Chapter 31
Summer 2014 (July)
"Start Living"
"Start Living"
FYI: Summers as a college student are much different
than they were in high school.
In high school, most students' summers start at the
end of May or beginning of June, which usually sends them to the beach for a
little while, some might work a summer job, and off season practices for
sports.
Now in my second summer as a college student I've learned they're much different. The school year ends at the beginning of May, giving students almost three months off. These three months are in my opinion the most critical. During the school year students are in a routine going to class, hanging out, etc.. But when the summer comes you have to find your own way. There is no structure during these three months. You can be lazy, by living at the expense of your parents and dread the real world that will soon hit, or you can start living your life. What I mean by "living your life" is these summer months can be used as a test run for your future. For example, get an internship, or shadow someone in the field you would like to enter. Internships are more long term and require more time, but most are paid. Shadowing is volunteer work but you can learn a tremendous amount.
Now in my second summer as a college student I've learned they're much different. The school year ends at the beginning of May, giving students almost three months off. These three months are in my opinion the most critical. During the school year students are in a routine going to class, hanging out, etc.. But when the summer comes you have to find your own way. There is no structure during these three months. You can be lazy, by living at the expense of your parents and dread the real world that will soon hit, or you can start living your life. What I mean by "living your life" is these summer months can be used as a test run for your future. For example, get an internship, or shadow someone in the field you would like to enter. Internships are more long term and require more time, but most are paid. Shadowing is volunteer work but you can learn a tremendous amount.
My favorite part of summer is traveling, which is
different than vacation. Vacation in my opinion is going somewhere to relax,
catch some rays, buying some cool things, etc. Traveling is much more.
Traveling means having a goal. Going places you have never been, asking yourself
if you could live there, and really trying to get immersed into the culture.
Don't get me wrong, you can relax when you travel, but it's not vacation. I'll
take vacations when I'm older, unless it's the family beach trip 😊
From the previous chapter you learned that I worked for a bank in London on a shadowing/internship experience, and I also got to travel. Post-graduation I would like to be an entrepreneur with a flexible schedule, so I'm practicing that now. It's much easier and cheaper to try things out now than later.
Today, July 12, 2014, I'm writing this chapter in California. The first chapter that hasn't been written in North Carolina. I'm sitting in the San Francisco Airport at gate 23 waiting on my red eye flight to Charlotte, and I couldn't think of a better way to conclude one of the best traveling experiences I've ever had.
For the longest time I have dreamed of moving to California. No reason why, I just have always wanted too. I had never been there before this trip, and thought if I was ever going to go, it had to be while I was I'm college. My dad was my partner for the trip and I couldn't think of a better travel partner.
I'm a planner as you have probably figured out, but this trip I didn't want to plan as much. I just wanted to go with the flow. We had a few goals on the trip; we wanted to visit Los Angeles, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Santa Barbara, the Pacific Coast Highway, and
San Francisco. Since we were going to be in California for a week, we knew it would leave some extra time for spontaneous stops along the way.
Our adventure began at LAX where we picked up the rental car and entered the land of $4 gas. We spent the first 2 days in LA visiting almost all tourist areas and Six Flags Magic Mtn. Day 3 was spent at Santa Barbara, which was my favorite part of the trip. It had a small town feel to it, but was much larger than my small town. Day 4 was spent driving the Pacific coast highway, which in my opinion is the prettiest road in the world. We probably stopped every 30-45 min to take pictures because the views were so breathtaking. The trip from Santa Barbara to San Fran was supposed to take close to 6 hrs, it took us 12. The stops were well worth it! We saw elephant seals, the 18th hole at Pebble Beach (site for the US Open), and drove on the side of a cliff for hours!
Just outside of San Francisco is the city of Palo Alto, which is where Stanford University is located. I've always bled Carolina blue, but I've had a dream of being a Cardinal under my sleeve for quite some time. Stanford is known for its prestigious academics, and amazing architecture of its campus. I’m intrigued by both, especially it's graduate business school. After walking around the campus, I convinced my dad to let me go by the business school for just a few minutes.
I approached the business school in complete awe and felt a pull or a feeling of I was in the right place. Like I'd be coming back. It was different, it was special. Maybe it was God speaking to me or maybe not. But I do know God can make a dream a reality if you let him.
We left Palo Alto and spent our last days in San Francisco. One of our church friends had actually moved to San Francisco and invited us to stay with him and his family. This was beyond awesome for my dad and I. It gave us time to fellowship with someone from back home, it gave us advice on where and where not to go, and it just so happens that he works at Twitter! And yes, we got to tour and eat in the Twitter building.
