Basically, never mind all the meticulous planning with “bucket lists” and such to create the “perfect summer”.
This past summer I participated in a summer work exchange program with the YMCA that allowed me to live in Quebec for six weeks.

I don’t think I could have asked for a better summer. 7 months ago

have the ultimate summer experience , just live in the moment in the sun , beach , parties and people 10 months ago

1.Meet Angie
2.Eat 4 litres of ice cream.
3.Ride a bus until we get back to where we started
4.Go to Fun Mountain
5.Camp out in Parker’s Mom’s backyard.
6.Throw mad Party at Parker’s house for her birthday week
7.Sleep in hayloft at Parker’s
8.Play Mission Impossible at Polo Park (it’s a mall, broskii.)
9.Get drunk
10.Eat non-stop ribs at Montana’s
11.Walk around downtown pretending to be a foreigner
12.Build a sandcastle
13.Write “The Toothless Wangster” (only a quarter serious about this one; a musical about an adorable little wangster at our school.)
14.Go see a relatively scary movie
15.Go to The Ex (mainly just for Down With Webster)
16.Stay up past three, drinking energy drinks for whatever reason
17.Shop in Osborne Village
18.… facial masks?!
19.Have a pool partaaay at Ilyssia’s (hey look, it’s me!), however small the pool
20.Make a summer playlist
21.Play paintball 22 months ago

This has already been a great summer and I’m sure it’ll soon get even more awesome.

Last summer, I was too sick to go outside. Being in the sun and heat made me so sick after only a few minutes that I’d throw up the rest of the day and feel worse than ever, literally feeling like I could die any minute. My allergies were so bad that even when I had some energy to go for a little walk, the moment I stepped outside I started to have real trouble breathing. Even when I was inside, I’d feel nauseous, extremely fatigued and sick all the time, every hour, every minute, every day. My cognitive problems were a lot worse than they’re now, so I couldn’t read books or pretty much do anything. To put it short, even though I see myself as an optimist who tends to find the positive in everything, I had a very miserable summer. Summers 2009 & 2008 really weren’t a lot better either.

This summer however has already been a lot different: I’ve been able to spend time outside and in the sun, and it not only does not make me feel sick anymore – it makes me feel better! While it doesn’t seem like I’m going to have one of those magical summers I used to enjoy before (hours and hours of spending time with horses, riding, meeting a lot of new people, reading tons of books, swimming daily, etc.), it’s clear already that this summer is going to be a lot better than the previous one.

I’m so grateful, so excited, so relieved… I’ve had the best/only treatment there is for my immunodeficiency now for a little over 1,5 years and most of that time has been an absolute hell and I’ve wanted to stop doing it almost all of this time. Now I’m just so grateful for having it and even more grateful for myself for having stuck with it despite not seeing any improvement and getting only the side effects that made me very close to giving up. But I didn’t do it… instead I stuck to it week after week, which I’m still doing and might do for the rest of my life, and now I’ve finally got to enjoy seeing and experiencing my health improving slowly but steadily :) All that work was so worth it, and I’ll definitely continue with this treatment no matter what. 23 months ago