i thought i'd start off with a nice, philosophical title.
i'm sitting here in summit, new jersey, with the sounds of olympic beach volleyball behind me. my parents are re-living their past memories with some old college friends, just as i will be creating memories with my new college friends in just a few short hours. and just as i reflect on the memories of this summer.
i was absolutely despondent upon leaving new york for the summer. the morning that my parents came to pick me up, i could not stop crying. it's strange how that happens--you become inseparable with people who just a few short months ago were complete strangers. i didn't want to go back to the midwest, which i had been describing as a wasteland, basically.
but this summer actually turned out to be one of the best i've had thus far, if not the best. sure, i was working seven days a week for the great majority of the summer. true, 8:00 AM was considered "sleeping in." of course, i didn't get to lay poolside and slowly toast to a nice golden brown. but all the positives outweighed those inconveniences. i don't even know where to begin.
a list will suffice.
-nancy and lauren come to visit! this week encompasses multiple bonfires, trips to swenson's (and my last meat...ever), the jack johnson concert, and an adventure up north to cedar point. millenium force? consider me hooked.
-adrian comes to visit! these two weeks were probably the best of the entire summer. being complete loons on the fourth of july? priceless. biking twenty miles in the pouring rain? surprisingly exhilarating. being constantly with my best friends in the world? amazing. i am so grateful for my friendships with these wonderfully kooky, completely driven, uber-talented people.
-dave matthews band concert! oh man. this was absolutely incredible to see live. and i love the experience of an outdoor concert: there is such an overwhelming sense of unity when the entire audience is jamming and dancing and throwing up peace signs and loving life. of course, camping out at the lake afterwards didn't hurt either.
-perseid's meteor shower! can you say hot tub, bonfire, and falling asleep outside after watching shooting star after shooting star zip across the night sky? brilliant. absolutely brilliant.
...and those are just the highlights.
this has definitely been a summer to remember.
it's weird to write that in the past tense, because it still feels like summer. and, i guess, it really still is summer. school doesn't start til september 2nd. but the fact that i am already here in joysey, on the brink of moving in and being a new yorker again, just gave summer some closure.
this is going to be a crucial year for me, and really, a very crucial semester. there are so many things i have to take care of in these four months in the city. i basically have to secure my future at NYU through, namely, RA applications and study abroad applications.
but that shouldn't be too big of a deal.
what is going to be a big deal is finding a passion.
there are so many things that i am interested in, there are so many things that i dabble in, there are so many things that i am good at. but i do not excel in that one thing, there is no one thing that i am passionate about and that drives me to do great things. and i need to find that passion and apply it to my life.
i need to be inspired so that i can inspire others.
