Summer Set

Yet another summer has come and gone. And what have I done? Oh man, so much. Can I just say this has been the best summer EVER!! Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end; however, I won’t let that stop me from having fun NOW! As the new semester has started, it’s once again the time for life evaluation and goal-setting. Which I love. I love feeling like you have gotten somewhere in life, as well as setting new goals for where you want to be. Always moving forward, that is how to live life! Otherwise, you get in a state of complacency. Which, in my opinion, is one of the worst feelings ever. The complacency started to hit me around mid May. I was working at a call center and for a catering company. And…. Well that was about it. I was working. And nothing else was happening. And then I realized something. I had all these big plans and things that I want to do, but I just always pushed them to the future. I realized that I always say “someday maybe” and “when I have more money or time.” Then the moment of revelation came, as I was standing on top of the Y on the mountain screaming YOLO (you only live once) with my friends James and Hannah. Why do I always put things off to be done another day? Why do I constantly push opportunities that will make me happy for later? And that was it. The next day I planted a garden. No, I have no land. And no, I have no special talent in growing plants. But it is my dream to one day live of the fat of my land. So, why not start practicing now? And judging by the outcome, it’s a good thing I started practicing now because it is going to take me a while before I get the skills to live off my land. My garden was not very successful this time…… but next year it’s going to be great!! Also, I think the pot might have been too small for the 8 plants I planted. That is 2 okra plants, 2 tomato plants, 2 cucumber plants, and 2 pea plants…….. looking back…. That seems like a bad idea. They had a great start, just didn’t make it much taller than 6 inches.

This started a chain reaction. I decided I was going to live more in the moment. So what did I do? Went rope swinging.

Jumped off a bridge because my friends did (take that, Mom! Ha!).

Went camping. Floated down a raging river of death…. Until my tube popped. Twice.

Elephant Revival

Beach house

Band of Horses

Road trip to Moses Lake, Washington, the cutest little farm town in all the land, to surprise Hannah for her birthday!

Experienced Hobbitville, creating my own scary story to tell! Hiking all over the most BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAINS.

Cliff jumping

Rock climbing

Ate a cheeseburger on top of a mountain after INTENSE OFF-TRAILING.

Completed my first triathlon.

Fishing

Sliding rock- the natural water slide. Bowling in the local park (yes, my friend has a set of bowling pins and a ball. “Just in case for emergencies!” Went star gazing, where I made the most epic wish on the most epic shooting start at 11:11. (Which came true, by the way). Had some fun BBQs. Spontaneous dance parties. Flag football!! What what??

Sand volleyball! Hula Hoop routine.

I was thrown my first SURPRISE birthday party! Including being kidnapped by Santa…. Every kid’s dream, right? 7 peaks weekly- the best water park EVER! The Spin Park!

Paddle boarding down The Great Moses Lake.

Midnight dip in the local golf course pond. Deer Creek Reservoir followed by Dairy King - home of the best blueberry shake of my life.

Pawn shopping for road bikes. RANCHERITOS BEAN AND CHEESE BURRITO OBSESSION. Dance Central and Mario Kart. Taught a girl from Laos how to read English. What Makes Life Hard essay party. Farmers Market in The Great Salt Lake City. Buddhist temple tour. Soccer games and hospital food.

Croquette. A lot. Liberating Bicycles.

Intense ultimate Uno. Every Sunday night. Experimental music listening parties. Started new job- working with disabled adults. All in all, I would say that this was a great summer for making dreams come true. I seriously had the best time. I’m glad school is back in because I can continue on my way to making my career dreams come true. And it turns out, I am much closer to making those come true than I thought. So don’t sit around waiting for life to happen. Make it happen.