The elastic heart of youth.

While summer's song is still four glorious weeks longer, its movement in me has already taken effect.
In other words, while summer isn't over yet, I already feel the weight of the change it has had on me -
the different direction the elastic heart of mine has taken since the dawning of the season.

This summer has been more fulfilling than any other of the fifteen summers I've experienced.
This summer I breathed -
I took a week off of school and work and projects, and even art, and pronounced myself queen couch potato and claimed my spot directly in front of the tv (I have since become an expert on virtually every trash tv show you can think of!)
I went to a college program for dance, the UCLA Summer Dance Intensive program -
A week dedicated to dance, and earning credits for college at the same time? Call me awesome. What I didn't expect was to become a part of a new family of 45 people, and gain as much insight about dance, people, and myself as I did that week.
A few days later I was off to another college program, but this time for visual art - my true passion.
I packed four suitcases (no joke!) and headed off to OTIS in L.A. where I spent a month with two roommates and a Residential Assistant in an apartment across the street from the campus at OTIS' Summer of Art program.
I took two classes, graphic design and drawing, and I learned more than I thought I bargained for! We worked long hours into the night, prepping for critiques, scrambling to finish that last bit of shading, and busting our brains thinking up innovative concepts for design. It was physically and mentally draining, but in the end, we had a huge exhibition and the end products ended up being well worth the time and energy. (Not to mention, several great portfolio pieces came out of it, and I now have 3 guaranteed teacher-recommendations for college applications!)

And since the start of summer...
I started a daily exercise routine (and even lost a couple pounds!),
I finally got over the crush I had in freshman year (LOL, we're talking the pretty cliche high school deal),
my favorite color changed drastically from purple to mint green,
my parents bought me a NikonD5000 for my birthday and a shitload of new art supplies <3,
I've developed a growing passion and interest in outer space, stars, astronauts, galaxies, nebulas, black holes, and the universe,
I actually read books for pleasure (not for Cordero!),
I let go of the one-way friendships I was half involved in (not everyone will love you the way you love them!),
I realized that NOT being section leader is NOT a big deal (band is a pimp - I'm fine being ONE of the ho's <3)
I made a lot of money selling stuff and recycling, and got to buy a shitload of clothes and music in return (WOO for instant gratification),
I finally got my hair cut the way I wanted (just today haha!)
and I drew/painted/clicked/wrote/thought/mailed/spoke every drawing/painting/photo/poem/idea/letter/word that came into my mind.

I guess a lot of people might say I've changed this summer.
For the worse, or for the better.
But I also believe that a lot of people have difficulty with change (I'm a huge victim of this lol)
So instead I like to think that it's not that I'm changing this summer -

I'm just growing up.



"The elastic heart of youth cannot be compressed into one constrained shape long at a time"
-Mark Twain