Week 10 Blog

When I read my first week’s Blog, a few thoughts go through my head. First is the obvious fact that the summer did not at all go as I envisioned it going. The second is that the circumstances that made things go so very different were, by and large unavoidable. The third is that, while most things went sideways for me this summer, I had a relatively good time. Even though my expectations were off for the summer, and almost none of my goals are the start were met (for reasonable reasons I think), I learned a lot about myself that I never could have learned. Some of the things that I’ve realized are facts about myself that I never knew that I needed to know. Looking back at these ten weeks, I think that I got to see a good look at a rare side of myself. I feel more grounded and sure of my own mental and emotional landscape. Along with constructive real-world experience, I can now better recognize what’s happening to me emotionally, and react to those feelings by making real world adjustments to my expectations, habits, or schedule. For stretches of this summer I was extremely dissatisfied with my circumstances (both in and outside of the program), and having to identify how those circumstances affected my daily moods and lifestyle was pretty constructive. At the start of the summer I definitely expected a more social and energetic experience overall, with much more exploration and events. What I was faced with was an environment where I withdrew from socialization for much of my down time, and spent much more time doing more introspective thinking and solitary relaxing time. It may have been dull and boring at times, as I absolutely love to socialize and spend quality time with folks, but it’s what was the most constructive for me. Overall I’d give this experience a solid 7/10 (off of the American grading scale). I learned, I experienced unique emotions, I have a bunch more friends who I hope to see in the Fall, and I got to burn through a few shows that I’d been meaning to get to during the school year.