This morning, I woke up and had brunch with members of my Odyssey community. We got to talking about how summer really flew by, especially for those who are off to college in a week or two. When I came home, I started organizing my binders to get ready for school. And as per usual, I made a smoothie today. Nothing out of the ordinary--I tend to make smoothies a lot. As I was grabbing the ingredients (my favorite recipe: soy milk, dates, bananas, chia seeds, spinach, goji berries, almond butter, etc.), I got to thinking, Hmm... Summer really is winding down to an end, isn't it?

I blended up my smoothie and poured it into a bowl. Not to my surprise, some of the smoothie goodness stuck to the inside of the blender, and I had to scrape it down with a spoon. I didn't want to miss out on a single drop of it, though I knew that would be nearly impossible, as there would always be some residue left. It always irked me slightly--the fact that I would never be able to take every drop of smoothie with me (if you can't tell, I really like smoothies). Trying to be all deep and metaphoric, I thought, Wow, it's like a little piece of my heart that stays there forever. Then it hit me: there would always be pieces of my heart scattered--just like smoothie residue--around the places to which I've been this summer.

I don't feel the cliché "Why does it feel like summer's finally starting when it's coming to an end?" though; I feel like it's been summer for a long time--in a good way. It got me thinking about everything I did this summer, and I realized that I've actually done so much: family pilgrimages, summer camps, making new friends, learning new things. I wouldn't trade the memories I made for the world, and I feel like the same goes for the smoothie ingredients that make up the zesty concoction. For example:

Soy milk is the base of the smoothie. That and other various forms of liquid, depending on your smoothie preferences, are what keep the smoothie flowing; it holds the rhythm of the juice and keeps it grounded. Spending time with my family in China this summer helped me find my roots and discover who I truly am. My mom is like the soy milk, adding sweetness and order to my life; my life and the metaphoric smoothie would be clogged up without her/it.

Dates are a natural smoothie sweetener. The taste lingers in your mouth; it's like a treat. Similarly, summer is all about treating yourself. Those days I spend getting ice cream with my friends are treats for my sweet tooth and memory. Even the days when I just hang out and talk with friends and family are a silver lining in the not-so-grey-anyway cloud of summer break.

Bananas are pretty much universal in smoothies as a necessity--this would be the warm weather of summer vacation. As tropical of a fruit as bananas are, the weather feels even more tropical (have you felt the humidity of the last few weeks???!) when it changes from frigid snowstorms of Michigan winters to sunny days of warmth.

Chia seeds, spinach and goji berries. Strange but adventurous supplements to your smoothie, in my mind. The unconventional ingredients reflect the spontaneous adventures of summer vacation. For me, that would be anything from getting military training at a Chinese summer camp to pier jumping (my first time!) with the cross country girls. The rush of adrenaline during adventure is like savoring the texture of goji berries in your smoothie.

Almond butter gives smoothies a unique flavor, and it's a delicious uniqueness! The experiences I've had this summer have been unexpected and unpredictable, but they've made better memories than I could have ever imagined. I've done so many crazy things this summer--burning incense and made offerings at an ancestor's memorial, practicing my extremely sub-par Spanish skills with tourists in the Forbidden City, picking 24 pounds of blueberries with my dad (while simultaneously eating about half of it) and running 6 miles in the pouring rain on a dirt path with my best friend.

All these ingredients, the residue left on the blender, and the tastiness of the creation make up my perfect summer break. As cliché as it sounds, there will always be pieces of my heart left behind in all the various places where I've made memories to last a lifetime.