The NYU Vibe

This weekend was unequivocally gorgeous. Perfect weather, I was with my perfect boyfriend, we were practically skipping through the park. Actually, he's not so much a skipper but you get the point. I pulled out my camera for the first time in ages and shot a roll in Washington Square Park. It was incredibly crowded. I love this time of year. It's before the students leave for the summer which is really nice. I like seeing them hanging out and playing guitars (SO MANY GUITARS) and reading and listening to their IPods, essentially soaking up the student life.

I really miss that lifestyle. Even though you did have to spend a ton of time studying and working on papers and stuff you were almost completely flexible in what you were doing. Three hour lunches, and naps, and late nights out knowing you could sleep in the next day. Knowing that you could go on a weeklong hike because you had about three months for the summer. And a few days in the fall, Thanksgiving break, Christmas Break, you name it breaks. It's a very European system because it offers a ton of flexibility.

Now that I'm out and about, of course I realize that I want more of that in my life. More time off. One of the hardest things about moving to a city like New York is that unless you have unlimited money or plenty of connections, you're not going anywhere during the summer. I wouldn't even know the way to the Hamptons if someone gave me a car to drive out there! I couldnt' tell you how to get to Connecticutt rivers or lakes or anything of that sort. In North Carolina, I could get to a source of water faster than you could blink. It would only take a few minutes for me to get ready and then I was off. Seriously. I was within an hour of my parents lake cottage and a couple of hours of the ocean at any point and time I felt like it. Hello, public access. I never had to have an invite because I was a part of a standing invitation.

No Longer.Now I'm searching for sources of water and coming up empty and counting out vacation days, which are very limited. Trying to figure out wher eto move from here. How to work out such terrible things as summers. I may have to get a job scooping ice cream or something.