Summertime Recap

Hello, loyal Her/Story readers!  It's been a while, hasn't it?  Sorry about that, but summer...ya know?  This post isn't going to be anything real intellectually or spiritually substantial (I gotta ease back into this), but I kind of wanted to tell you all a little about my summer and what shenanigans I managed to tangle myself in.



Me at the JFK Museum

I spent the whole month of June in Boston, and was super poor so I didn't do a whole lot.  What I did do, though, was pretty sweet.  I finished editing manuscript one of my trilogy (there may be a promotional blog post about this later...stay tuned).  This was significant because editing is my LEAST favorite part of the whole book-writing process.  I was able to explore the city, though, and that was great because I hadn't been able to do a ton of that kind of thing during the school year.  I marched in the Pride Parade, which was an experience I will never forget.  I visited museums (I highly recommend visiting the JFK memorial museum and library if you're ever in the area), and spent time with many of my friends, growing closer in my relationships since we were without the overshadowing presence of school stress.  I even went to Maine, which. Is. GORGEOUS.





Glorious Maine

Most of my summer, however, I spent in Iowa with my family.  Circumstances made it necessary for me to fly home for an extended period of time, but I wasn't really upset about it.  I love Boston, and I love all of my friends there.  But I never miss Boston like I miss Iowa (

and when do miss Boston, it's mostly because of my friends there).  When I miss Iowa, I get this dull ache in my chest, like my heart is desperate to be there.  A lot of that has to do with my family (save for a cousin in Texas, pretty much my entire family, immediate and extended, is in Iowa and Nebraska), but some of it really has to do with the state itself and what goes on there.  I love Iowa in the summer.  Near the middle of summer, it gets really beautiful when the fields are green for miles and meets a wide, pure blue sky.  When faced with that, I can't help be feel happy and content.

I loved being home.  I got to watch my little brother rock at varsity baseball (he's going to be a sophomore), and help my sister prepare for her next life adventure...college.  I got to spend time with my mom and my dad, joking, teasing, pranking, and fighting.  I was able to see much of my extended families, through reunions of various sorts.  I hung out with some of my closest friends, and even participated in one of their weddings.  I turned 24!  I also was able to find work, and received a much appreciated scholarship that's going to go a long ways to ease my financial burdens over these next few months. 

All-in-all, my time in Iowa was wonderful, and I'm sad to be leaving.  I'm not sad to be going back to Boston, though.  Like I said, I miss my friends there and am ready to get back into a routine with school.  I have one year left before I'm forced to face the real world, and though I would love to come back to Iowa (or nearby) right away, I'm leaving myself open to whatever opportunities may arise in the near future.  I'm happy with my life, and I'm happy with where I think it's headed.  But, as summer starts drawing to a close, it's a little bittersweet.  I know that I will never be able to repeat several of the experiences I had over these last few months, and that next summer will look very different that this one has.  That's okay, though...it's part of growing up (or so I've been told).  So, I hope you all had a great summer as well.  I also hope you stay with Her/Story, and continue to read and interact with us.  We love doing this, and as we enter our second year of blogging together, we hope to continue doing this for a while.  Until next time!

Erin B.