Home May Not Be Where the Heart Is, But It's Still Home...

Three months ago I bitched incessantly about how much I hated being home. More than two months ago I stopped blogging. Now I am looking back, thinking to myself about how much of a little shit I am for not blogging all those months. I blog for myself, whether it be to chronicle my life or to bitch to some bored person who has decided to read my blog to kill time. The truth is that I stopped blogging because I ran out of stuff to bitch about. A few weeks in I settled down, got back in to my routine, and started having what will undoubtedly go down as one of the best summers of my life.

I leave to return to school in two days and I have been thinking about how much, for the first time ever, I am going to miss home. I really, truly will. Not once since I stopped blogging have I been bored. Between work, taking care of my grandfather, and hanging out with friends, I have been kept 100% occupied. Not just occupied, though. I was entertained. I became close friends with unbelievable people. For the most part, I became closer with the friends that I had already, not that one can be expected to maintain the same friend base forever. I learned that, despite their flaws and a few unforgivable acts, my parents are the coolest, most wonderful people on the face of the planet...despite being huge pains in the ass, of course. I went to the beach, drove around for hours smoking with someone I have known my entire life and never had any idea was cool, and hung out nightly with awesome people who can have no idea how awesome I think they are because I will never tell them directly, for fear of sounding too sentimental (I am considering this blog to be a one time departure from my normal "not too mushy, now, Andrew" rule).

All in all, Summer '06 was fantastic. It was more than I could ever have expected coming off the heels of the best semester of my life. I can't say I wish it wouldn't end because I am a Navy brat in constant need of change, but I can say that I have never been more fulfilled. For the first time in a long, long time, I can finally say that I am 100% happy, satisfied completely with my existence exactly the way it is. No stupid personal goals of weight loss, no compulsive need to feel needed, and no dissatisfaction with a life I can't help but lead.

To the people who taught me these lessons, those that helped me down this so-called road we know as life, thanks. Rachel, Lindsay, Mike, Jocelyn, Diana, Steve, Evan, BR crew, Risa, and all those little bumps in the road that drove me nuts but kept me occupied....peace.