With the last week of summer rapidly approaching I wanted to sit down and take a moment to look back on the last four months. To start, I can say that, hands down, this summer has been the best summer I’ve had in the past five or more years (as cliché as it is). I’ve accomplished some goals, and I’ve had so much fun during this one summer than all the others combined. I kept asking myself, “Why? What’s made this year any different?” And then I realized the answer was perfectly clear — I’m happy. It’s honestly as simple as that. When I got home from school this summer, I became a new person, a different person that I didn’t recognize. I had been so unhappy at school (because of the whole roommate situation) that I forgot what it was like to relax and be happy. So, with this revelation, I wanted to share the wonderful events, the moments of pure joy that this summer has brought me.

This summer started off with a three-day trip to my friend’s summerhouse in Upstate New York. The squad (Alex, Steve, Jimmy, Jacob, Lindsay and Victoria) and I hit the road at 7 in the morning, all groggy eyed and tired. Surprisingly, none of us fell asleep during the two and half hour ride; instead, we jammed out to music (Steve was the designated DJ) and played random road-trip games. It was the perfect way to start the trip. Once we actually got to Alex’s house, the rest of the trip went by way too fast. But that’s not a bad thing — we did so much yet so little, making it a perfectly balanced trip. We went for hikes in the woods, swam in a river nearby (which was incredible), built a fire every night and drove to an abandoned airport to stargaze. I think it was while we were lying in the empty road, looking for shooting stars, that I realized how happy I was. I was with my best friends on a great trip, and there was nothing bothering me. From that moment on I knew the rest of the summer was going to be carefree, filled only with positivity.

That carefree feeling was the most apparent when I flew down to Fort Lauderdale to spend a week with my aunt at her timeshare. During the two and a half years since my dad died, my aunt and I hadn’t seen each other very often. Of course, we texted and talked on the phone, but we didn’t actually spend time with each other. So being able to spend a week with her by the beach was long overdue. It was a wonderful week of sitting by the pool with family friends, playing "Mexican Train" and relaxing. My aunt got to see a different side of me — it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this happy, and she was able to see that, which I know made her happy as well. We were able to have a long (emotional) heart to heart, and now we’re closer than ever. I can’t wait until next year’s trip, which is only 336 days away, but who’s counting?

By far the best part of this summer has been my time spent at my lake house up in Massachusetts. My family and I have owned the house since 2000, and we used to come up every single weekend, no matter the time of year. But once my dad was diagnosed in 2012, we stopped going up. After he passed away, my mom and I still couldn’t make it up — we were swamped with moving out of our house and other personal issues. Finally, when school ended in May, my mom and I cleared our schedules, packed up and went to the lake. We have spent the majority of the summer here, weeks at a time, only going home for a night or two if we had an appointment. While being at the lake, I’ve been able to let go of everything negative. When I’m up there, it’s impossible to feel anything other than calm, relaxed and peaceful. All my worries vanish, creating space for positive thoughts.

With these positive thoughts, I was able to get behind the wheel and drive for a few minutes, despite my fear of driving. It might have only been for a few minutes, but it’s a start. And with these positive thoughts, I began to write again. Writing is one of my passions in life and in 2013 when I found out I wasn’t accepted into the creative writing program at Purchase, I stopped writing. It had been three whole years since I’ve written for myself and I’ve finally started writing again. I applied to the Odyssey in June, and now I’ve been writing every single week; I didn’t realize how much I had missed it.

Although getting behind the wheel and picking up a pencil may not seem like accomplishments to you, they are to me. I am so proud of myself (which is not an emotion I feel very much), and I am so motivated to continue writing and driving. But most importantly, I am motivated to set more goals for myself; I’m motivated to continue living a positive, happy life, and I owe it all to this summer.