Re: Summer 2013

 I looked back at the Summer To Do list I had posted a few months ago. I expected to be bitterly disappointed with my lack of success and feel like a tearful failure as I head back to school on Sunday.

I was pleasantly surprised.

~ work at dance Check. I filed papers, painted paper castles, ordered shoes, taught dances to "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes," painted the wood behind the barre, made Home Depot runs, and got paid for hanging out at one of my favorite places on earth. I love these people, I love to dance, and I love getting paid for being with people I love and dancing. Check a thousand times over.

~ go to the beach Check, twice. I went once with my family, where I walked a lot and hung out with my really cool bestfriendsister, Sarah. Then I went with PC and his family, where we made three separate trips to an awesome rock store {as in labradorite and amethyst}.

~ fall deeper in love with God It seems weird and wrong to check this off of a list. I definitely got some pointers on how to hear him and live my life the right way. I'm excited to listen to him this fall.

~ read "Paradise Lost" I straight up did not do this XD It's been on my summer list since I started it in tenth grade. It'll happen one of these days.

~ learn more German I didn't learn, like, a LOT more German, but I feel slightly more familiar with it, and I can now say "cheese," so I'm counting this as Check worthy. Check.

~ get my eyebrows done for once Not check. I think it's actually not that important to me, though I still would like to have them done.

~ travel with Cassidy Check. I definitely did this. Florida was hot and interesting and funny. California was crisp and clear and relaxing and financially wonderful.

~ see "The Great Gatsby" at midnight Check. Technically I saw it at 10pm instead of midnight, but I actually count that as being even better. The movie was breathtakingly, phenomenally, gloriously perfect. I cannot stress enough how beautiful it was. However, I think you have to read the book first to "get" it.

~ get my body back to where I don't hate it Check, actually. I started going to boot camp again, and while I'm still critical of myself, I can see muscle and I'm currently tan, which equal me not walking around the house literally all of the time and telling myself how disgusting I am.

~ catch lightning bugs with PC Check. We did not precisely catch lightning bugs, however, just the other night, we found a lightning bug trapped in thick grass. At the same time, we saw a point of yellow-green glow emanating from the ground. I didn't know what it was, because I'd never seen a bug get stuck and keep lighting up, but when we investigated, there it was. It was inexplicably fascinating to me.

~ eat stuffed crust pizza for the first time I can remember Not check. This one disappoints me. I really want stuffed crust pizza, like, a lot. Mur.

~ read "Nineteen Eighty-Four" Not check, because I couldn't find it even though I know we own it. I only read two books this summer: "A Mirror for Princes" and "The Book of the Bizarre."

~ write something Check :) I journaled a lot, and wrote something that's currently titled "One Percent." I like it a lot, even though I have no idea what's going on. Maybe I'll post it sometime.

This summer was amazing. I must be the luckiest person in the world. It was perfect. Wow. Just wow.

I am ready to go back to school and be the best version of Stephanie this world has ever seen.

~Stephanie