Original date of post: September 4, 2014
Though the weather is hot and the sun is bright, my new load of schoolwork is all I need to prove that summer is finally over. I’ve had a truly grand time working this summer and working on this blog (as infrequent as my updates were), but it’s time to bring it all to a close.
This summer was quite a trying time for me…and not only due to the trials I watched. This summer, I held down the closest thing I’ve had to a full-time job, handled more loneliness than I’m used to, lived completely on my own for a time, tried to become decent at the culinary arts, and endeavored to enrich my cultural mind through a host of books and movies. Did I succeed at all of these things and grow into a more mature adult? Though I can’t come to any conclusions at this stage, I can certainly say that I tried my hardest and walked away with a wealth of valuable experience, most of which will definitely come in handy in my ever-continuing search for living right.
OK, that’s enough gloomy seriousness! Here’s the wacky s*** I got mixed up in!:
I nearly got arrested (twice!), watched four trials, functioned as a good-luck charm, learned to bake a delicious cake, spent too much time playing Mario Kart 8, spent too little time studying for the LSAT (which isn’t a huge deal, as I’m planning to take a gap year before law school), almost got incinerated by fireworks, watched the Spider-Man trilogy about 9,000 times (according to my calculations), flirted with a thief, made exactly $0.00 in salary profits (Livin’ la Vida Pro Bono!), saw Guardians of the Galaxy three times (I AM GROOT!), visited the Oregon State Capitol, facepalmed at all manners of idiocy within the criminal justice system, swam in the Silverton Reservoir, had an excellent family reunion in Portland, bounced around houses, and had a blast in general. This summer may have been tough in some regards, but these fond memories will stay with me alongside my valuable experience.
To recap: this summer, I tried new things, succeeded on various fronts, worked hard at an excellent job, and had plenty of fun. If that’s not a great summer at the core, I don’t know what is!
This has ben (er, been) Ben Around The Block! Special thanks to those who followed this blog this summer (or at least who are reading this now)--I couldn’t have done this without you all!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some new memories to make and an independent life to continue!
Reflections:
Looking back, this summer really was packed with action. It was certainly challenging at times, but I'm glad I sucked on life's marrow and recorded it for further review.
As mentioned here, I played a lot of Mario Kart 8 over the summer. All this practice came in handy when I participated in a Mario Kart 8 tournament at Willamette, where I won 1st place by a very close margin. All throughout my senior year of college, I held an unofficial title as the champion of Mario Kart 8 among my friends. To this day, Cthulhu is the only person since the tournament to have defeated me in a four-race grand prix (though to be fair, I don't play as much as I used to). I'm probably not that excellent on the global scale, but it's nice to be known for being great at something.
As predicted here, I did take a year off between college and law school. I definitely needed it; the LSAT was a beast that absolutely needed more attention than I could afford with other academic commitments. The life experience I got as a museum docent and budget analyst in the public sector certainly didn't hurt, either.
Well, that does it for Fischberg Flashbacks! I hope you've enjoyed these looks into yesteryear and my pithy reflections. Time to return to the present and head for the future!
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