DCIM 2026

Blog, fashion, project

Dear Younger Self

Maddy Everett

Dear Younger Self,

I hope you are well, and I come to you from the future to give you some insight into what will become of you and your life. It’s all good things. When people say it gets better, it’s actually very true in your case.

Middle School

Your middle school years are brutal, as they are for everyone, but you end up meeting a good group of friends and sticking with them. I was very anxious then and overthought every little thing I did, worried that I would embarrass myself at every turn. I don’t want you to follow that path because, truthfully, these are the only things that I can remember about those years; in hindsight, nothing is that embarrassing in middle school because everything’s embarrassing.

High School

In high school, you start to build a life of your own; your weekends are filled with friends and sports, while during the week you focus on school. You take classes that pique your interest in new things like history and art. There is also a global pandemic, and you are stuck inside for the better part of a year with just your family. You end up not minding it as much as you thought you would; you and your sister finally become friends after years of rivalry, and I’m unsure if this change would have happened without the forced proximity due to the global virus. You eventually go back to school and finish out your senior year normally with all the classic high school things, prom and graduation. I encourage you to enjoy these moments where you don’t have any responsibilities and take them in as much as you can.

College

You attend a prestigious university for art and end up hating the school. You meet good people who will get you through the year but in the end it’s okay to start over even if it’s scary. I’m currently in my senior year at Rutgers, finishing out my degree in Public Relations and Media. You will go through about three other majors before you come to this conclusion, but it’s important to explore your options. If I had to tell you anything, it would be: don’t be afraid to make the wrong choices; there is always time to learn and grow from them. In fact, if you always made the right ones, how would you learn anything at all?

Best wishes,

Older Maddy

Blog, project

In 5 Years…

Maddy Everett

In 5 years, I hope to be pursuing a career in Public Relations or advertising. I would love to work in a creative field, maybe something to do with fashion or art. I always wanted to work in events for big shows like the Met Gala or Fashion Week and see how the inner workings of those occasions are. The Met’s Gilded Age theme in 2022, where there were many inspired modern takes on 19th century-inspired looks, particularly intrigued me. (McClelland, 2022) I wonder if they are as glamorous as they seem online or if there is complete chaos behind the scenes. I also wouldn’t mind doing PR for someone personally; it would be a challenge to be the spokesperson for someone’s entire brand, their public actions dictating if they are successful or not. To be the one who has to clean that up and tie a pretty bow around it does sound fun and exciting to me.

Where to Go?

I can imagine myself living in New York in a small but cozy apartment, the decoration tailored to all my interests and tastes. I’ll get a cat, maybe a dog if I’m feeling ambitious, but I find myself feeling bad for dogs that live in the city, so probably not. I can see myself getting dinner with friends on weekends, trying to conquer the Forbes All-Star Eateries in New York list. (Forbes, 2025) I’ll visit my parents every few months, and make them drive out to see me now that I’m a native, and I will be able to show them all the right spots to go. In a lot of ways, this reminds me of how my life looks now. Work, see friends, check on parents, repeat, and that’s comforting to know. You can’t stop change from happening, but you can still rely on the routines that you’ve built over your life to give you reassurance that you’ll be okay. 

References

Forbes, S. (2025, November 26). The Forbes 2025 all-star eateries in New York. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/restaurants-go-consider-stop/2025/11/26/the-forbes-2025-all-star-eateries-in-new-york/

McClelland, M. (2022, May 2). Met Gala 2022: All of the “Gilded Glamour” looks on the red carpet. GRAZIA. https://graziamagazine.com/me/articles/fashion-met-gala-red-carpet-looks/

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About Me

Maddy Everett

Hello, my name is Madelyn Everett, but I usually just go by Maddy. I am currently a senior at Rutgers University, studying strategic communications and public relations with a minor in digital communication, information, and media in the School of Communications. My freshman year, I attended American University in Washington, D.C. I always knew I wanted to go to college in a city; I love the fast-paced energy, diverse food options, and the opportunities that came along with being in a place with so much access. Being from a small town in the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania, residing in a major city always seemed more exciting. When I got there, I remember being more overwhelmed than anything. Everyone seemed to have their life together; everywhere I turned, there was someone in a suit on their way to their fancy, probably important job. I dreaded going to class; my peers were so sure of themselves and how they were going to contribute to the world. This made me spiral. What was I going to contribute? How could I be sure of myself? Who do I want to become? 

