Next life, we do it all over.

I wake up for my internship at 5:00am and check the weather to find it’s going to be 80 and sunny. I opt out of a day in prison, swap my slacks and heels for my bikini and towel and head to OC. If I make it on the beach in time to watch the sunrise, that’s a plus, but either way I’ll probably just go back to sleep. If I wake up before dinner time, maybe I’ll do some body surfing, and if people are free, maybe they could come and meet me. But it won’t really matter, because I will have had an entire day to do absolutely anything I wanted, which could just as well be nothing at all.

I have significantly less to report on at home compared to when I was in Hong Kong… obviously. But it’s not for lack of activity, it’s for lack of variety. Exciting things are happening every day, shitty things are happening every day. Blah blah blah, it’s all college.

The coolest thing about this final semester of my undergrad is that since it’s the last time I’ll be here with all the people I started with, I’m doing my best to not take a moment for granted.

I was talking with a friend I met in HKG the other day, about how things have changed for me personally since my trip. I think the biggest change has been my priorities. I’m still taking care of business, (as much as I ever did, anyway) but where I am a little more aware of where my energy is going.

I’m putting a lot more of my time and energy into the things I love (which doesn’t discount school by any means) but it does discount the negative stress that can come along with it. Can’t get it done tonight? Okay, finish tomorrow. Roomies want to watch Family Feud until 2:00am but I have to be up early? That’s Okay… I’ll be waking up early for the rest of my life. I’ll probably always hate it. But for how much longer will I be living with my best friends? Shit, I’m lucky to have roomies I can TOLERATE let alone love to spend my time with.

Again… I tend to start over analyzing when things are coming to an end. I don’t want to spend too much time “dwelling” for lack of a better word on the fact that time is of the essence. I just want to keep it in mind, and help it guide me a little so that if I end up with regrets they won’t include opting out of something I love, for the sake of something I don’t.

It’s all about recognizing what you have these days. The more I learn about the world and what waits for me in my future as a social worker the more I get it. I’m one of the lucky ones. And I bet if you take a bit to think about it, you’ll come to find that for one reason or another you’re pretty lucky too. :)

I’ll be back in the presence of Slash, May 3! He’s coming to Baltimore and I have tickets for my people and I…. yeaaaaaahh buddy!

1. Lantau Peak, HKG

2. second row at the Slash concert in Boston, MA

3. Gramma and Grandpa’s house, circa 1995

4. Hong Kong Pub Crawl, HKG

5. The Dragster in Cleveland, OH

This means that I will be able to act like an adult for the next four days in a row and not be judged for it.