Thoughts // Summertime in LA

Summer in LA has its perks.

Everything is reachable by bus.

There's more free time to play than during the school year.

The friends that are around have more time to play than during the school year.

Everyone is more laid back.

Going to the pool is fun because you know you don't have homework waiting for you when you get back.

Plus you're guaranteed to get something resembling a tan if you stay outside for more than fifteen minutes.

More adventuring opportunities.

It's summer.

However. And this is a BIG however... It's not as much fun when the people you normally hang out with are all at home. Wherever that may be.

Evelyn was in NorCal and then Albania for a short term missions trip.

Steph is an hour away, teaching tennis all summer and getting ridiculously tan and mooscular.

Mickey is in NorCal still, even though she was supposed to be back mid-July, 'cause her employment paperwork has been delayed {or something like that}.

Tommy and Stephen are both at home doing smart summer internshippy things.

Debrr is in HOUSTON, TEXAS. 'Cause bestie is gainfully employed, Ms. ChemE.

My roommates both went overseas for the break.

And my parentals are at home, doing all sorts of cool things without me {no really, they are}.

So I haven't decided whether I like this summer-in-LA business yet. I realize it's now August, but I'm still trying to make up my mind.

I like that I get to spend time with a different crowd of people. Different dynamics, different views on what consists of adventuring, different attitudes towards life.

But it just feels like something's missing.

I told Steph already, but I think I miss them more now, after the zoo trip, than I did during that initial month and a half of summer separation. Probably because it reminded me of what normal feels like. It doesn't help that all my sidebar advertisements are for the Safari Park. Darn you, Internet tracking cookies. ):

Did you know this is my first summer away from home?

I know I just spent the last four years spending three-quarters of the year over three hundred miles away from home, but I've always gone back during the summer. I've never done summer school, so why would I stay here?

I AM thankful, though, that I didn't have to deal with moving out of my apartment DURING graduation weekend. I think I would've died. As it was, I'm pretty sure I was acting crazy all weekend. Scratch that. I am SURE I was acting crazy all weekend. The stress, the lack of sleep, all the change happening at the same time. Crowds upon crowds of people EVERYWHERE. And as someone who is very good at dodging pictures, all the cameras pointed in our direction ALL THE TIME was more than a little overwhelming. So I'm glad I didn't have to deal with moving out stuff on top of all that.

But still. Summer in LA has been kind of strange. It's a mix of exciting {cause of all the adventuring} and lonely {even with people around, it's not the same}. Well, maybe 'lonely' isn't the right word. It takes a lot for me to feel 'lonely' since, as an only child, we're pretty good about being alone without feeling lonely. But it's... emptier around here, you know? There are still people, that I like and am more than willing to hang out with, but they're... *wrinkles nose* not mine? I don't know if that makes any sense.

Miss those crazy kids. *sigh*