I am finishing up the last couple pages in this chapter of my book ( If we consider each season to be a chapter, not a year, that is) and I feel as though I have learned ( unintentionally) some pretty important things this summer.
1. Don't take it personally when old friends can't hang out. We really are busy. We really are growing up. Half my friends have demanding jobs with long hours and most of them are in relationships. Both of which take them away from me. HOW RUDE. The canceling of plans or lack of plans altogether used to tick me off but now I catch myself pulling out my uno reverse card on 'em. All of those "we have to meet up this summer!" texts I sent out this year were 100% sincere but we are humans and we have our MANY faults. One of the major faults being that we tend to let time keep slipping by without even realizing before it's too late. To those friends I say, " Sorry, I still love you and maybe next summer? :)"
2. Never say never. Cue that old Justin Beiber song I pretended to hate. I started this summer swearing up and down that I WOULD NOT go back to my old job in my college town and halfway through the summer, that exact job called me asking when I would be coming back. Instead of ghosting them, you better believe I called them back and told them I would be back A WEEK BEFORE I EVEN STARTED SCHOOL. I would tell you to pat me on the back but obviously my backbone is in poor condition. Also, I used to turn my nose to broccoli and now I wake up craving it. So this gist of this lesson is I literally can't say never and that there is, in fact, a few greens I will eat despite a lifetime of "no".
3. Body confidence will fluctuate but your worth stays the same. I started off the summer with the high of just losing a fair amount of weight. I walked into every pool party as if I were beyonce. A few weeks in and I went back to getting out of the pool in a full on race to my towel. Despite the fact that the numbers on the scale had not changed, I saw my body for what still needed to change. Almost every other week, I was going back and forth between those two moods. I am not sure if it is bikini season wrapping up and the fact that I have already started sweater shopping or not, but I have come to the conclusion that pounds, lost or gained, did not change my worth. I stopped comparing myself to the girls on my Instagram explore page and decided each day that I was so much more than a bikini, flat abs Instagram picture with 400 likes.
4. Your siblings really are your built-in best friends. I went anywhere and everywhere with my sister this summer. When she went back to school before me ( HA HA ) it felt as though my summer had ended too. Having her around meant never having to eat alone or go to TJ Maxx alone. I am so grateful to have such a fun, amazing sister. They say you don't get to pick your family, but even if I could, I would pick her.
5. In the age of Pinterest, tjmaxx and marshals, preparing for an apartment is expensive. I have stopped myself MULTIPLE times this summer from buying a SECOND set of salt and pepper shakers because I found ones I liked better. Why do I do this? Will I even use the shakers? Stay tuned.
6. Cherish your friends. If you were to check my instagram feed right now, you would see that I did't really post any pictures with my friends this summer. This isn't because I didn't hang out with them, I simply didn't take any pictures ( how unlike me). When I am with my friends, I forget to snap a picture and sometimes I forget my phone altogether. This is a blessing, really. I have amazing, interesting friends and we suck at pictures anyways. I had multiple conversations about how we are growing up and slowing down ( all my older readers are probably laughing at this right now) and it made me realize that I won't be hanging out in their basements forever. We will get grown-up jobs, families, busy lives and keeping in touch will become more difficult. I plan on cherishing every single minute, day and summer I have with these people I have been blessed with.
7. Sonic is a Godsend and vanilla diet coke is life ( thank you Taylor). Forget a bikini body, I want some mozzarella sticks and a slushy.
I am forgetting to mention many things, I am sure of it, but this is a fair amount of lessons I have learned. As excited as I am to head back to my second home on the hill and live in my first apartment, I will miss my family and my friends and most importantly, all the stuff I left at all my friends houses that will stay there until I come home again!
Sincerely,
Sidney
