The Big Finale

Well It's over!

After finishing my short stint at the farm, I flew back to Sydney, stayed a quiet night at a friend's house, and then caught a quick flight to LAX the next day.

I visited my Aunt & Uncle in LA for a night, and I was treated to a nice Japanese meal (Pictured below with cousins, from left to right, Patrick and Jonathon). I had a very restful nights sleep, and woke the next day to swim and play cards and plan my flight home.

It happened to be my Aunt Lisha's birthday that day, and in order to celebrate, her and my Uncle Tom were renting a limo, picking up some friends, and going to see a band play at the famous LA nightclub the Roxy. It worked out that I was able to catch a ride with them in the stretch limousine, cruise through Beverly Hills, drop them off at the club, and then proceeded to be driven to the airport in a limo.

I felt like such a fraud. Driving down Sunset Strip, by myself in a flashy car, I may have put off the image of a well-to-do movie producer or an up-and-coming rock star, but the truth remained that I was still a dorky midwesterner with 100 dollars to my name. This truth, of course, didn't stop me from sticking my head out of the sun roof and waving to the occasional passerby.

I went to the airport and eventually got on a flight, bringing me back to Chicago, and ultimately home. All and all, the summer was a great experience, which gave me a lot of time to reflect on who and what I feel is important and worthwhile in my life, which made me even more excited to get back into the swing of things in the city I love with the people who make it so great.

My birthday is this Monday the 15th, I move back up to Corcoran on the 17th to begin my fall RA training, and classes start sometime mid-September. I feel ready for the year and can't wait to see all of you around campus and elsewhere.

Thank you once again for reading any of these this summer. It was yet again another testament to all of the good things I have going for me in Chicago.

I'll see you soon.

Casey