Seems like everyone is updating nowadays...
Alright so I think the last time I updated was pre-summer and I kept putting it off because there was so much I'd have to try to catch up on. But now I'm in a mood so I decided to just go with it. Wow. I will be succinct. Summer started and I came home for two weeks but I was waiting to hear from a job offer in Baltimore. Right before I left for Toronto I found out I got the job and I'd be leaving directly from Toronto to Baltimore and be gone for 6 weeks in addition to the two weeks I had planned on staying in Toronto. Making that decision of whether or not to stay at home for the summer was one of the hardest in my life. I have no idea why. It just took me forever and I went back and forth like a million times. In the end my mother pretty much said she'd never speak to me if I didn't come home...so I did.
But turns out it was for the best. I got a really great job working at the courthouse first in AOC (Administrative Office of the Courts) and then working for the Chief Magistrate. Also I did some tutoring for cash as well as EXCITE. I really enjoyed EXCITE, because it was volunteer work and because I was a coordinator. And I can't say I've ever had that experience before and though it was stressful and time consuming. I loved it. It was hard not to directly be working with kids but it was good to know what its like being on the training end rather than the receiving end. And I got to see and spend time with my family and in the end I ended up getting closer to them in a way I never thought was possible. Certain events definately contributed to this like the death of my cousin. Eiliyah was born with organic acidemia, in particular isovaleric acidemia. Its a rare genetic disorder that affects the body's metabolic system, because of a missing enzyme, protein digestion isn't possible. She lived for all of two weeks. The first week she was fine and beautiful and happy and healthy and at home. The second week she was in the hospital practically comatose. The ammonia in her body as a result of her acidemia, wouldn't drop and treatment wasn't working. The doctors gave up on her. She died two days later. In that one week I experienced so many emotions I hope I never have to go through again. The first having a family member in the hospital not knowing what was wrong with them, the second knowing that that person could die, and the third being the worst watching that person die.
As a result of all this I extended my time at home and went back to school the last possible day I could. Which gave me a late start in the semester because I didn't know what classes I was taking. I decided them like last week and that was the third week of school. It was sad and I'm crazy indecisive. In the end I'm not completely happy with the choices I've made, but I've made them and I am going to stick with them. Now its a matter of catching up and being ready for midterms which start next week. They go through my birthday which sucks. Especially because I was contemplating going home for my birthday. I just went home last weekend though. But it was amazing. It was my best trip home so far. No disasters, and incredible efficiency. It was great. I really enjoyed it. Other than classes I'm getting involved with some new things, old things, cutting down on how often I go out, and just trying to spend time with my friends who are here while they're still here and while I'm still here. I'm 99.9% sure I'm going abroad in the fall...so after this year I'll be taking a pretty long break from Brown...like 6 months...but I'm excited and I can't wait.
Other than that life is pretty great I mean there are the everyday stressers and they just come with responsibility, but I'm learning to deal. So in conclusion...I'm alive and I'm doing okay. I can't believe I'm a sophmore in college and that high school was 2 years ago because it feels like it was yesterday but I'm glad I went to Collins Hill and not some private school or boarding school and I'm glad I graduated with a class of 820 and I'm glad I met the people I met and had the experiences I had. I wouldn't have done them any differently. They've helped me become the person I am today and I hope I can say the same for Brown four years from now. I miss you all very much and I promise to try to update this thing more often. Much love.
Sal
But turns out it was for the best. I got a really great job working at the courthouse first in AOC (Administrative Office of the Courts) and then working for the Chief Magistrate. Also I did some tutoring for cash as well as EXCITE. I really enjoyed EXCITE, because it was volunteer work and because I was a coordinator. And I can't say I've ever had that experience before and though it was stressful and time consuming. I loved it. It was hard not to directly be working with kids but it was good to know what its like being on the training end rather than the receiving end. And I got to see and spend time with my family and in the end I ended up getting closer to them in a way I never thought was possible. Certain events definately contributed to this like the death of my cousin. Eiliyah was born with organic acidemia, in particular isovaleric acidemia. Its a rare genetic disorder that affects the body's metabolic system, because of a missing enzyme, protein digestion isn't possible. She lived for all of two weeks. The first week she was fine and beautiful and happy and healthy and at home. The second week she was in the hospital practically comatose. The ammonia in her body as a result of her acidemia, wouldn't drop and treatment wasn't working. The doctors gave up on her. She died two days later. In that one week I experienced so many emotions I hope I never have to go through again. The first having a family member in the hospital not knowing what was wrong with them, the second knowing that that person could die, and the third being the worst watching that person die.
As a result of all this I extended my time at home and went back to school the last possible day I could. Which gave me a late start in the semester because I didn't know what classes I was taking. I decided them like last week and that was the third week of school. It was sad and I'm crazy indecisive. In the end I'm not completely happy with the choices I've made, but I've made them and I am going to stick with them. Now its a matter of catching up and being ready for midterms which start next week. They go through my birthday which sucks. Especially because I was contemplating going home for my birthday. I just went home last weekend though. But it was amazing. It was my best trip home so far. No disasters, and incredible efficiency. It was great. I really enjoyed it. Other than classes I'm getting involved with some new things, old things, cutting down on how often I go out, and just trying to spend time with my friends who are here while they're still here and while I'm still here. I'm 99.9% sure I'm going abroad in the fall...so after this year I'll be taking a pretty long break from Brown...like 6 months...but I'm excited and I can't wait.
Other than that life is pretty great I mean there are the everyday stressers and they just come with responsibility, but I'm learning to deal. So in conclusion...I'm alive and I'm doing okay. I can't believe I'm a sophmore in college and that high school was 2 years ago because it feels like it was yesterday but I'm glad I went to Collins Hill and not some private school or boarding school and I'm glad I graduated with a class of 820 and I'm glad I met the people I met and had the experiences I had. I wouldn't have done them any differently. They've helped me become the person I am today and I hope I can say the same for Brown four years from now. I miss you all very much and I promise to try to update this thing more often. Much love.
Sal