Julia, Week 16 - A Cycle
As the two-month summer break approaches, I’m starting to get reminded of the pleasant memories I’ve created over last year’s break. A trip to the Philippines so enjoyable still sticks with me and will remain as a part of my identity, as that was a time when I truly felt satisfied with myself and the people who I surrounded myself with.
When coming across this opportunity to write personal blogs around the first month of school, I immediately went to write about my experience during the first days in the Philippines. Of course, to relate to those feelings of anticipation that started building up when attending my first days of APENG, I couldn’t help but recall those same feelings I felt when arriving back at the Philippines as I let the words for my blog flow freely onto my draft.
But soon I will leave many more of these pressures behind and slowly mold into the comfort of writing with a new kind of rhetoric, and a new kind of future to look forward to.
At least, for a little while, I can try to recreate those moments of delight. Laughter. Induced adrenaline. Withdrawal from everyone else and my worries.
Yet at the same time, I fear that expectations to live up to a memory will fail me. Rather than bonding with my cousins in a movie theater watching the Barbie movie, I will have to focus on finding internships and jobs. There will be less time under the natural sunlight, resting on warm and colorful beaches, and more time in front of an artificial light contemplating college applications.
But I suppose that’s the best part of a memory…
Recreating a memory has limits, while the memory itself can provide a plethora of feelings ranging from comfort to a nostalgic melancholy.
I’ll probably think about that a lot over this summer, as the cycle of anticipation and relaxation continues to live on.
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Hi Julia! Thank you for sharing such a personal and touching blog post for the final piece of the second semester and the AP English school year! I found this blog topic very interesting but also extremely relatable as the rapid approaching of the summer does bring back many memories and recollections to the summers, finals, and AP exams from the years before. Something I thoroughly recall around this same time frame was staying after school everyday working on an engineering project, a marble sorter, for Ms. Wheaton’s class. Or for the year before where I was memorizing a script for the end of the year presentation in Ms. Luong’s English 9H class. I also enjoyed how you shared many pictures and your time in the Philippines! Interesting side note, although I am Indian, my mom from west India and dad from north India, my many relatives on my father’s side of the family lived in the Philippines for a long period of their life! My dad was even born there. As a result, I can connect with a wish to return to your home country to see friends, family, and receive well deserved relaxation from this year’s work. Thank you for sharing your experiences with our blog group for the second semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Julia! I resonated with this piece of yours; I feel like you did an excellent job at capturing a sentiment that many of us juniors share moving into the summer before senior year.
ReplyDeleteThe way you described the joys of summer vacation—"moments of delight...Laughter...Induced adrenaline...Withdrawal from everyone else and my worries"—invokes similarly pleasant memories and sensations. As you say, there is certainly that feeling of anticipation in the air, but it's laced with dread for the inevitable mad rush of internships, summer camps, and college applications.
Still, I hope that everyone—including you—can find the time to relax and enjoy our much-needed break in between the frenzy of things. Your trip to the Philippines looks to have been a great deal of fun (the family photoshoot looks so cute!); hopefully, you can recreate some of those same exciting feelings and have a great summer!