there is no place like home

There really is no place like home.

My thoughts are all jumbled and I am probably not going to make any sense.. but below are my thoughts trying to be pieced together.

I think, for the first time since being in college, I have really missed being home in Southern California. I have been thinking a lot in past couple of weeks about my life here and up in Washington; I live two completely different lives in two very different worlds on opposite poles of the country in the West. I have been trying to piece together what makes up the different cultures in these two very different places and how I fit into the whole picture. I cannot quite figure it out yet - maybe I never will.

Initially upon applying for college, while in high school, I just needed to get out. I didn't want to stay in California, and I only really applied to one school here. I needed to get out of the little bubble that I lived in; I needed to experience something different, something new, something exciting, something challenging. My attitude was not quite right though. It was that of a dislike for my home, for Southern California and its culture in general. So, when I would come home, though it would be wonderful to see my family, I didn't come back with the right attitude. I know it doesn't matter anymore, and I am where I am for a reason, but I wish I had a more open mind.

This time I am home, though, something has changed. My attitude toward my home is different; it is more healthy, positive, and I actually really like being here. Maybe I needed to get out in order to really appreciate my home and my friends here. For two years since graduation, I sort of just disappeared from the face of California. This time though, I have seen a lot of my friends and peers that I have not seen in years, and it has been so wonderful.

So, yes, this is my home and I am happy and proud to be from it. I have been home now for about 2 and a half weeks, and I have only a week left! It is crazy how time flies. As soon as I get back, chaos will begin.

Since being home, I have..

1. Successfully got a normal tan, meaning I am no longer white and pasty like I have been for the past two years, and I don't have a farmers than that I got from the field.

2. Ate sushi on at least 3 separate occasions, drank boba, ate froyo, ate asian styled shaved iced, etc. Basically, I have gotten my intake of Asian food that should last me probably only a week until I miss it when I am back in Washington.

3. Ate In-n Out, of course. Grilled cheese style.

4. Gone to the beach a number of times, soaking in the sun!

5. Became much more comfortable driving on the crazy freeways here. I hate the freeway, but being obligated to drive it so often has been a good thing to make me more comfortable using them.

6. Fantasized about going to Disneyland... someday.. someday I'll be back. :)

7. Though about my life and future, A LOT. I will be going to OT school after graduation. And I decided that if everything works out, I am about 80% sure that I will be taking a leave of absence  from Whitman for Spring 2013 for a number of reasons. I was originally planning on graduating a semester early, but this way, I can take c.c. classes needed to go to grad school (whitman doesn't offer 4 really imp't classes that I need to go to OT school :/ ) while also getting an internship, graduate normally with my class in May, and save a lot of mons. I was planning to take a semester off anyway, just at the end, but I figured it's probably best to do so in the middle.

And within the next couple of days I will have...

1. Watched my little brother in his marching band on the big screen at the Spectrum movie theater!! He is in a national traveling marching band.

2. Learned how to surf (SO EXCITED TO DO THIS!). It scares me, but I've been learning that I should do the things that scare me.