Graduation

Given that graduation is upon me, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my final summer of freedom. I was originally planning on going to visit my friend Seth in Europe for a few weeks, but it might be better to save that trip for next year when he's more (or less) settled.

I wanted to visit some friends on the East coast.


I thought of a million different things to do. I even thought about going to fat camp for grownups, but I want to do something really exciting before I enter the "real world."


It finally occurred to me today, that I should do with my final summer of freedom what I kept encouraging my sister to do with hers... explore!

So my sister and I are planning on taking a full-summer roadtrip around the US. We'll rent a car for the summer, and get some camping gear, and drive around the country visiting family and friends, experiencing things we wouldn't usually do, and pushing each other to do good things. On this trip, we won't eat fast food, we'll go hiking, canoeing, challenge each other to make healthy decisions (I'm even encouraging my sister to quit smoking), write the great american novel(s), and re-connect as sisters.

Whenever possible, we'll camp at free campgrounds or stay with friends and family. We'll eat food that we buy at grocery stores, only eating at restaurants for special reasons (for example, we couldn't possibly drive through Osseo, WI without stopping for pie.) In the process maybe we'll kill each other, but I think more likely we'll learn to respect each other as the adults we've become, and each grow a little bit beyond our comfort zones. Maybe that's more of a hope than a prediction..

Anyway: friends and family, we look forward to seeing you. It's going to be a great summer.