Summer Summary

I wrote this just at the end of summer and forgot about it! But in 7 weeks I:

• Drew 16 things I would call “finished works” (including a paid commission for a magazine! Look at me makin the big bucks)
• Read 4 books
• Watched 35 movies/series
• Ate A LOT of steamed blue crabs with Old Bay
• Went to two beaches
• Visited a Universal Studios theme park (where I rode the Harry Potter ride 4 times. Yeah I brag about this a lot).
• Gathered cute apartment decorations at the fleamarket with my momma
• Went to dinner with my GURLFRAN almost every week
• Visited my “grandmom” every week
• Had a reunion with my kindergarten teacher
• Saw all my cousins!
• Spent many hours mindlessly browsing Tumblr or playing games on my phone (or with my sister on her iPad hahaha)—stupid things I can’t do without feeling really guilty in the next few years.

And in about one year with my tablet I’ve:

• Overcome my fear of color
• Drawn things I never would have drawn before, like animals and that Rickenbacker gah
• Really improved on my variety of poses
• Learned a lot about tea and cultural dress by doing my tea series

But I wish I could have done more/drawn more! And don’t even get me started on books I still want to read!! I’m going to be busy for the next 4-5 years. Finding time to draw might be difficult (especially in my 3rd and 4th years of medicine). Things I still want to work on:

• Drawing folds/draping of clothing
• Painting!!
• Landscape
• Drawing people actually doing stuff and not staring blankly or floating in space

I was pretty sad that my last obligation-free summer (my first one since graduating high school, actually) was ending, and that I was leaving home. But I’m also really excited for the start of med school. Meeting lots of people, living in a new city, being at a point in life I’ve dreamed of reaching for years…It’s all been crazy and will continue to be crazy, but I’m moving forward on the path to becoming my own person who can make a difference in the world in my own way—whether it’s through medicine, art, writing, or just plain helping someone. Here’s to a new beginning!