in the summer's when you really know - jets to brazil

Your absent[minded] blogger has returned! I can't promise I'll update this regularly whether that means weekly or even monthly, but I'm confident you'll stick by me nonetheless. :)

Can you believe it's already August? It's safe to say that I didn't picture summer flying by this fast, but by no means is that a bad thing. I'm pumped to move back to Columbia (you know the first place I'm going is Sparky's) and to see everyone! I'm even more excited to have all our friends over in our first apartment to celebrate the year off right! I'm so ready to see what this year will bring... I guess you could say I'm also a little nervous because it will either make or break me as a biology major. My first semester's course load is pretty intimidating: organic chemistry, cell biology, pharmacology, and more calculus... I dropped a bio elective to have a brief moment of relaxation to pick up something I used to really enjoy: drawing. That will be my "escape from time" class cause this little lady is going to be one very busy student.

I started looking through boxes of things I took with me to Mizzou last year. They waited patiently in storage downstairs since May. I sat on the floor and sorted through things I wanted to take with me this fall and things I wanted to leave behind. I had the most random objects in those boxes that I kept. There were sunflower seeds that had found their way into open pockets when Carl and I went to that art exhibit on campus. I found Kaitlin's lion she colored for me. I found mailed letters and kid drawings from Craig when he was in the Netherlands. Among others there was the Valentine's box Paulina made for me, the spider press-on tattoo that Lis and Jackie bought with other gag gifts for my birthday, ticket stubs from Jack's Mannequin and Matt Nathanson, silk lilies, and an Italian postcard postmarked in Paris. It's funny how certain tokens you gather over the year can explain how time changes everything.

I didn't expect to grow as much as I have this summer. Silly, naive Kim was confident she knew it all! :) But I definitely learned a lot about myself. I've realized that I need to work on being more patient. I always have to get things done right away. I've reaffirmed how lucky I am to have certain lovely people in my life. My friends are capable of making any situation twenty times more fun[ny]. They are my soft place to land but they also tell it like it is. I've learned that no matter how much effort you put into something, it doesn't imply that it will turn out as you originally planned. Things change without any warning, without any control. This has taught me valuable lessons and has proven that I'm stronger than I thought. I've started to focus on myself more and what is most important to me. I have actually decided what I want to do after college [I think]. I've discovered how a tiny little being you just met can easily become the most lovable tooting creature you've held in your arms. I won't sugar coat it: my nephew is cuter than your nephew.

I may not have climbed Mount Everest or cured cancer, but this summer will be remembered.