So now we're dancing through the garden, and what a garden I have made.

Yesterday one of the most important people in my life graduated from high school! Elaine is like my little sister and I love her so so so much! I couldn't stop hugging her yesterday. I'm just so proud of her and really excited for all the new things that she'll experience in college and beyond. She's so great. Here's a picture of the beautiful graduate and myself:

I feel like I just graduated high school...but I didn't. That was three years ago. I'm graduating college in a year. One year. Then real life. Yesterday at Elaine's graduation party I was talking to someone about how college is a bubble. That's really the best way to describe it, especially when you go away to school. It's four years to focus on yourself, your future, and what you want out of life. I know not everyone is lucky enough to experience this, but I'm so grateful that I've been able to.

I wrote the paper for my Philosophy class today. One of my favorite quotes that I included was by Dr. Gil Tippy, the clinical director at Rebecca School, from his book Respecting Autism.

 “I want to be on the side of the debate that respects children. That treats children in the way that loving parents have treated children since man first walked upright...I want to be on the side of the debate that believes that thinking is the work. I do not want to be on the side of this debate that plans to ignore children, that disrespects their basic humanity”

I didn't include the entire quote, but I was really excited to relate some of Dr. Greenspan's work to my paper. I mostly discussed how public schools in America are failing to recognize the individual learner and person. I think the DIR model is a really good foundation for that debate, even though it's designed for children with developmental disabilities. Across the board, kids are unique individuals and should be treated that way!

Check out more about the DIR model here: http://www.icdl.com/dirFloortime/overview/index.shtml

I'm off to Quito in four days!!!!

Solamente una semana!

I'm leaving for Ecuador in a week, which is making it extremely difficult to write a paper for summer school. I'm taking a course called Philosophy of American Thought. My thesis for my final paper is going to be something along the lines of education failing due to the disregard of individual differences in learning. I'm kind of wishing that I could write it after my trip because I think the education system in Ecuador will give me a lot of insight into this topic (not to mention, make me ease up on my criticism of American education!)

I can't believe we're leaving in a week! Seven days. It seems like we've been counting down for the last few months but these past couple of weeks have really flown by. I feel ready. The only thing that I'm still a little nervous about is my Spanish. I know it's all up there in my head, but I tend to freeze up when someone starts talking to me in Spanish. Apparently people in Quito speak very slowly, so that has been reassuring to me. I've been brushing up using a podcast called Coffee Break Spanish. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning Spanish.

So as I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm going to try to write a lot while I'm in Quito! I'm going to try to cover a few different areas of the trip: our housing, the project, the food, the city, and the people. I think that should give everyone a good idea of what I'm up to.

ONE WEEK!

Spicy Tuna Lettuce Wraps

I was in the mood for some sushi today (well, I'm pretty much always in the mood for sushi), but didn't want to spend the money on it. I searched through the fridge and came up with a new recipe with ingredients that slightly resemble sushi. It hit the spot ;)

Ingredients:
1 can of tuna in water
1 tbsp of light mayo
1-2 tbsp of sriracha
1/4 avocado
2 tbsp light cream cheese
3 romaine lettuce leaves


Open and drain tuna and place in bowl. Add mayo, sriracha, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread cream cheese on lettuce leaves. Add a slice of avocado to each leaf. Spoon tuna onto each leaf. Enjoy!

Took me about 10 minutes, and only ~300 calories!

The Perfect Backpack Quest.

So for the last week or so I've been on a quest for the perfect backpack. Well, to be honest, I found the perfect one not too far into this quest, but decided that I couldn't spend $69 on a backpack, no matter how perfect it was.

The perfect backpack. $69 at Urban Outfitters.

After spending days searching all over the internet, I decided to enlist some professional help. I got my cool fashion designer friend Ashley on board with the mission. She referred me to some sites and then found the second most perfect backpack in the world for half the price with free shipping!

The second most perfect backpack. $36.45 at ASOS.com

I ordered it today! Mission accomplished. Sometimes it's so worth it to wait it out and check out your options. I'll enjoy this backpack so much more knowing that I spent half the amount of money that I considered spending to begin with.

All that being said, let's be real, I'm probably going to stay out of Urban Outfitters for a while, at least until The Perfect Backpack is out of stock.

July...

