It’s very strange – in high school I was always acutely aware of the summer melting away. By the end of the summer I was ready to go back (who doesn’t love new school supplies) but there was always this feeling of sadness when the summer was half over.

Halfway through my first summer as a college student, however, I find myself missing Charlottesville. I miss walking everywhere, even in bad weather. I miss having mini parties with popcorn and the third season of How I Met Your Mother. Most of all I miss my roommate and all of my other best friends at school (you know who you are).

That being said, I have loved being home. It’s so hard to imagine not being around my family again. I told my mom yesterday that I was just going to take my brother with me to Charlottesville when I went back. She didn’t think that was funny for some reason.

Work has been amazing. I am so lucky and privileged to be working with such intelligent, creative, and friendly people — I will definitely miss being able to talk about computers all day and not bore anyone. I’ve learned perl, javascript, C, and Visual Basic, as well as becoming more skilled with Microsoft and Linux commands. I’ve written technical documents, pitched proposals, and led negotiations. And the summer’s only half over!

The summer has started out both refreshing (no homework!) and educational (perhaps more so than school in some ways), and I am looking forward to the rest of my time at home. This Friday I head to Michigan for my grandfather’s 75th birthday (cooking for 18 people! eek!), and the day after I return I will have to face something I’ve been dreading for years. My wisdom teeth are scheduled to be extracted.

Best wishes,
Kate