so i'm updating again
due to popular demand (or, in other words, lots of miramonte people yelling at me for not having updated in about a month and a half), here comes an update
so being home has been pretty hard. if i haven't talked to you already about this summer, this summer was huge for me. what someone told me about amigos was very true for my two experiences: the first summer you learn about the world and the second summer you learn about yourself. this summer i learned more about myself than i ever thought i could, which i think is mostly due to the relationships i created.
it's weird because when i think about it, most of what i learned this summer is due to the relationships i had with teh other volunteers on the project, even though we're only together for 3 days in the beginning, 3 days in the middle, and 3 days at the end. but, in those 9 days, i became INSANELY close to a group of them. with a few i woudl say the best friends that i have ever had, at least in the sense that i had never felt so understood by anyone ever in my entire life. I had also never felt so comfortable and accepted ever before in my life than around these people. meeting these people made me realize a lot about the relationships i have with people here in orinda and a lot about my life - less about what my "goals and aspirations" are and more about my relationships with people and the person i try to portray myself as
when i came back from paraguay i was really determined to not "get back into orinda". the entire year i tried my hardest and i thought i never did. but, this summer, i soon realized that by the end of this last school year i was "more orinda" than i had EVER been - and i didn't even notice it. it's hard because i was so determined to not become that way again, but being around it it's hard not to be. this year it's going to be different though. yea, i'm saying once again that "i'm not going to be like that", but i honestly mean it. i've changed a lot of the things i do and have completely changed the way i act. i'm not stressing myself out about school or anything tha tmuch (at least not trying to), and am trying to stay really healthy (drinking lots of water :])
because i had these relationships that were more genuine and closer than i had ever had in my entire life this summer, it was extremely hard for me to come back home. that's why, as i'm sure lot sof you noticed, i was pretty much a recluse for the first month i was back. and even then, once school started (and even now to certain extents), i'm more relaxed and quiet (or at least i'm told). it's been hard because i was so happy there, i was so carefree there, i felt like i could actually enjoy my life here whereas orinda feels like a vaccuum of happiness for me, where i generally feel alone. i'm getting over it though, but it's hard. it's also hard just missing people to a point that i have never experienced, knowing that some of them i may never see ever again. jon's death, which was one of the first things i heard about the night i came back, just exacerbated the situation. all my condolences to his family and friends. i knew him well enough to know he was a great guy with a relaly bright future. i'm sure he's looking down on us now
anyways, with all that, i'll post some of the pictures from the last month and a half since coming back. hope you guys enjoy (and stop annoying me to udpate my lj)
unpacking from the dr
i hung out with grace before she left for college! i miss her
gangstaaz
this is random, but here's the pic of me in the miami airport on my way down to paraguay (2 summers ago) with lil jon. so hah, i did meet him all you doubters
kath and me
sac-davis amigos reunion!!!! i went to sacramento davis for the amigos chapter reunion from that area. it was the best time. here are pics
claire (good amigos friend, from sacto, went to guanajuato 2 summers ago and panama this last summer!)
WOW
showing my pictures to guille (from davis, was one of my friends this last summer in the DR)
amigos scene
then claire and i decided to have a photoshoot
respect my dr flip-flop tan
emo pics (at claire's request)
claire isn't so good at it....
watching a movie? i think?
i always try to look pretty for the camera
classic guille
bonfire
watching something
discussions about life with claire at the fire
:]
sooo....this is todd. he's the training director of the sac/davis chapter, started it, was in the dr for his third amigos summer in a row, and trained me as a trainer of east bay my first year of amigos. he's pretty much the shit (and weird as hell)
errr....
the next morning when the parents came
grungy
guille and me showing our DR pictures to the parents (nolan called us like 2 minutes after this picture was taken....hah)
so here's just a sequence of pictures of us looking grundgy and gross and whatnot
they ALWAYS make me do emo pictures (i swear)
purposely awkward
mas fotos de la quincenera y unas otras vainas
gnocchi party with lesley night before she left!! i miss her SO FUCKING MUCH
i went to the mission district with laura (one of my partners this last summer who's from marin!) and erica (one of the other volunteers from east bay who went to the DR)
laura!
