Summer is almost over and it’s bittersweet. Most endings to things are usually very sad and disappointing, but the end of this summer has left me feeling so wonderful about who I’ve become because of it. My summer was full. It had many congratulations and goodbyes, but it was full of opening doors, new adventures, and the vibrancy of life itself. This summer, I dove head first into living my life fully and wholeheartedly. I wouldn’t allow myself to miss a single beat.
Summer 2k16 kicked off with my high school graduation. I graduated from high school! How huge is that? Next step... adulting. Yikes. At my graduation party, I could not feel any more loved and grateful for all the support that showed up for me that day. The friends and family who surrounded me are the people who raised me to be the young woman I am today. I am loved. I am smart. I am ambitious. I am so blessed. They reminded me that in this big and sometimes scary world, I am not alone; they will always be there with me. College is going to change my life, a stepping stone to my future, and it’s overwhelming. What is going to carry me through this unfamiliar transition in my life is going to be my family. I want to make them proud, especially my mom. Their support, their love, and their familiarness will be just one call away.
One word. Firefly! I never knew how much fun a music festival could be until I experienced Firefly. The music was pulsing through my body, shaking up all my nerves. I was electric that weekend. I was free and the happiest I had ever been. It was the first adventure of the summer and I shared it with my best friend. We danced like no one was watching and sang at the top of our lungs. Firefly gave me the courage to be myself. It’s hard to admit that I didn’t know how to be myself before the music festival. It broke me out of my shell, and I witnessed how music and sharing music with people can liberate you. I don’t think I can survive another summer, unless there is a music festival involved.
Peru was the highlight among the highlights of my summer. My home away from home. What better way to quench my wanderlust than to go exploring. I traveled up and down the coast of Peru from Nazca to Punta Sal. The momentum I created with Firefly grew while I explored this new side to me. Spending the start of my vacation in Paracas was wonderful, literally. I gawked at the beauty of the coast and desert combo that God has created. I am awestruck and all I could do was take it in and appreciate it.
Huacachina, Ica was the desert oasis straight out of a movie; it was beautiful. The desert is so vast and nothing like I have ever seen! Never have I been to a desert before, and when I stepped of the sand buggie and looked at the landscape, my breath was blown away. The earth is majestic; its beauty is so unfathomable and so uncontainable that my camera could only capture a glimpse of what it really feels like to be standing there. The dune buggie ride was more like a rollercoaster than just our way to the sand dunes to sand board. That is definitely harder than it looks, so many of us just slide on our bellies, so belly boarding. I eventually got the boarding on my feet right and it was thrilling, I felt adventurous! I felt like a risk taker. I felt like a badass. It was new and exciting, and I wanted to live this life with the me that did things the old me wouldn’t.
The best way to end a vacation is at the beach! Punta Sal was wonderful and the water was breathtaking. The last day, I took a walk alongside the beach alone. It was the perfect setting to listen to my thought and remind myself who I was and who I wanted to be. So much power and energy flowed through those waves, and I wanted it to carry me away. I'm upset I had to leave. I wanted to drown in the sunshine and never have to come home. I am proud to have my heritage in Peru. It's amazing what the world outside your home can offer you.
Now, I have exactly 33 days til move-in day. This summer has inspired my days and gave it a zeal of life that I wanted to fill it with. I can't say that this will last forever, but the little changes in who I am becoming are leading me to a happy life, and I couldn’t anticipate anything better. If this summer has taught me anything, it’s live well loving what you do. No more. No less.