This is what ultimately led me to begrudgingly transfer to Rutgers. Not to say it is any less than a city school; it’s a great school and is still close to NYC. It’s just not where I had imagined myself all my life, which was a difficult pill to swallow. After a summer of reflection on my year at American, I decided I would try to make the best of it. I got involved, tried things that I thought I would hate, and pushed myself in ways that I previously deemed impossible. As I go into my senior year, I am proud to say that I have embraced passion projects, built strong foundational friendships, and made the most of my time here so far. Maybe it’s just because I’ve grown up a little these past three years, but I have a few ideas for how I will contribute to the world; I may not end up with a fancy suit, but I am definitely more sure of myself now.

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Get A Hobby

Maddy Everett

One of my favorite hobbies is drawing and painting. When I was a kid, I remember every Christmas a fresh box of crayons or markers were always the most exciting gift for me. Every day, I would sit at this tiny, bright yellow plastic desk and use up about 50 pieces of paper, creating all kinds of different things. My parents would hang up these ‘abstract’ artworks on the fridge and around the house, while I explained to them what they meant or what they were supposed to be. As I got older, I grew out of my drawing and coloring phase and passed it off as a hobby that most kids had at one time or another. 

When COVID hit, I took it upon myself to rewatch a lot of the movies I loved as a kid. One of those movies being, My Neighbor Totoro. I became completely obsessed with the way this movie looked. I immediately started watching every Studio Ghibli film and looked into Hayao Miyazaki as an artist. His art style is the perfect balance of realism and escapism. The characters are whimsical and theatrical, while the landscapes are rooted in real places in rural Japan and European cities. Consuming this art felt so inspiring; it’s so perfect that I almost felt a sense of jealousy when looking at his creations. How did he find such a flawless niche? I didn’t know the answer to this question, but I decided that I wanted to try to find my own.  

Finding A Passion

Since I made this revelation during quarantine, this gave me more than enough time to practice. During every online class, I remember sketching instead of taking notes; I bought books on anatomy, perspective, and other artists I admired, hoping to learn anything I could about creating. I started to notice all this work I was doing felt effortless; I was never someone who loved to learn. I didn’t care for many of the subjects in school and always felt readings or assignments were just one of those things I had to get done in order to go on with my day. It felt great to be genuinely enthusiastic about a topic. I continued this hobby far into high school, later taking classes like AP Art History and AP Art, where I got to create a portfolio of my own. I had my art displayed in galleries for my school, and my portfolio later got me a scholarship for college and into a graphic design program that I later attended. 

Even though I find myself busier these days, I still try to find time whenever I can to take an hour or two to sketch or paint. One thing I learned through this hobby is that it is beyond important to find something that you are passionate about. This activity that I decided I was going to start out of boredom one day six years ago has, in the least dramatic way possible, completely changed the trajectory of my life. Having something that you only do for yourself because you want to, not because you have to, shows you things about yourself that only you can discover. This prompts me to share one of my favorite quotes by Chuck Klosterman: “Art and love are the same thing because both represent the process of seeing yourself in the things that are not you.” The reflection that comes with having a passion like this all to yourself lets you recognize the inner workings of who you are, allowing for better connections and understanding of your identity. It’s not about finding your niche or becoming the best; it’s just about doing things that make you feel like you. 

Reference: Klosterman, C. (2005). Killing yourself to live: 85% of a true story. Scribner.

An article that I related to: How Studio Ghibli Has Inspired a New Generation of Artists

My Portfolio: https://madelyneverett.art/