’m from, so I was telling him about the area. We also talked about the Olympics, especially about how interesting all these random events are. I know there are still two weeks left but it is sad to see everything ending. I wish we could have been in person so we could have more time together. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone. 

And of course I’m sad to end my work. The staff at Physics Today is so great and they’ve taught me a lot this summer. I know endings are just new beginnings, and I am excited to start my final year of college. But it's still sad to see this chapter end. I guess it’s the beginning of the end.

Madison Brewer (she/her)