Summer 2019
Oh, look it’s a blog. Yea, I’m writing on the internet now. I don’t know what direction it will take but for right now it’s just for fun. Also because it looks great on resumes, but mostly for fun. And for my resume. This blog at the moment is going to be personal updates on my life, but will hopefully grow in the future. Or might not, we’ll see I guess. Here’s a summary of my 2019 summer to start us off.
This was the longest summer of my life. Not in a bad way, but with the extra three weeks I had at the end from going abroad, I had a full four months of summer with some change. I tried my best to fill those months with things to do, rather than sit on my bed all summer refreshing Twitter, and I think I did a pretty good job. Here are some notes from Summer 2019.
For some reason I cannot comprehend, my cousin convinced me to get a job in retail. I do not like shopping, and I definitely do not like retail. Job is a job though, and early May I walked into Banana Republic for my first couple shifts. Despite being out of my element. I learned a lot. I got a good deal of experience running the counter and roaming the floor, which improved my sales skills, and I also got to work with a lot of awesome people. Great experience overall, but I do not think I will go into that industry.
I turned 21 this summer, which I’m told is a big deal. I still feel weird drinking in public. It’s like you have been driving illegally for the longest time, then all of a sudden the DMV sends you a driver's license without having you do the test. Some people I think should have to pass a test before being able to drink. Anyways, I got to go to Vegas for the first time to celebrate with my family and grandparents. I ate good food, drank a little more than I should, and definitely lost more money than I was planning on. The most interesting part about Vegas is just watching everything that is going on. Seeing the way of life, the glamour and glitz, but also how the entire economy is based on eating unhealthy food, getting drunk, and gambling money. And you see literally every race, rich and poor, right next to each other. It's just a weird environment that would be out of place except for a few certain places around the planet.
I got to play a whole lot more pickup ball with my buddies this summer, which was awesome, even though I’m garbage now. Like, my shot is broken. Most of my friend group isn’t playing basketball anymore, but are still connected to the game in some aspect, whether it's the manager for their college team or just glorified intramural bench players. We used to play at our local park, but one of our friends who is a manager attends a college close by, so we all got to go play in the Saint Mary’s gymnasium once the team was done practicing. I'm super lucky to still have my friend group, most of whom I’ve known since the 5th grade. I know a lot of people sort of drift away from their hometown friends after starting college, so I am really happy to still be able to see these guys as often as I do during the summer. Those were some fun nights.
I mentioned in a previous post that I was able to attend the UC Berkeley DISC Program for several weeks in July and August. While the commute there each day could have been better, the program itself was incredible, and I got to explore a lot more of the town of Berkeley. Even though my Mom and her siblings went there and it’s a world-class institution 10 minutes down the road for me, I have never explored it and was happy to do so this summer. Check out that post here for more on the program, or check out the program’s official blog here.
That was all the important stuff. This summer was one of my favorites for sure, hell it's the only one I’ve ever written about. There were a lot of other fun times as well, Outside Lands with some of my best friends, going to Disneyland with my sisters, or just hanging out with my buddies and getting into trouble, but I have to finish this article. I’m finishing writing this the day before I leave for one of the biggest trips of my life. I will be spending the next three and a half months abroad in Florence, Italy, with some of my best college friends. If you would like to follow along, I created a whole new blog just for it in which I will update consistently and thoroughly and definitely will not forget about. See you next time! Or not, nobody is forcing you to read this.