New York City was a souvenir ring I wore around my finger for 10 years. It was a school trip. It was an unexpected Christmas gift.

This summer, New York City is my home.

My summer internship in Manhattan with Condé Nast’s Details ­magazine is the result of first falling in love with writing as a high school intern at The Pilot. The Southern Pines office might not stand tall in Times Square, or have the revolving doors and security guards, but the passion I’m pursuing here was first planted there.

Condé Nast boasts one of the most well-known magazine ­portfolios in the field with titles like Vogue, The New Yorker and GQ, as well as an innovative men’s fashion magazine called Details. That’s where I fit in.

I found out that I would be interning at Details about two weeks before I started. Through a web of connections and faith, my summer plans took a turn for the best.

I am working with the magazine’s creative services and advertising team, and although I’m unable to work with the editorial side, I get a valuable look into advertising, ­branding and the creativity that sells it.

Knowing why the reader picks up the magazine with your story inside in the first place will prepare me to better craft the story itself.

My internship at Details has only affirmed my ­consistent passion for writing. Pursuing truth with a pen, ­jotting down epiphanies on the nearest piece of paper, was the first step toward many of the beliefs and ­convictions I stand firm on today. Applying that habit to a newsroom ­setting was an easy transition. Journalism is a career I undoubtedly want to pursue.

Even more unexpected than a dream internship at a top publishing company is the inspiration I’ve found in Manhattan. This experience has been more than a “Beverly Hillbillies” storyline, where the small town girl goes to the big city. I’ve never thought of myself as that girl. I know where home is, but it’s second nature to want to discover the rest.

Each day has been a new adventure, from biking to exploring the villages on the Hudson River. It’s those moments of perfect independence — lost on a side street — that I treasure most. Life is as it should be when the only things I can find are a good cup of coffee and a window seat.

I was in awe as I watched fireworks from a Chelsea rooftop on July Fourth. Those explosions in the sky were a fitting backdrop for a city as explosive as New York.

It’s brimming with 8 million people, and the only thing this city reeks of is inspiration.

There is nothing like being part of a city watched by the world. This is the place where future leaders find their vision. This is the place where students taste their dreams. I feel right at home losing myself in this concrete jungle.

It’s worth being a small fish in a big pond — one in the 8 million — because the view from New York City is truly from the top of the world.

Kelsey is a rising junior and journalism major at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is spending her summer as an intern in New York City with Conde Nast’s Details magazine. Seven years ago she got her start as an intern at The Pilot.