Purpose

On Saturday morning, I woke up to my phone alarm buzzing and had a mini bout of confusion:
What day is it?
Where am I?
Am I late for something?
What am I supposed to do today?

Quickly, I realized that nothing had changed: I was still at home in my room, it was Saturday, and I had no plans to be late for. Phew!
But why was I so quick to assume that it was going to be another busy day?

For seven weeks straight (except weekends of course) I had been working as an intern. Waking up early, remembering project due dates and meeting times, getting dressed nicely – you know. Working.
As I came to the final stretch (a.k.a. last five days), I realized that I was really going to miss the demanding yet reassuring atmosphere I had spent the majority of my summer in. From my bubbly boss to my super-smart co-intern, from projects spanning six time zones to commuting on three different routes, everything about the working world was shiny and new to me. I at once loved and hated it.
Loved, because people were actually using the work I did for them, asking me specifically to work on certain projects, and were driven, intelligent, and graceful.
Hated, because there wasn’t always work for me to do, between botched communication, hectic schedules, and the fact that I was just an intern.

this is who I worked for! :)

For seven weeks this was my life! I learned so much (a story for another time) and was sad to leave. Of course, I was glad for the weekends during my internship. But suddenly, on the Saturday after my internship was over, I thought I had to be somewhere.
After some lovely introspective meditation, I have come to this conclusion: I was work-sick!
In the weirdest way, I wanted to be getting up and having a purpose that day because I knew that my job was over (forever???).

Instead, I turned that Saturday into a chill day. On Sunday, we went to New Jersey to visit family (and had so much fun! I jumped off the high dive for the first time in ages… terrifying… I can’t wait to do it again). And on Monday, I threw myself into high gear again and began research on Aix (since, you know, I haven’t really done that yet – oops).

sitting on the porch at our new house, doing research

it's like being outside... but inside

So you see: Sad as I was to be “purpose-less” without my internship, I found a “new” purpose. Being a student in France – une étudiante française.

T -5 days!

xxo, S