adventures in growing up

When I was in middle school, I kept a journal in which I wrote about all of those important things in a middle school girl's life. Ya know, like my classes, my friends, and the new colors of rubberbands on my braces (come on, you know you changed your colors in accordance with the holidays, too. Except then I got too cool for colored rubberbands and just went with the classic silver). Anyways, I usually went periods of approximately three weeks without writing, resulting in WAYYY too many entries that begin with "Hey! I am SO SORRY I haven't written in FOREVER!" Jenny and Sarah read it this summer and they can testify to this (and you can bet that they give me crap for it). So in honor of my 6th grade to 9th grade journal...

I am SO SORRY I haven't written in FOREVER! I plan to work on that this year.
Summer seems to bring with it a feeling of laziness and a lack of obligation-hence the rarity of solid posts on here. Goodness, I love summer. But it always goes by SO FAST. Does anyone else ever have that problem where you look back at your summer and can't really remember what you did? You remember the highlights-the beach trips, random road trips, typical days at the pool- but you don't really remember the specifics? For some reason, that happens to me every year. I look back and don't have any idea what I did every night that made the time pass so quickly. Except this year, I CAN tell you about two specific nights: the nights I watched Never Say Never. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It is truly life changing. But that is not the point. The point is, you don't remember the summer specifics. But you do leave summer with that wonderful feeling of rest and happiness. The glow stays on your skin for a bit, and I think it's there in your heart, too. Summer is good. And this summer, despite various situations (e.g.Tazzy passing away), I was probably the happiest I have ever been. Maybe happy isn't the right word though. Joy is more like it. I think there is a correspondence between simplicity and joy...maybe I'll explore that sometime. But just like all other good things, summer comes to an end. However, the more I think about it, that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are so many things to look forward to as summer comes to a close. For instance, I recently moved into an apartment with one of my best friends (I will have to post pictures sometime soon). It has been so fun, yet also so weird because I feel so old! I legitimately feel like I have grown up so much just in the past week! I took a trip to NY with some friends, and we navigated NYC by ourselves, caught multiple trains, and even hailed a cab. Upon my arrival home (to Charlottesville), I did my own laundry (but may have had Mommy talking me through it on the phone...), I've washed dishes, cooked my own meals, and made sure my apartment is all locked up at night. I realize that as my twentieth birthday stares me right in the face, I am entering an incredibly amazing stage of life. So far, I.LOVE.IT. I am so excited. God is so good and I cannot wait to keep you updated on how he reveals himself to me throughout these adventures in growing up.