. . . Or maybe I was too busy being a camp counselor for four weeks, learning many, many important and valuable life lessons. And oh yeah, washing the dishes for the whole camp. We only ran into a few problems...like the Hobart exploding with soap.
The majority of my summer was spent in North Carolina, which has always been one of my favorite states. But now, I realize that it's probably the most underrated state out of all fifty. During one of my backpacking trips this summer (up in the Smoky Mountains), we summited Mt. Sterling. At the top, there was an old fire tower that my cousin and I climbed up to. We actually played cards up there and witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen.
From that sunset, our group backpacked for a few more days to our family reunion, also in the Smoky Mountains. We felt very proud to say that we arrived to the ranch where we were staying "via foot". Once again, I was surrounded by North Carolina's natural beauty. Something that I miss and really long for, living in the city.
Summer seems to be a time when lessons shower down. Sometimes we don't really feel that rain. But I know I did this year. For sure. And I am so happy and so blessed that I learned the lessons I did and made the realizations I did. God really put me in a cool place this summer and I just feel so fortunate.
It's also really important that after this rain has fallen, we look for the rainbow. And never associate rain to be a negative thing either. I mean, come on, have you ever danced in the rain? Or just stood there and felt the drops pour down on your skin? Cool feeling. Woah, getting off track. Rainbows. So, they are a pretty cool thing. To me, it's like that think in the sky that sometimes you see, if you're lucky. They don't last long, only a few minutes. This completely relates to summer and the growth that happens, at least in my past experiences. Whenever I have a summer that was . . . let's say, eye-opening or showed me a different perspective, or maybe I went on a retreat and had a really great ah-ha moment, right after I get back or soon after, those feelings and what I learned disappear, just like the rainbow.
That all being said, keeping the rainbow is one of my biggest goals for this year. Because believe me, what I learned this summer are things that I really do not want to forget.
