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Oh, the places you’ll go…

Packing sucks.

Let me say it again: packing sucks.

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The above photo is everything I will own for the next fifteen months. It’s actually really freeing to kind of go against capitalism and to really condense all of my life’s possessions into a suitcase and a backpack, but at the same time it’s scary. What if I’m going to a conference and spill Nutella on my one nice jacket? Well, we’ll see.

I left McDaniel today knowing I won’t be back for fifteen months, and it was a truly bittersweet moment. I’m comfortable at McDaniel, and I know how to succeed. Now I’m broaching the grand unknown. So where am I going from here?

This summer, I’ll be working in Zion National Park in Utah. I’ve never been to Utah before, and I’ve barely seen Nevada. Zion is a small park with a lot of year-round employees, so it’ll be a much different experience than my last two summers in Yellowstone, but I’m excited. I’ll be exTREMEly busy though, as I’m also juggling a remote internship with a literary agency in New York City.

From there, I’ll be booking a flight to Morocco, where I’ll be studying abroad in the fall. I know no Arabic. I know nobody in Morocco. I know nobody else who’ll be participating in my program. So one could say I’m diving in head-first.

In the spring, I’ll be either studying in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai or in Hungary in Budapest. I haven’t decided yet, and might not until late October, but either way, it’ll be an experience.

The hardest part about the last two weeks, however, wasn’t packing, but rather, watching as my friends left. The juniors will have graduated by the time I’m back, so I was really farewelling half of the school for what might be forever. But que sera sera–what will be will be. I know that they’re all going to go far and be successful in whichever field they choose.

I’m ready for what’s next.

Hasta Luegos

It has been crazy realizing that I will not be coming back to McDaniel next  year. I cannot believe it, but I am excited for the change! Everyone saying goodbye has been weird because some of them I will not see again, but for many of them, it is not goodbye, it’s hasta luego (see you later)!

There are so many faculty members that I am going to miss, but I think Dr. Simonelli is the one I will miss the most. He, my friend, and I went to lunch together at Glar, and afterwards I watched a soccer game with him and other students! It was such a fun time! I am going to miss him a lot, but I will be sure to see him again as well! Hasta luego McDaniel!

Selfie with Sam and Dr. Simonelli

Selfie with Sam and Dr. Simonelli

Hershey Park Trip

Today, I went for the first and perhaps my last time to Hershey Park. It was part of our RA goodbye celebration. It’s a great amusement park because there are so many fun rides! Even my friend who hates roller coasters got on a few of them!

I tried to ride all of the rides except for the super crazy ones where you were vertical the whole time, but I went on some of the more mild ones. We also went to the zoo and saw the animals. Most of them were sleep, but it’s always nice to interact with the wildlife.

All in all, a good time was had by all! I am so glad that we got to go because I never would have been to that park; now, it’s one of my favorites. I hope that I get to go again!

Mr. Hershey and I

Mr. Hershey and I

Gathland State Park and the Appalachian Trail

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This past weekend, I went with a couple of friends to Gathland State Park to hike part of the Appalachian Trail. My friend had a friend who’s hiking the whole entire trail from Georgia to Maine, and he knew his friend would be doing part of the Maryland section, so they arranged to meet up.

It was really cool hearing about his adventures–he’s been on the trail for almost three months and plans to be done by August, when he’ll start law school. It was inspiring to hear his stories. I don’t know if I’ll ever do a serious hike as I’m not very good with carrying weight, but it’s definitely something I’d consider if I had a few months free and the money to buy supplies.

We only hiked with him for four or five miles, so with the remainder of the afternoon we took the opportunity to go to the Washington Monument in Middletown, MD, which had an absolutely gorgeous view from the top. We also checked out one of the sites of the Civil War at Antietam and learned about some of the history there, which was also intriguing.

I knew it’d be my last big outing with my friend, who is a senior. He was actually my peer mentor freshman year and we’ve stayed close, and he’s been someone I can always talk with. I’m sad to leave, but glad that we got one last chance to hike!
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Summer Rain

In California, it is really odd for it to rain in the summer because we have dry heat, but here in Maryland, I am getting used to summer rain. It’ll be hot and humid during the day and then it’ll rain later on. Right now, there’s a lot of thunder going on outside! It sounds like the sky is roaring. It’s rare even during the rainy season to hear such full thunder like that where I am from.

All this weather is very different for me, but I think I like it. It is great weather for taking nap which has been one of my favorite past times this week, and soon I will be fast asleep with the sound of the summer rain.

The plants after the rain

The plants after the rain