There's a lot of things I would rather do than clean the house or plan my classes...I discover this whenever I sit down to work, but somehow end up making pizza from scratch, or laying on the floor with all my old journals...
There's something about reading through old entries that I just love. I love to look back on where I've come from, what my hopes for the future were, and remember funny details and stories that I otherwise would have forgotten. Don't get me wrong, I was a horrible diary-writer--I have months, and sometimes years!, in between entries--but it is fun to go through nonetheless.
I don't know if anyone cares about my journal entries, but I always thought there was something fun (and slightly thrilling) about getting to read someone else's diary, so why not share my own? I can't guarantee that anything is particularly interesting or wise, but if nothing else, it gives me yet another way to procrastinate the chores I desperately want to avoid--plus, it's a wonderful way to learn from my past, reflect on ways I've grown, and things I still need to work on. Time for a little self-relfection series!
Today's entries come from the summer of 2016. I was in my final year as a teenager, 3 years into living away from home, embarking on my professional dance career, & very into lists and feelings (ok, that hasn't changed). I was contemplating moving back home, and spent 5 weeks training with a local ballet company. The rest of the summer was filled with camping & hiking. It was probably one of my most favorite summers.
I've included some of the dates, as well as scans of the original entries, so you can more closely follow the timeline, and get a real peek inside! A couple of the later entries were too messy/included sensitive names/places, so I've retyped them below.
Enjoy this look into life with Laura in 2016, and stay tuned for more diary sneak peeks!
May 25, 2016
(PLEASE excuse point number 9...I was in a phase of desperately trying to sound "cool" & "authentic")
May 30, 2016
June 15, 2016
(Insights: my use of "le téléphone" was definitely an attempt to sound quirky and multi-lingual...oh dear. And Lola is our 6-lb toy poodle--I believe 2016 was the summer we adopted her)
Sometime in the middle of June, 2016
(Insights: I've been writing angsty poetry pretty much my whole life...2016 was no different. Yes, I am embarrassed to share this. Read on!)
Once I got busy with dancing in July, the entries were fewer, but predominately mentioned how much I loved the city and living downtown.
Then we left for our annual family camping adventures:
July 30, 2016
We are currently in Grundy! ...
I am sitting by the fire waiting for the rain to come
Mom and I just discovered clams in the lake near our campsite. We have also been hearing loons all day (picture of a smiley face with hearts for eyes).
Friday was so nice--the last week of (insert name of the dance company here) was pretty great (so tough though!). I made good friends with H, B, M, E, and K (names have been edited out). The people there were so nice. Mafa was my favourite choreographer there. Our last show went really well. R & L came to see my show! They were so excited & encouraging--we hung out afterwards during my break/before my meeting. So nice! Afterwards I went out for ice cream with all my favourite people. I didn't get home till so late!
We've been here at Grundy for a week and a half now--HAHA WHAT I mean a DAY and a half LOL. We left Saturday morning. It's been so nice to just chill. Tuesday we might go to Killarny--SO EXCITED.
I have had a wonderful summer. I've been looking over my lists, and I've done SO MUCH this summer.
Can't wait for more hiking and canoeing!
And that, my friends, is where I'm going to leave off today. There were two more entries that summer, detailing the specific things and places we went while camping.
Like I said, I have never been the best at journaling--but I hope you enjoyed, regardless.
Thank you for reliving that summer with me, and I'll see you next time for more of life with Laura!
