Phantom Summer.

On Saturday, June 11, I found myself in the middle of a proud parent's wet dream: clad in a black gown, a mortar board, and two handfuls of my own sweat, I made a ceremonious march to the sound of my name bastardized by a confident announcer. The gold ropes around my neck sashayed to and fro, flaunting the fact that I graduated from the journalism school with cum laude honors. I couldn't see shit among the crowd of family members. A small collection of giddy mothers brought flashing light sticks (I kid you not) and pep rally signs to ensure that their son or daughter could see them stand out from a sea of every other family relative who looks just like them. Somewhere within this puzzling madness, I'm sure my mother shed a tear and my post-high school graduate brother sulked in ambivalence and neglect, because that day I stole the spotlight.


via Tumblr. Stuck at home, plowing through schoolwork and GQ's coverage of men's fashion week. 2 a.m. and 5 hours on the computer = eye baggage.

Post-college life: today I am one week in my summer classes - four more weeks to go. Two English classes stand before me, waggling their fingers at my plead for absolute freedom and a chance to do a full dive into the real world. For a week I was euphoric; now I'm having major blue balls.

Mid-August is my official au revoir to Ohio. Until then:

_ Survive the summer courses with what's left of me caring.
_ Survive the next month and a half living with the 'rents.
_ Stop frequenting the social networking sites to alleviate my jealousy of friends' fabulous lives.
_ Make as much $ as possible. (Hard to find a one-month stint)
_ Create, create, create (and make $ off the creations). On that note, all items at the link are for sale unless otherwise noted. Please help me survive my first few months in NYC!
_ Yard sale. Empty out my room.
_ Spend a frugal birthday week in Chicago.
_ Make as much $ as possible; spend as little as possible (VERY TOUGH)

Survive. Work hard. Bank. Daydream. Survive. Work hard. Bank. Daydream.

Mortar board photo, Paolo Balboa