Epic Summer Daze

My generation has become all so fascinated with the words "epic" and "fail" and so everything that you do is either extremely epic or a fail. Or my favorite, an "epic fail". Epic has become a part of my daily vocabulary because of this and due to this, I vaguely remember perdicitng my summer to be the Epic Summer of 2009.As summer is drawing to a close in roughly two weeks, I look back and it seems my perdiction came true.

Starting in May, i left to go over 6,500 miles from Stillwater to go to Oigawa, Japan. For three weeks, I was blessed to read with the people there and experience the culture that I had been facinated with for many years of my youth. I made deep friendships with a few of the people there. Some who were apart of Chirst's family and some who were not.
















I returned home in the first couple of weeks of June. The very next day that I was back, I returned to work, working 35-40 hours a week all summer. Work during the day and either church, parents, or friends in the evenings. I've stayed busy all summer and its flown by faster than I realized.














After 11 days home, I was given a surprise 19th Birthday party by my high school friends though I was the one that told them I wanted a party in the first place. it was the first time all summer that everyone was together under the same roof. For a few hours, we shared stories, played games and ate the cake that Ms. Ashley Wilson baked for me. I felt extremely loved when it was all over.

The past two weekends, I've floated the Illinios river. My first time to do so i might add. The first weekend was with the UC friends. We camped (first time to camp also haha) on the river side Saturday night and the proceeded to float the next morning. My favorite part was seeing people that had been absent from my life gathered around a camp fire singing familiar songs that are close to my heart. Each person holding a different kind of friendship with me with memories to boot. While circling the campfire, we kept the tradition of making smores. Stick in my hand, I proceeded to roast a marshmellow but ended up coating the side of my knee with it resulting with me sporting a small burn. Sunday morning, Monty read to us, we went to the Father in prayer, and we sang praises while taking communion. All in all, the trip was a blast.

The following weekend, I returned to the same place for a day trip of a six hour float of the river with co-workers and friends. We sure met some interesting people but I was able to get to know my new friends a bit better. Listening to the radio, doing the macarena, and bubbles ^___^. In the picture on the right you have Shelly, Mattie, Liz (roommate), and myself.


















Now its come up to the last five days at the house I grew up in. I'm filled with excitement and anxiousness about the year to come. I've led a blessed life with loving parents and awesome sisters while at Jenkins Family Farms but I've chosen to venture out on my own. I've grown in to a person I'm proud to be though I have so much more growing to do. These next two weeks are going to be just as exciting as watching a bug zapper (as i have done twice this summer already and yes, it was entertaining). By the time summer is all over on Sunday August 16th, I'll be left in a summer daze, wondering where the time went while not wanting to go to class, bouncing in the UC lobby, watching movies with friends on Friday nights...

Its all going to be so "Epic"! I can't wait!! :D

~Aeriel <3