What I Did This Summer

Happy September, everyone! This is the first September that I am not starting school. I was definitely one of those closet nerds (or maybe not so closet?) that secretly loved the first day of school. Getting new outfits, meeting new teachers and even that first night of homework was pretty exciting for me. I'm crazy, I know. One of the upsides about going to UCSB was that we got 3 first days of school instead of just 2 (one of the many reasons that the quarter system kind of rocks). Anyway, usually on the first day of school, you share with everyone how you spent your summer. Since I won't be doing that this year, I'll just share it with all of you! (Whoever "you" might be). 

1. I graduated!

 

I officially am a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in Math/Economics. Feels pretty good to be able to say that!

2. I moved into my new apartment in downtown Santa Barbara.

 

I moved in with these two lovely ladies right after graduation (literally right after our families left, Kristi and I rented a Uhaul by ourselves. I was pretty impressed by our moving abilities). It's been a blast living in a new place, not to mention a place that's walking distance from the shopping mall, movie theater and tons of fun bars for us to go to.

3. I went to Las Vegas.

 

I went to Vegas the weekend before my birthday, and had a blast! Picture about 10+ people all sharing a suite where the bathroom is bigger than the bedroom. Not quite sure who thought that was a good floor plan, but it sure made for a fun weekend!

At the highest bar in Las Vegas.

 4. I turned 22!

 

I officially became old when I celebrated my 22nd birthday. Thanks to everyone who helped make it special and to everyone who celebrated with me!

5. I went to Florida. 

 

The family and I vacationed to Florida in the peak of summer heat. I had never been, so it was a fun week with lots of new experiences. In the picture above, you can see the first thing I crossed off my "Florida To-Do List," I saw an alligator (actually a lot of them!). I spent my first full day in Florida at Gator Land. I have never seen so many alligators and crocodiles in my life! (Not even on tv!). 

6. I saw a space shuttle launch.

 

 We got pretty lucky with our timing, and happened to be in Florida right when the last space shuttle was taking off. We were told there would be hours of traffic, and that there was only a 30% chance that the launch would actually happen, but we decided to test our luck and drive up the day of anyway. Well lucky we were. There was almost no traffic, and we were able to get a table at a restaurant with a great view of the launch (which DID happen, despite the odds). It was really surreal to hear the count down and watch the shuttle take off into outer space. Definitely an awesome experience that I will always remember. Another "must-do" while in Florida is go to Universal Studios:

 

But more specifically, go HERE:

7. I WENT TO HARRY POTTER WORLD!

 

Yupp, definitely the highlight of the trip, and possibly of the entire summer. Harry Potter is pretty much the book of the generation, so to see it all re-enacted in real life was awesome. Walking around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade made me feel like I had just landed myself in one of the books. 

And let me tell you, I LOVED it! It was definitely an amazing and memorable summer. Hope everyone else had a great summer too! And for those of you starting school (probably no one reading this blog), please live it up for me.