These Days

Hellllo out there! It's been a while since my last post and A LOT has been going on...

I feel bad that I didn't get to document my last, I would say, month in Australia, but as you can probably understand I had a lot going on. After the Quicksilver Pro (my last post) I was able to make my way to Sydney for Mardi Gras, and to the Whitsunday Islands in the great barrier reef. The Whitsundays is the most beautiful place I have ever been/ think I will ever be. The water was crazy blue and the islands were all so mountainous. I can't really describe it in words and give it justice. After the Whitsundays I spent some time at school and around Surfer's Paradise, doing the last of my sightseeing and beach-going. I had finals and then before I knew it I was on the plane home to the United States.

Coming back here was bizarre. I felt really out of touch with most things and all I wanted was to be in Australia with my group of friends who were all still there. Even when I stayed at St Mikes for the last 2 weeks of school, things just weren't the same. I am not the same. It's a hard realization to have while you're right in the thick of it, out in the 3s and seeing everyone after 3 months of change. I though I could just jump back in, but I was really wrong about that. I discovered some things that happened while I was gone,  that I didn't know about with some friends that changed the way I have always looked at friendship. It was a super tough thing to get through, but it forced me to think about the way that I trust people and the way that I carry myself. Being home has been a constant life lesson. 

Fate took me out of that situation soon enough, when I came down with pneumonia right before graduation. I was really pissed that I couldn't go to graduation and all my friends' parties, but I think I truly needed more time to adjust. Although I was confined to my house, it was a good time for me to chill out and get used to my life again. About a week and a half after I got pneumonia I was offered a job as an intern at an asset management company in Burlington. I was SO relieved. On top of being stressed out about being home, I was even more stressed about being unemployed for the summer. This offer changed the path that my summer was about to take.

Since the internship is in Burlington, I started looking for an apartment for the summer. I have always wanted to live in downtown Burlington and I was so pumped that this summer was finally going to be the one I could do it. A lot of my friends who graduated (and didn't) are living up here this summer, so it was going to be a blast...and I am turning 21! So, finally through a bunch of different apartment options, I found the one, just a block from one of my best friend's house. I live with 7 other girls (I know), which I thought might be a little tough, but it has actually turned out to be awesome. I love all of them and there is always someone home in the house you can hang out with and talk to, it's like a little family. On top of that, I have been making all my dinners with my friend Hannah who lives right down the street. I am having a great time, but I am going a little stir crazy. I need something exciting to happen in my work everyday from 8-5 life. So, I am really hoping that that something will happen in the next couple of weeks.

This Sunday I turn 21!! So, maybe this year will be a great year filled with new and exciting things... but I doubt I could ever beat being 20 in Australia ;o) So there ya have it, finding out who your friends are, pneumonia, moving and wisdom teeth removal (the worst thing in the whole world) I am back in action living in Burlington. Everyday I miss Australia and what I had there, but at the same time, everyday I get more and more used to loving my life here. Its all about adjustment. Some people take longer than others, but eventually it happens. One way or the other your former life feels like a dream. I feel like Australia was a blip of craziness in a dream I had, however, when I was over there my life at St Mikes didn't feel real either. I guess it is all perspective. I feel like I might be talking in circles, but maybe someone out there will understand this craziness of a life I live.

I love my life now, but I miss my life 3 months ago... it's a tug of war, but someone's gatta do it.