As suggested by yesterday’s post, I return to Kenyon on Monday so I’ve decided to track down a weeks worth of Kenyon-themed photos (not sure how much I’ll have to stretch to find some decent ones). Today’s picture is actually from last December so obviously Gambier will be a lot prettier than that.

On Monday I head back to school and as my friends start to converge on the lovely college town I realize how drastically different my perspective on preparations are.  This rant is mostly inspired by a cyclical argument from dinner last night with some friends and maybe this doesn’t apply to everyone, so apologies upfront.  That said, I’ve found that I pack light compared to everyone.  For example to go abroad for 6 months I brought a backpack and one medium sized piece of rolling luggage.  It goes beyond packing, I guess I just don’t have that much stuff.  I seem to be the only person I know who still only has one pair of sneakers/everyday shoes.

The discussion for the week is all about getting ready for school.  Am I mentally prepared?  Sure, why not.  Do I have a way to get there?  As of two days ago, yes.  Have I started packing?  No.  That’s where I get lost.  Packing is a singular action that takes an hour at most.  I don’t need to prepare to start, dive in and then take breaks, only to return to the task like a dreary coal miner.  You just take your stuff and transfer it into a bag.

I am flabbergasted at people who lay things out or think through the process like a you’re chosing a life partner amongst a lineup.  I’m also lost at people who bring so much stuff.  If anything, that makes the process so much easier.  Dump it in some luggage or just cram it in the car.  I eagarly await the usual image of freshman showing up on campus with cars stuff like a tube of cookie dough.  Just one prick of a toothpick and it all spills out.

The weather in DC is great today and it reminded me of a photo from New York that I forgot to add of people lounging on a similarly spectacular day in Central Park.

Yesterday, much to my surprise, I won third place in the Washington Post’s Ninth Annual Travel Photo Contest.  Since I was never alerted about my win and I had almost forgotten that I entered nearly 4 months earlier, I was completely unprepared for the discovery of my photo from Paris (the one I used to kick off this blog) printed up on the front of the travel section.  Later in the day I learned that my photo made it to the featured photograph on the homepage of the Washington Post.  Few people in my generation would pick up a copy of the Sunday travel section, but luckily my Mom caught it first thing in the morning.  It’s a dream come true to have a picture of mine in my hometown paper and it was a fantastic birthday gift from the Post.  Next goal: make the top fold of the front page in the print edition.