Grad Parties

I sincerely hope your summer is eventful and you're staying cool in the heat wave.  I hear it's supposed to last all week. Oh well, it's a taste of what the New Orleans trip might be like. ;) Two weeks!  I can't contain myself much longer.

Summertime for us freshman coming back home and for the graduating high school seniors means one thing: Grad parties.  In my area, they last well into July if not all summer.  I hear that's a little bit strange but it's how we do. Last weekend I went to parties for my friends Sabrina, and Taylor.  This weekend I went to the party for my friend Kendra (who is a future Cobber!) and next week I'll go to a party for my cousin,William.

Grad parties are epic for several reasons.  You've got the food, everything from taco bars to pulled pork sandwiches, all sorts of salads, and ice cream!  Oh, and anyone with a chocolate fountain gets some major points from me. Grad parties have been a wonderful opportunity for me to see friends who weren't in my graduating class, and to talk a bit about college and answer any questions. It's been lovely, but coming back and going to all these grad parties has made one thing painfully evident... how much of a difference a year makes.

We, meaning my graduating class and I, are in a completely and totally different phase of life than just a year ago. I don't necessarily believe it's an issue of drifting apart, but everyone is off doing their own thing, living their own lives. I expected to see certain people, and I didn't.  In some ways the grad party ushers in this phase of consciously removing yourself from a group state of mind and basing your decisions on yourself and what you need.

I always say that leaving my hometown for college was one of the best decisions I ever made.  I will always stand by that statement, because I didn't compromise my happiness for ease. To their credit, I believe all my graduating friends have understood the importance of doing what's right for them and have acted accordingly. I'm proud of all of them.  I think the summer before you leave for college is the best and worst possible.  You do whatever you can to have as much fun as possible, but the impending separation is too tangible to ignore.

It may be painful, but it can also be exciting and wonderful at the same time. I guess a lot of changes in life are like that...

Be well, stay cool.
All my love,

Megan