transitions

I am now readying to embarking on the biggest part of my time away from Loma: study abroad in Panama City. But before I get there I want to take a minute to reflect on my summer in Washington, which has now been over for more than a week. The summer has been wonderful. I determined from the start I would make the most of my summer, and with help from my new friends, I feel as though I did. This summer, I climbed mountains, laid on beaches, and wandered cities (and towns). I met new friends from all over the western US. And I was able to learn a little bit more about myself.

I am a planner. I enjoy making plans, organizing my future and my present (and my past!), and attempting to engage others in plans. One of the greatest gifts my new friends gave to me was telling me they appreciated this about me. Most of us interns did not really know anyone else in Sequim, so it was hard to find things to do. I took on the responsibility, fairly early on, of trying as hard as I could to make things happen, whether trips to the beach or just lunch at work. At times I got a bit carried away, or communications could get a bit hollow (the newsletter mode comes all-too-easily to me), but still at least two of my new friends made a point of mentioning they appreciated my efforts—that they thought this was something good in me.

This recognition was a turning point in the way I think of myself—that my goal of planning to hang out with others to help them and me actually worked for some people, at least sometimes. At this point I could look at myself, and call myself a planner, and take pride in it. Which is kind of funny, because I think the last time I was so deeply affected (positively, anyway) by a person’s opinion of me was when Ryan Womack told me I was pretty mellow (a trait I also take pride in, and which balances out my strong planning tendencies when I let it).

And now, I am moving on to the next stage. I have made plenty of mistakes this summer, but now is a new beginning. New faces, new friends, and (inevitably) new mistakes. I must make sure to learn from the experiences I’ve had, and continue to grow and change. Off to Panama City! ¡Hasta luego, Estados!