It's been a painful three months away and it hasn't been easy. In the beginning, all I kept thinking about was going back to my campus and seeing all my friends again. It didn't hit me until about three weeks in that I was going to be home for the long haul. So, I thought to myself, should I count down the days until I go back or should make these next two months count. I'm beyond grateful that I chose the latter rather than the former. A summer away from the home that you created the past year has the potential to destroy you, only if you let it. My advice is to not let it. The attitude and perspective to which you view your present situation makes all the difference.

The sad reality is that if you choose to wallow in the fact that school is three months away then those three months will start to seem endless and you will be miserable. If you look at those three months and say "I can't fix the situation I'm in and I don't have any power to control it, so I'm just going to make it count for something", then your mood rapidly changes. I look at each day as a new adventure to make these three months the best that they can be. It doesn't matter what that adventure was so long as it meant something (yes, even work is an adventure).

This isn't a miracle technique, obviously all circumstances are different, yet if this summer has taught me anything about life it is that most situations are going to be unfavorable and attitude is what makes the difference for you. This summer, even the smallest of activities have been an adventure. Whether it was going on an actual adventure in the middle of nowhere with your friends, going on a Pokemon hunt/picnic with those closest to you or seeing a legendary soccer game with your crazy family (or two), the attitude that I put forward into these seemingly small events are what made them adventures.

Now that school is two weeks away, I can genuinely say that I am not far from making this summer count. All that remain are two weeks to be a little bit wild and spontaneous in the midst of work, and no challenge has ever been more exciting to me. This summer has taught me the importance of keeping those who are around you closest to you because although you may have forgotten about them, they never forget about you. I've also learned about the harsh truth that people have learned to get by without you there and have left you behind, but that hasn't stopped me in the slightest. Appreciaition has been the lesson of this summer and hopefully, it is a lesson I never stop learning becuase nothing has been more fun than this journey.