In three weeks, I'll be saying goodbye to June and New York and saying hello to July and Latin America. I'll be spending the first two weeks of July in Quito, Ecuador on a service trip, and the third week of July in the Dominican Republic, on vacation with my family. These trips will obviously be very different in nature, but I think they will create a really nice contrast to one another.

I've been preparing for my trip to Quito, little by little. Courtney and I will be living with a host family and spending our days working with little kids in Quito. I'm excited to meet all the people that will be part of our lives for those two weeks. I've been getting small waves of anxiety about the trip every few days. I've never been out of the country for as long as I will be. While I'm ready to take on whatever Quito and the people there have to offer, I'm nervous for all the unexpected things that will likely come my way. Pero estoy lista para aprender todo sobre la gente de Quito!

I plan on blogging during my trip as much as possible. I'd like to write every day, but I don't know how practical that is. I'd really like to try so that I can document and remember everything about my time in Quito. I'll do my best!

Photo: themurfs/mybudgettravel

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

Last night, a combination of friends, tea, delicious food, laughter and a tiny turtle was a beautiful resolution to my junior year. I don't know how all this time has passed so quickly, but this time tomorrow, I'll be considered a senior. This time next year, I'll be in the tail end of my internship. I don't know where else I'll be at this time tomorrow, nevermind this time next year, but I know I'm excited to find out.

For me, this summer is likely the last one of its kind. That doesn't mean future summers will be more or less eventful, more or less exciting, etc., but I know this is the end of something. I remember this feeling at the end of high school. Excitement was mixed with fear. I knew it would all work out, it just didn't happen the way I thought it would. I was afraid to leave things behind. I was afraid my relationships would fade, my first love would fizzle, and that things would never be the same. These turned out to be legitimate things to worry about, because my worst fears came true. I've lost many things these last few years, but I've gained so much more. Maybe that's the scariest part of taking the next step. I know I'll have to adapt again. This time, I know it will all be worth it. Maybe it has something to do with sacrifice or fate, I haven't really figured that out yet, but I'm confident when the time comes, I'll know which way I'm supposed to go. And thankfully, if I go the wrong way, I have a whole team of people backing me up. Well, aren't I just the luckiest?

My friend Breakfast, the turtle.

My tiny friend.

So my roommate Emily is one of the funniest people I have ever met. She has the most amazing imagination. She tells detailed stories of mythical creatures interacting with people like you've never heard before. FINALLY, she has found an outlet for all of this incredible creativity. I think everyone needs to read this thing. The girl's bringing a whole lot of light to this world with her sense of humor and imagination. CHECK IT: http://tinydinosaurlove.blogspot.com/

In other news, I turned 21 a couple weeks ago! It was one of the best weekends of my life. So many family members and friends were here. It was beautiful!

My roommate Jill made me this awesome drink book. To give you an idea of how my birthday went, at the end of the night, the last page in this book said:
Name: lemon drop
Time: ???
Given by: Butch my husband
Signature: illegible

A week later we celebrated the 21st birthday of one of my best friends and also my sister but weirdly also my girlfriend. GRACE CLEMENTS! It was great. I had an equally awesome time celebrating her life as I did my own because her life merits SO MUCH celebration. She is wonderful and I think I'd go nuts without her. Here's the beauty in all her glory.

We cooked an Indian feast for Graciefacey's birthday. We made palak paneer and cinnamon palmiers! I used this app called Epicurious for the recipes. ON MY COOL NEW IPAD! Woohoo!

Made a liquor bouquet for the birthday girl! I found it on Pinterest. Well, actually my dad found it on Pinterest. (Hey Dad!)

The flight to Quito is booked! Courtney and I will be leaving June 29th for two weeks! It's getting close. I'm nervous but I know it will be such a life changing experience. Plus, I get to experience it with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Courtney Kitt :)

Music Therapy Club put on our semesterly benefit concert this Tuesday! We raised money for Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with life threatening illnesses and their families. This is the club doing The Cave by Mumford & Sons!

Something funny about finals week and also about me is that I find time to do all this crazy stuff that I don't usually have time to do. This week I've taken the time to sit on the stoop and drink tea, watch a random show on TV (hadn't turned the television on in about three months before that), take a trip to South Philly for brunch, write a rap, and start watching Lost again. I also wrote a blog post! And two papers. Finals week is a weird time to live in. It's not school and it's not summer. It's limbo. I'm going to go keep doing weird stuff. Seeee yaaaa.