August over the years...
August for me feels like transition. August has always felt like it's a time of beginnings. I suppose it felt like that more so when one was young- as kids, youth and young adults, we prepared for school starting or entering in the workforce. Now, perhaps as adults it's just another month of the year. But even still, August, marks the upcoming end of summer and a sense of "carpe diem," the summer is almost done, let's live it up, YOLO. Perhaps this year might feel different for many. For some, it wasn't much of a summer indoors; others simply want time to pass to get closer to achieving normality sooner than later.
August, for me, over the years, has been a time of anticipation, living and experiencing new things as well as ending trips of a lifetime.
AUGUST...
2009: I was returning from my summer abroad in Brasil. Oh, what a summer of firsts. Forever, Brasil you are in my heart, que saudades eu sento por voce.
2011: I was in Montreal Canada, waiting to hop aboard on the SAS Explorer Cruise Ship, which would take me around the world, literally around, to 12 different countries, 5 Continents.
2012: I was packing my things to move to San Diego to begin yet another amazing journey in pursuit of my MSW degree.
2013: I was parting ways with my family in Australia. Summer 2013 was not only memorial because I found a home in Melbourne, Australia with my extended familia. But also, I lived in Thailand had the honor to intern at Rajanukun Institute, a center for developmentally challenged and autistic children in Bangkok, Thailand and shared adventures in Cambodia and Indonesia with some of best girls in the world.
2014: I was enjoying the freedom of finally being done with school. In this month, I moved to Escondido, CA to start my first job as an MSW graduate. I was also traveling between San Diego county and Los Angeles; exploring these cities like never before, and enjoying what was left of such a beautiful, eventful and unforgettable summer, which also included trips to the Dominican Republic and New York.
2016: I purchased my ticket to El Salvador for the December Holidays. My LA parents were packing and preparing to make their permanent move to El Salvador (they left October 2016). I myself was mentally and emotionally preparing for their departure.
2017: In PERU. I had just arrived in Cuzco from having been in the Peruvian Amazon for some days, and was about to begin a 4-day trek through the Andes Mountains that would end in Aguas Caliente, where we would visit Machu Picchu. Oh, what an amazing trip experience Peru was, on so many different levels <3.
2018: I was preparing for my departure from the states. I had decided to start studying for my LCSW exam (4 weeks until my exam, which I passed 😌). I was weeks away from embarking on my longest trip to date. Leaving the states with a 1-way ticket with no idea of my return date to the states.
2019: I was still in the thick of transition; living in Los Angeles again and simply living day by day, allowing God to work in my life, as I settled into my new job and new living situation.
2020: Today, I feel a deep sense of nostalgia. Remembering years past; reflecting on all these experiences; feeling grateful for it all, and at the same time, mourning the fact that I wasn't able to travel to South America this month as I had planned to. Nonetheless, I am experiencing some of the most intimate and beautiful times in my life right now. And there is nothing but, gratitude and enthusiasm in my heart.
I hope this month, that you also find gratitude for another summer coming to an end--for it signifies you're still here. That despite the lamentation and despair that this summer challenged you with, you find peace with the things you do have. And that as you allow, perhaps the "disappointment" of this summer to sink in and render itself to acceptance, I pray that you are hopefully expectant of all that lies ahead.
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