Sylvia

I bought my first skateboard yesterday, thinking I’d be bloody and broken after my first hour attempting.

but i wasnt (yay!). turns out, knowing how to snowboard helps a lot more than I thought and I can cruise around kinda okay on the skateboard. I cant do any tricks or stop myself without looking stupid, but that will come with time. (I am just so used to my board being stuck to my feet!) I really want to learn to proficiently ollie and confidently ride on sidewalks (all those cracks are tough!) and perhaps jump curbs by the end of the month. tips?

wierdddd

i just realized i became a member exactly one year ago today (though it is after midnight so it seems like a year and a day).

i am a lot happier. that is for sure. I think I have more direction and confidence now, as well, which helps bring on happiness a lot.

yay!

I’ve had a really good year, I learned a lot about myself and my surroundings. I also learned, though, that distance isnt what really matters. I was just having such a hard time when i happened to be where I was—it wasnt about the actual place.

anyway, I have decided to move back “home” to the city of brotherly love, for no real reason, I just love it, and as much as I love amherst, amherst doesnt have my family or history. I am excited about the coming years changes—i loveee the house that i am going to live in, i am going to have awesome roomies and it will be my senior year of college (assume i finish this semester out…hehe)

really, i think i do have a different life. i see things way more positively, i actually have focus (i didnt know what i wanted to do with myself before) and i am getting more comfortable in my own skin. yayness!

I guess i did this…i’ve lived in spain and i stayed in peru for a lot of this summer…so i speak spanish, i just dont live the word fluent because nothing feels as good as english. though, after sitting through a jungle man in peru lecture you in his tribal toungue, and not understanding anything, when he switches over to spanish honestly you feel the same relief “ahh, i understand now” that you would if they switched to english.

so, i ride my bike a ton. i just moved downtown and there is no parking. i am a sustainability and public transportation major (self designed) so having a car seems hypocritical…BUT

I still owe money on my car. I got it a year ago when i needed one (I was living in a small town very far from “home”) and I cant afford the 12000 loan payoff in order to then sell it. supposedly its worth the same as the loan, but how is it that i get out of it without having to have the title free and clear to sell it in the first place. uggg.

soon soon soon.

my roommate is egyptian and her family seems to see more of me than mine does. i decided to try to learn it, but school is slowing things down. so far her 2 year old brother can say more, but i can say the following in arabic (no writing in arabic though, not yet)

-the hookah tastes wonderful
-airplane
-car
-mom
-dad
-boy
-girl
-how are you?
-my name is…

i think i want to invest in the rosetta stone deal for this, i did the free version and actually retained it.

the more i give away, the more i find to give away.

i keep moving around the country and cutting down on things, but somehow things add up. i dont really shop a lot. i am quite the giver and i think people have started to give back…a lot.

volunteered with orphans in huancayo. it was amazing.

i volunteering in huancayo with orphans for a month, i also traveled into the jungle and lima for a bit.

it was an amazing axperience.

I am moving to Peru for the summer and then I am moving to a new city and state for college. So, I guess I am well on my way to completing this. Though, I want to have changed too, not jsut my surroundings, but Peru should help w that.

this is it::i love it

I designed my own tattoo and I love it. its a tree and a heart with “ash” written in it, which are my siblings and my initials combined.

this was a huge goal of mine and i FINALLY DID IT!

fun fun.