And I wish I made the effort to do them more often. Write more in general. The plague of the human race, which is lethargy, has afflicted me for a long time, yet must be overcome.

So. Laptop in front of me, I’m pushing a reflection out like a baby from my fingertips. Here we go.

This summer has been full of growth. It started with a spontaneous 2-week trip to Zurich, Paris, Rennes, Schaffhausen, and London with my dear high school friend on exchange. Though lost and dependent on the lovely Kitty, pro-engineer, I learned I’m adaptable, though not always a good decision-maker. Heels to explore London 8am-11pm in, hello? I’ve always been weirdly imaginative and a lover of weird humor, and I think I found a humor-friend in MD and author Austin Ratner (whose novel ‘In the Land of the Living’ I picked up at Shakespeare and Co.). I admired other cultures and conceded that they were superior to my own in some aspects – beautiful public water fountains with delicious water, Swiss genius! And on a gloomy day, I think back on the majestic grounds of Versailles, which apparently has future-sensitive marble men who sing and dance to The Supremes in their marble minds.

Stop – in the name of love! – click through for the song. 

But who can beat home? I do have issues with cultural identity (is it okay to not feel aligned with my parents’ homeland?), but there is no question. Vancouver is where my heart is at this point in my life. Glad for my short escapade, and glad to be back, I am spending the rest of my summer as a research assistant at Ophthalmology Research at BC Children’s Hospital, where I am learning that ‘ophthalmology’ is an incredibly difficult word to spell for many people, there is sensitivity and lovability in the brattiest of children, and that I am a pretty good public speaker.

I also learned that though I am nonchalant about some things, like cooking, (hence the failure of this blog as a food-focused one. I thought I was being clever…) there are some things that I realized I hold sacred. I’d be lost without my faith in Jesus Christ, awe of humanity in joy and pain, friends who correct and encourage me, and intense scientific curiosity. All of these things, all threaded in and out of each other have made a quilted message for me, for my path ahead.

The start of my last undergraduate year of studies is in less than 3 weeks. The last five years have been formative and looking back, I can’t believe I’ve done so much. Complete craziness. One more year to go, and then we’ll see where life takes me.

In the meantime I will plan to update this blog sporadically, but regularly. Maybe I’ll get the hang of writing without a deadline. Maybe I’ll finish that short story. Maybe maybe maybe. I just know I’m excited for school to start.