From the previous chapter you learned that I worked for a bank in London on a shadowing/internship experience, and I also got to travel. Post-graduation I would like to be an entrepreneur with a flexible schedule, so I'm practicing that now. It's much easier and cheaper to try things out now than later.
Today, July 12, 2014, I'm writing this chapter in California. The first chapter that hasn't been written in North Carolina. I'm sitting in the San Francisco Airport at gate 23 waiting on my red eye flight to Charlotte, and I couldn't think of a better way to conclude one of the best traveling experiences I've ever had.
For the longest time I have dreamed of moving to California. No reason why, I just have always wanted too. I had never been there before this trip, and thought if I was ever going to go, it had to be while I was I'm college. My dad was my partner for the trip and I couldn't think of a better travel partner.
I'm a planner as you have probably figured out, but this trip I didn't want to plan as much. I just wanted to go with the flow. We had a few goals on the trip; we wanted to visit Los Angeles, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Santa Barbara, the Pacific Coast Highway, and
San Francisco. Since we were going to be in California for a week, we knew it would leave some extra time for spontaneous stops along the way.
Our adventure began at LAX where we picked up the rental car and entered the land of $4 gas. We spent the first 2 days in LA visiting almost all tourist areas and Six Flags Magic Mtn. Day 3 was spent at Santa Barbara, which was my favorite part of the trip. It had a small town feel to it, but was much larger than my small town. Day 4 was spent driving the Pacific coast highway, which in my opinion is the prettiest road in the world. We probably stopped every 30-45 min to take pictures because the views were so breathtaking. The trip from Santa Barbara to San Fran was supposed to take close to 6 hrs, it took us 12. The stops were well worth it! We saw elephant seals, the 18th hole at Pebble Beach (site for the US Open), and drove on the side of a cliff for hours!
Just outside of San Francisco is the city of Palo Alto, which is where Stanford University is located. I've always bled Carolina blue, but I've had a dream of being a Cardinal under my sleeve for quite some time. Stanford is known for its prestigious academics, and amazing architecture of its campus. I’m intrigued by both, especially it's graduate business school. After walking around the campus, I convinced my dad to let me go by the business school for just a few minutes.
I approached the business school in complete awe and felt a pull or a feeling of I was in the right place. Like I'd be coming back. It was different, it was special. Maybe it was God speaking to me or maybe not. But I do know God can make a dream a reality if you let him.
We left Palo Alto and spent our last days in San Francisco. One of our church friends had actually moved to San Francisco and invited us to stay with him and his family. This was beyond awesome for my dad and I. It gave us time to fellowship with someone from back home, it gave us advice on where and where not to go, and it just so happens that he works at Twitter! And yes, we got to tour and eat in the Twitter building.
When you plan, you know where you're going, when you
go with the flow and let go, God places people into your life that are truly
special. My dad and I will forever be grateful for that family and my dad
assured them they can stay at our house anytime at his "Bed and Breakfast,
where you make both"
San Francisco was beautiful like the rest of California, and we learned that July is much different than July back home. It was 62 degrees one day with wind gusts that made it feel like 50, definitely not the North Carolina July I'm so fond of.
My dad and I both have favorite parts of the trip, but I do have to say there wasn't one part I didn't like. Spending moments with someone you love, and seeing sights you've never seen are things you'll never forget. If you plan on traveling in the future here are some tips:
1. Travel with someone you love, you'll make memories that'll last a lifetime
2. Take too many pictures
3. Take back roads in strange places, even if you get lost
4. Try and eat at non-chain restaurants, if you're from the east coast you have to go to In N Out!
5. Scream, yell, and open your eyes on scary roller coasters
I came to a realization right before I dove into my first wave in the Pacific Ocean. My goals are great, but I have to stop planning for tomorrow and start living for today because that's where I'll find the most satisfaction.
San Francisco was beautiful like the rest of California, and we learned that July is much different than July back home. It was 62 degrees one day with wind gusts that made it feel like 50, definitely not the North Carolina July I'm so fond of.
My dad and I both have favorite parts of the trip, but I do have to say there wasn't one part I didn't like. Spending moments with someone you love, and seeing sights you've never seen are things you'll never forget. If you plan on traveling in the future here are some tips:
1. Travel with someone you love, you'll make memories that'll last a lifetime
2. Take too many pictures
3. Take back roads in strange places, even if you get lost
4. Try and eat at non-chain restaurants, if you're from the east coast you have to go to In N Out!
5. Scream, yell, and open your eyes on scary roller coasters
I came to a realization right before I dove into my first wave in the Pacific Ocean. My goals are great, but I have to stop planning for tomorrow and start living for today because that's where I'll find the most satisfaction.
