Summer 2018

May 8, 2018

I took Colt on a lot more drives this summer. I think it was important for him to know that I loved him. I would always wait until the night because it was cooler. My car is currently filled with dog hair that I am struggling to get out. He enjoyed every second though and that is what made it worth it. Colt sits in the back of my car, like a human. It's the funniest thing in the world because he does look human. Then as we're driving and he has his giant head out the window. Most of the time I would get choked up as we were driving. I think it was because I knew I had to leave him. Also because I was realizing how beautiful my hometown is.

May 28, 2018

I don't really know how to describe this.

I was having a bad day so Leah, Olivia and Alexa came over with Chick-Fil-a. This was also the day that we started to plan out things that we wanted to do over the summer. We also wanted to go swimming but no one brought their bathing suits. They all had to borrow my clothes. My favorite picture has to be the last one. I asked if they wanted to go swimming but they didn't have bathing suits. I had to give Olivia some clothes to wear. We pulled out the 'pool' for the dogs and they watned nothing to do with it. So I told Olivia to get in and jump. It was even more funny to us when we realized the giant pool was in the background. 

May 11, 2018

I don't even know how many times I went to Ten Thousand Villages. I would text Abi and asked if she would want to go. Abi is like the sweet hippie friend. She loves tea, wears fair trade clothing, talks about veganism and shops at places like Whole Foods. She's also obsessed with Kombucha We would go to Ten Thousand Villages, say we won't buy anything and then we buy something. She would buy jewelry and I would get a journal. Unfortunately, I've bought all the journals that I've liked. One day I was having a rough day so I went out and bought another journal. What I love about Ten Thousand Villages is that you can read the story. You can read the story about how the item was made. This journal was made in Bangladesh. It's company run by woman. The money gives them the ability to get out of difficult situations and send their children to school. Every journal looks differently because it's made out of recycled saris. That makes it even more beautiful to me. All of these saris were worn by someone and they have a story. I like to imagine where they are and what they're doing.

May 23, 2018

These are some of my favorite pictures. They're definitely some of the best I've taken. I can't really describe this day. I think that's because I can't remember most of it. I obviously remember my friends coming over. It almost feels to personal to write about on the blog. That's weird for me to say. I'm obviously very open about my feelings and experiences on the blog. Maybe I'm to honest sometimes. I've written about it in my journal and I think that's all I'll say. Sometimes there are feelings and memories that you're meant to keep to yourself. Just know that it was a beautiful day and I appreciate these people.

June 1, 2018

I missed Pride this year. Leah and I had planned to go but forgot. The day that we remembered was the day of Pride. There was no way we would have been able to make it to DC in time. This was a picture that one of my friends took. We had been looking through Obama's book and came across this picture. I was telling her about it and she took this photo. 

June 9, 2018

This was such a fun day. Last minute a bunch of decided to go watch the fireworks in Smithsburg. Everyone must have thought we were obnoxious. We were either taking pictures or braiding each other's hair. I literally did Leah's hair for an hour until the fireworks started. Near the end I asked Leah if she was having a good time. She said yes and then was attacked by bugs. I was taking a video of her because I knew something like that would happen. Now we can laugh about it whenever we want. On the way home we sang/screamed Disney songs. 

June 15, 2018

I don't take a lot of pictures of myself. I think it's because I'd rather take pictures of other people. I'm overly critical and mostly every picture is deleted. Often times people have to sneak up on me to get a picture. That's exactly what happened with this one. I can't remember exactly what I was writing in my journal. It was either about Harry Potter or Freddie Mercury. 

June 20, 2018

This was the weekend of my orientation. My mom and I drove down a day early to go to the beach. At the time I was nervous and scared. I unfortunately didn't get any pictures at Salisbury because it was raining. It was actually pouring. So this picture of the boardwalk will have to suffice. I really enjoyed my orientation though. I was expecting it to be overwhelming and daunting but it wasn't that bad. In fact, I didn't want to leave. I know that I will get homesick eventually but this was a nice start. 

June 29, 2018

Poor Leah.

I made her take this picture. I have no idea why she puts up with this anymore. I guess this is our thing. I take photos of Leah eating and no one understands it. I don't think I understand it. It's just become something and we'll see how long it goes on.

July 1, 2018

I honestly don't know what to say. I don't know how to explain these pictures. Let's just say that I took to many and it got a little crazy. 

July 14, 2018

Olivia turned 16 this year. It's honestly hard for me to believe that she's that old. I still feel like I'm 16 sometimes. Obviously we had to go all out with the party. It was supposed to be a surprised but I'm pretty sure she knew. This was also the night that I met Ben. I think I've met my soulmate. Ben is one of the funniest people that I've ever met. I think we were laughing the majority of the time we were there. 

July 28, 2018

Here are some obligatory lake photos. I was finally able to bring my wide camera to the lake. Vacation wasn't as great as I thought it would be. I didn't get to read that much. I normally finish six to seven books and I didn't read one. I was so stressed with Stats and I felt the need to study all the time. Looking back I regret this. I wish I would have enjoyed Deep Creek more. I wish it would have been 'perfect'. At the same time maybe it needed to be this way. Maybe it was a sign of how ready I am to move on. I'll always love the lake but I need to be okay with being far away.

August 22, 2018

This is technically my last day of 'summer'. Tomorrow my family and I leave for Salisbury. I'm sure it will be absolute chaos and frustration. I've been spending most of the day, alone. I haven't stopped moving for the past two weeks. There was finals and then a lot of goodbyes. I didn't end up taking as many pictures as I wanted. I think I just wanted to be in the moment. Now I'm packing up clothes, my tea and some things I won't need. My room looks so empty right now. The last thing that I cleaned out was my closet. Underneath a pile of clothes, in a bin was my journals. I pulled them out and started to look at them. I honestly don't have room for any of them. I take each of them out and lay them on the bed. At that point they were all over the bin. Some of them I wanted to look at again, others not so much. I think all of them were leading up to this. Every year I grew up and realized more and more how ready I am to leave. Over the summer I kept talking to one of my classmates. She eventually asked what my plans were and I told her I was leaving. She was excited for me and told me that I was going to blossom. A lot of people have been saying that. I just wish I had their confidence. Change is never easy. I've never been good at accepting change. I think I fight it for as long as I can. I can't really fight this change though. I should probably go finish packing. 

DFTBA

-AB