As one might guess, working 40 hours a week driving a golf cart around Medina with my best friend and college roommate was about as close to a dream as you can get and have it still be real life. From random extended breaks in the parking garage (that may have turned into brief naps) to making friends with the owners of Main Street Cupcakes and inventing the names of and dialogues between our coworkers - it was a summer job I'll soon not forget.
Working a full-time job means NOT working on the weekends, a luxury I have not experienced in a few summers and one that I took full advantage of. A five and a half hour road trip to Washington D.C. with five of my favorite people turned into a weekend full of memories, countless laughs, and ridiculous pictures to remind us of the fun we had. Another escapade to the hills of Appalachia, Kentucky resulted in some "firsts" - skinny dipping and sleeping in the Love Room of the UDSAP house to name a few...once again surrounded by some truly wonderful people. In between all of the fun, I got to spend an abundance of time with my family, specifically good ol' Meg. Jennifer Garner may have starred in the movie 13 Going on 30, but my sister, Megan, is the epitome of the phrase "13 going on 30" - seriously, what a piece of work! We got to be so close this summer, that was a true blessing. Two weeks in Dayton leading freshies around campus introducing them to the topic of vocation and all the splendor UD has to offer them was refreshing and a nice break from the monotony of a 7-3 job.
The Callings program also marked the beginning of the end and after another two weeks of watering flowers (SOLO - rough stuff!) and very good procrastination of the whole packing for school thing, I found myself back at UD for yet another year. It's been almost three weeks and I've loved every minute - no surprise there. Are there times when I still feel like a freshman and am confused when people look to me for answers? Yup. Do I still have to pinch myself every time I am sitting on one of our THREE porches? Absolutely, I don't think the reality of living in this beautiful house will ever fully sink in. Am I ready for the countless hours of studying that correspond with two semesters of organic chemistry? I guess we will find out. One thing is for sure, I am back to being comfortably myself without any expectations or plans for what's to come. Such freedom! Huge sigh of relief, this whole "letting go of control" thing sort of snuck up on me but let me tell you what, I don't hate it. Excitement is the understatement of the century to describe how I'm feeling about everything that's to come along with being a junior, living in this Marianist Student Community with my beautiful, goofy roommates, and being surrounded by the best friends a girl could ask for. Oh and taking classes might be kind of fun, too (especially considering my SOC 101 class is an LLC from the 6th floor of Marycrest aka 90% FRESHMAN BOYS. HA. Coug. It. Up.)
But really, I feel like I'm living the dream. Fully aware of it, completely grateful for it, can't wait to see what's next.
Also - If you're reading this and actually go to UD, it'd be really great if everyone could start spending more time at the Galley (aka the Gal as I lovingly refer to it as) - it's a little too empty for my liking and doesn't enable my people watching habits. What gives, guys?
(Made it through an entire blog post without mentioning Lighthouse - don't worry it will make its epic return to my life and blog August 31st)
On a scale of one to happy, I'm at University of Dayton :)
AAARF.
