All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray...
It's been seven months since I terminated the lease on the 1615 Pennsylvania Avenue apartment, packed or sold everything I owned, crammed as many clothes and shoes as I could into the Mini Coop, drove over 4,000 cross country and became a temporary resident of Los Angeles for the summer. It was the best five months of my life. Things were so great that at times it made me nervous. The feeling that something awful was bound to happen, just because things were so close to perfect.
I lived with friends in Hollywood and Venice, scored an awesome internship at a PR agency in WeHo and taught some cocktail servers the meaning of bottle service at my little gig at Upper Manhattan Lounge. Everyday was an adventure, seeing new sites, meeting some of the most motivated young individuals of my life and learning how to survive on the West Coast. I saw deserts, mountains, the Pacific Ocean, seals, the U.S. Open of Surfing, bacon-wrapped hotdogs and of course, Lindsay Lohan (the night she got "punched," haha).
This summer I also went to Israel with 40 strangers. Random, but another one of the best things I've ever done. In ten days I saw all the common tourist sites (Wailing Wall, Masada, Old Jerusalem) as well as so many little things along our walks through the cities and many, many hikes. They call my program "Israel by Foot" for a reason- I seriously felt like I was at fat camp. Up no later than 6:30 a.m. every day, we'd waste no time. The itinerary never listed less than 5 or 6 activities a day. The exhaustion and jet lag when i returned was insane, but I have so many incredible memories and pictures of the Holy Land, plus the trip was free. It doesn't get any better than that!
Before I left for California, I applied to grad school at FIU. I did it without much thought, mostly just to see if I would get accepted. I figured that applying was a good, safe thing to do, just in case I got to California and hated it, and wanted to come back to my old life. This obviously wasn't the case, but I also did it because of that small voice in my head that told me I should get a Masters degree out of the way now, while I'm still young and don't have too many distractions in life. Bachelors degrees aren't as valuable as they once were, and I never want to get stuck because of not having a Masters. While in Israel, I found out that I got accepted into FIU's Global Strategic Communication program. I had a week to decline or accept, which I did from a friend's iPad using the (expensive) wireless service in our Tel Aviv hotel.
Leaving my perfect little life in California made me so sad, but getting a Master's degree is something I need to do. I plan on moving back to LA as soon as I graduate. I'm going full-time, trying to get this degree as fast as possible because I can't wait to get back there. Miami is not such a bad place; I don't hate it, but three years of living here has made me realize that it's not for me. I enjoyed it while it lasted, but returning after seeing something so much better hasn't been easy.
If I had a mojito for every time I ask myself "What am I doing back here?" I'd already have cirrhosis. I could still be in LA, networking and probably scoring a sweet job through the great contacts I have out there. I mean really, I don't need a Master's degree to be an account planner at an advertising agency, which is what (I think) I want to do. I'm only getting it to be safe, and sometimes when things get really stressful, I wonder if it's all going to be worth it. I hope so. I hope this doesn't turn out to be a waste of two years of my youth. I try to stay positive and busy, distracting myself with Heat games, the few good people I've met here, and doing well in school. But I don't get enjoyment from clubs, tables, bottles, getting wasted and partying until sunrise the way I use to. I feel like I have grown up a bit. Maybe I should be trying a little harder to enjoy, or at least make the best of, my time here, but I just haven't been feeling it. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, and I feel bad for my friends who have to put up with me. Everything just doesn't feel right since I've been back. But winter break has just begun, and I'm going to try my hardest to have fun and feel better about things. I'm going to work out like crazy, make as much money as possible at work, and surround myself with the people I love and try to be a better friend to them. I see better times ahead.
I lived with friends in Hollywood and Venice, scored an awesome internship at a PR agency in WeHo and taught some cocktail servers the meaning of bottle service at my little gig at Upper Manhattan Lounge. Everyday was an adventure, seeing new sites, meeting some of the most motivated young individuals of my life and learning how to survive on the West Coast. I saw deserts, mountains, the Pacific Ocean, seals, the U.S. Open of Surfing, bacon-wrapped hotdogs and of course, Lindsay Lohan (the night she got "punched," haha).
This summer I also went to Israel with 40 strangers. Random, but another one of the best things I've ever done. In ten days I saw all the common tourist sites (Wailing Wall, Masada, Old Jerusalem) as well as so many little things along our walks through the cities and many, many hikes. They call my program "Israel by Foot" for a reason- I seriously felt like I was at fat camp. Up no later than 6:30 a.m. every day, we'd waste no time. The itinerary never listed less than 5 or 6 activities a day. The exhaustion and jet lag when i returned was insane, but I have so many incredible memories and pictures of the Holy Land, plus the trip was free. It doesn't get any better than that!
Before I left for California, I applied to grad school at FIU. I did it without much thought, mostly just to see if I would get accepted. I figured that applying was a good, safe thing to do, just in case I got to California and hated it, and wanted to come back to my old life. This obviously wasn't the case, but I also did it because of that small voice in my head that told me I should get a Masters degree out of the way now, while I'm still young and don't have too many distractions in life. Bachelors degrees aren't as valuable as they once were, and I never want to get stuck because of not having a Masters. While in Israel, I found out that I got accepted into FIU's Global Strategic Communication program. I had a week to decline or accept, which I did from a friend's iPad using the (expensive) wireless service in our Tel Aviv hotel.
Leaving my perfect little life in California made me so sad, but getting a Master's degree is something I need to do. I plan on moving back to LA as soon as I graduate. I'm going full-time, trying to get this degree as fast as possible because I can't wait to get back there. Miami is not such a bad place; I don't hate it, but three years of living here has made me realize that it's not for me. I enjoyed it while it lasted, but returning after seeing something so much better hasn't been easy.
If I had a mojito for every time I ask myself "What am I doing back here?" I'd already have cirrhosis. I could still be in LA, networking and probably scoring a sweet job through the great contacts I have out there. I mean really, I don't need a Master's degree to be an account planner at an advertising agency, which is what (I think) I want to do. I'm only getting it to be safe, and sometimes when things get really stressful, I wonder if it's all going to be worth it. I hope so. I hope this doesn't turn out to be a waste of two years of my youth. I try to stay positive and busy, distracting myself with Heat games, the few good people I've met here, and doing well in school. But I don't get enjoyment from clubs, tables, bottles, getting wasted and partying until sunrise the way I use to. I feel like I have grown up a bit. Maybe I should be trying a little harder to enjoy, or at least make the best of, my time here, but I just haven't been feeling it. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut, and I feel bad for my friends who have to put up with me. Everything just doesn't feel right since I've been back. But winter break has just begun, and I'm going to try my hardest to have fun and feel better about things. I'm going to work out like crazy, make as much money as possible at work, and surround myself with the people I love and try to be a better friend to them. I see better times ahead.