awk pics = <333
then i went to karolina's quincenera. it was my first quince in the united states (went to a couple in paraguay). it was hella fun but sorta awkward because it was all sophomores there. i talked to lindsay (moose) and jamie nichol a bunch though, so that was cool getting to know them
karolina and me
sophomoresss
me, moose, and jamie
awk pic
so being home has been pretty hard. if i haven't talked to you already about this summer, this summer was huge for me. what someone told me about amigos was very true for my two experiences: the first summer you learn about the world and the second summer you learn about yourself. this summer i learned more about myself than i ever thought i could, which i think is mostly due to the relationships i created.
it's weird because when i think about it, most of what i learned this summer is due to the relationships i had with teh other volunteers on the project, even though we're only together for 3 days in the beginning, 3 days in the middle, and 3 days at the end. but, in those 9 days, i became INSANELY close to a group of them. with a few i woudl say the best friends that i have ever had, at least in the sense that i had never felt so understood by anyone ever in my entire life. I had also never felt so comfortable and accepted ever before in my life than around these people. meeting these people made me realize a lot about the relationships i have with people here in orinda and a lot about my life - less about what my "goals and aspirations" are and more about my relationships with people and the person i try to portray myself as
when i came back from paraguay i was really determined to not "get back into orinda". the entire year i tried my hardest and i thought i never did. but, this summer, i soon realized that by the end of this last school year i was "more orinda" than i had EVER been - and i didn't even notice it. it's hard because i was so determined to not become that way again, but being around it it's hard not to be. this year it's going to be different though. yea, i'm saying once again that "i'm not going to be like that", but i honestly mean it. i've changed a lot of the things i do and have completely changed the way i act. i'm not stressing myself out about school or anything tha tmuch (at least not trying to), and am trying to stay really healthy (drinking lots of water :])
because i had these relationships that were more genuine and closer than i had ever had in my entire life this summer, it was extremely hard for me to come back home. that's why, as i'm sure lot sof you noticed, i was pretty much a recluse for the first month i was back. and even then, once school started (and even now to certain extents), i'm more relaxed and quiet (or at least i'm told). it's been hard because i was so happy there, i was so carefree there, i felt like i could actually enjoy my life here whereas orinda feels like a vaccuum of happiness for me, where i generally feel alone. i'm getting over it though, but it's hard. it's also hard just missing people to a point that i have never experienced, knowing that some of them i may never see ever again. jon's death, which was one of the first things i heard about the night i came back, just exacerbated the situation. all my condolences to his family and friends. i knew him well enough to know he was a great guy with a relaly bright future. i'm sure he's looking down on us now
anyways, with all that, i'll post some of the pictures from the last month and a half since coming back. hope you guys enjoy (and stop annoying me to udpate my lj)
unpacking from the dr
i hung out with grace before she left for college! i miss her
gangstaaz
this is random, but here's the pic of me in the miami airport on my way down to paraguay (2 summers ago) with lil jon. so hah, i did meet him all you doubters
kath and me
sac-davis amigos reunion!!!! i went to sacramento davis for the amigos chapter reunion from that area. it was the best time. here are pics
claire (good amigos friend, from sacto, went to guanajuato 2 summers ago and panama this last summer!)
WOW
showing my pictures to guille (from davis, was one of my friends this last summer in the DR)
amigos scene
then claire and i decided to have a photoshoot
respect my dr flip-flop tan
emo pics (at claire's request)
claire isn't so good at it....
watching a movie? i think?
i always try to look pretty for the camera
classic guille
bonfire
watching something
discussions about life with claire at the fire
:]
sooo....this is todd. he's the training director of the sac/davis chapter, started it, was in the dr for his third amigos summer in a row, and trained me as a trainer of east bay my first year of amigos. he's pretty much the shit (and weird as hell)
errr....
the next morning when the parents came
grungy
guille and me showing our DR pictures to the parents (nolan called us like 2 minutes after this picture was taken....hah)
so here's just a sequence of pictures of us looking grundgy and gross and whatnot
they ALWAYS make me do emo pictures (i swear)
purposely awkward
mas fotos de la quincenera y unas otras vainas
gnocchi party with lesley night before she left!! i miss her SO FUCKING MUCH
i went to the mission district with laura (one of my partners this last summer who's from marin!) and erica (one of the other volunteers from east bay who went to the DR)
laura!
awk pics = <333
then i went to karolina's quincenera. it was my first quince in the united states (went to a couple in paraguay). it was hella fun but sorta awkward because it was all sophomores there. i talked to lindsay (moose) and jamie nichol a bunch though, so that was cool getting to know them
karolina and me
sophomoresss
me, moose, and jamie
awk pic