Update: Summer

     This summer was a complete waste of time. I suppose that's what happens, though, when you let your mind get away from you. Anyways, I didn't really get a lot accomplished on this list... nothing even close to what I wanted to do. But, it's fall semester now, and it's time to refocus myself and remember my goals in life. So, here's an update on what I wanted to accomplish vs. what I actually did accomplish:

1. Paint a really incredible painting- I would have been happy with a simple rough draft of this. Didn't happen. 

2. Catch up on all my bills- Got some of this accomplished, no thanks to me.

8. Learn Vietnamese- Didn't learn any Vietnamese this summer.

13. Have a successful garden- I had good intentions with this! Unfortunately I was gone way too much this summer so my garden went from growing successfully to a weed garden. 
15. Become fluent in Spanish- Nope

18. Cut my hair short and give it to a hair charity- I wanted to do this over the summer, but my best friend is getting married next September and I'm the maid of honor. She wants me to keep my hair long for the wedding. She's right- long hair for weddings is so pretty :-). I'll cut it in a year or so.

32. Go scuba diving- I did this!!!! Completed!!! Did it in St. John USVI and it was amazinggggg.....
33. Jump off a cliff in to water- It isn't too late to do this, but I don't think I'll be getting to it this summer....
40. Read the Bible (Including old testament) and Quran. - Yeah.... No.......

41. Send a postcard in to PostSecret- Actually I think I will make the time to do this in the next week or so. Haven't done it yet though

     Soooooo That's what I accomplished from my list this summer.... basically nothing. Very disappointed in myself. But, Like I said before, I just need to refocus. Update next week.

Update: Drop #17- Visit all 50 States

     The ones in red are recent :-)

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
25/50...! Halfway there!!!

Complete- Drop # 32: Go Scuba Diving

Did this at St. John!

So this isn't me scuba-ing, obviously... Didn't take any pics of the actual scuba
but just know that I DID do it! Pretend!

We hooked up with one of the scuba instructors on the island. Her company is called 6-Paq scuba, and she's been diving for nearly 30 years. She talked and talked, droning on for about two hours in the hot caribbean sun about what to do, how to do it, etc and giving me a physics examination every few minutes. Ultimately, though, it was worth it. I guess she's one of the few people who will take people scuba diving without requiring them to go to a full day class beforehand.
 
     Anyways, after two hours of her talking and telling us how to breathe etc, we put on the gear and we were in! I kind of just dragged along the bottom for a while; my weights were too heavy. Anyways, after she adjusted me and I got used to the environment I was good to go! It was amazing to me how quickly you can  raise to the top just by simply breathing the wrong way. The water pressure plays neat tricks. I'd find myself exhaling what seemed like three times the amount of air that I had inhaled!

     The sealife at St. John is amazing. There's so many coral reefs so close to the shore. She took us to a secluded beach and pointed to a rock formation sticking out of the water to her right. The water was crashing over it, but under the water it was so calm. I told her that my main goal for the dive was to find a sea turtle. Sure enough, she found it! it was gliding so peacefully in the water. It let us pet it, even, and stuck with us for a good ten minutes or so. That was definitely a highlight of the trip as a whole.

     Soooooooo..... One more drop down!