Summer Breakcation

We're finally down to our last couple of months of school, and I'm resisting the urge to forget about everything and just plain call it good. As tempting as it is, that's not the kind of work ethic I happen to possess, so I'm barely holding on by a thread.

I'm burned out. Like a candle burned down to the last bit, I'm losing my appeal and my glow. I'm tired of being tired; the only cure is a summer of sleep. I'm excited to get away from Mason City for a couple of months, too. I like being in Pennsylvania because it's so hilly and beautiful. I'll also be able to drive and explore more this summer with the family's (soon-to-be-my-sister's) Subaru. (Supah Jew? Jewbaru? What?!)

Being in Penn is a nice, relaxing time for the most part. But as much as I love being away from Iowa, I miss my friends and family a lot. Sometimes it's almost awkward to come home because I've been gone for quite some time and it's hard to readjust. This summer will be interesting because my dad and step-family will be in town, so he gets to meet my friends. A couple of summers ago he took as all bowling, which was a real experience...haha.

A lot of people ask me if I have made many friends while I'm up in Penn, but it's almost difficult to make friends there because of the condo development my family lives in. A lot of older people reside there, or they have kids that are like 4 years old. Maybe I'm just weird for not wanting to hang out with senior citizens and/or babies? My dad and step-mom have been looking into houses recently and are wanting to move reallly soon. I think it'd be cool to have my own temporary "summer bedroom".

But I'm not saying that I don't have friends up there: I do. Last summer I got closer to a lot of people, which was really nice. It's fun to have friends from different places: for example, I befriended (hear me out now) my step-mom's best friend's son and his girlfriend, Ashley, (who are relatively close to my age; he's 18, she's 17) and we'll sit and talk about the things we do for fun back home and stuff. Like she thought detasseling sounded like the simplest job ever and she wished she could get paid for doing something as basic as that. They're pretty cool people and very relateable. I keep in touch via Facebook for the most part. :)

The only thing that sucks is, this summer I'm going into it with a lot of key people missing. It was hard enough being away for the summer when we all were friends, so it's even harder now that we're not. But it's okay because I've created deeper friendships with other people. (See 'Look at this Photograph'.) I get kind of excited because I love the "going away" and "coming home" parties. :) It gives me something to look forward to at the end of summer. Plus I usually am home with about 2 - 3 weeks before school starts up again anyway.

Just writing about Pennsylvania makes me want to be there so badly. The thick, humid air; the rolling hills; the beautiful sunsets; I want it so bad. I <3 IA but I'm noooot against ditching it for two glorious months. I'm excited for college in a way because I definitely want to go to school out East; it's sooo beautiful.

If you're one of those people who have never been out of the tri-state area, much less this God-forsaken town, I encourage you to explore the country. America holds beautiful things, even though it's hidden by a lot of ugly; it takes a good eye to find the positives.