Summer and the First Day of School

Since I was 12 I have never really looked forward to summer. Yes, I got to visit my mother with whom I had a wonderful time, but she still worked and I had few friends wherever she lived. While I love the weather and the sun and getting tan, summer has never really been that exciting for me.

Most of my summers consist of working 60-80 hours a week in Jackson Hole where I'm exhausted, tired, and friendless the whole summer. I started working as a gas station cashier when I was 12 and then a few years later I started getting new jobs in the summer. Since Jackson is a summer tourist town, all of these jobs were busy, fast-paced, and stressful. The most frequent job I took was as a passenger service agent at the airport. I swear that any wrinkles around my eyes stemmed from that job. I loved the people I worked with and I loved the authority and knowledge I held but near the end of the summer I was ready for school to start.

This summer I stayed in Boulder and worked minimum wage at the Rec Center--it wouldn't have been worth it if it wasn't for CU Now. I was lucky enough to get a principal role for a paid gig at the school where I got to work with the Herschel Garfein as not only the composer but also the director. The music was possibly the hardest I've had to learn but it made my whole summer...it also looks pretty good on my resume.

I've always looked forward to the first day of school and after CU Now all I could do was count down the days until class started. I knew that this would be my last year of undergrad at CU, but yesterday in the lounge I realized something. I've been in school for 4 years now and it's about to all pay off. This is the final year where everything I have been working for finally climaxes into a single year where I have to prove myself to everybody. I've seen so many people graduate and many of my high school friends are done with school now...this year, it's finally my turn. 

The very beginning of the day started off with me failing to find sleep from 12am to 5am. I literally lay* in bed for 5 hours trying to fall asleep unsuccessfully. At least I wasn't going to be late for work at 6am because I slept in. I was going to be late because I lost my wallet, which Raissa later found in her car. The only thing that made my morning bearable was the coffee I had the foresight to know that I'd probably need.

(*I figured out that was the proper form of the verb yesterday. I'm glad to report that I finally used it properly)

The coffee I had made really did the trick and the rest of my last-first-day of undergrad was wonderful. Two coachings and two classes later and I felt/feel like this is going to be a really exciting year.