My Hometown Summer

        As a college student, I hear stories about amazing summers spent in Tanzania or researching ebola. I knew that every summer is an opportunity to further your resume and start building pathways for your future career. After turning down two internships because I was looking for the perfect opportunity, I reluctantly decided to go back to my hometown after closing doors that I could have gone through instead, which I regretted later and realized that I could have just tried them out. My first day back at home, I felt like a failure--I had come back with no job and no purpose while my friends were all over the country, working and traveling. After wandering around aimlessly for a few days, trying to find enough things to do to fill the time and wondering how I was going to make it through 3 months, I realized the amazing potential that is offered in coming back to my hometown.

         A hometown is filled with history and memories of childhood and family, along with many people a person has met and often forgotten. I want to take advantage of this summer to re-establish the connections with people who are a distant memory. I don't want to have to run to other places around the country in order to become successful, running from the shame I still hold from not doing enough in high school and not being as outgoing as I wanted to be. Here's to a new adventure in a familiar place.