last night there was an incredible thunderstorm at holden village. first we watched the lightning bolts as they lit each others' faces and the clouds rolled in. the darkest clouds over the mountain slowly moved in and we knew it was about to downpour. everyone was running out of buildings and dancing in the road. my clothes and hair were soaked in 3 minutes. it's just rain, yes. nothing to get too excited about, really. all it did was make me cold and uncomfortably wet (that's what she said. i apologize, i can't stop). it brought all of us together. it was as if we all were 8 years old again. as the storm passed and the jumping around settled down, i morphed back into my 19- (almost 20, haha) year-old self. i felt a little silly for obnoxiously jumping around in puddles and laughing until my side hurt. "i should be reading a book," i thought to myself.

what i've realized is that i'm content with the way i felt last night (that's what she said?). it's okay to feel young and free and to hide from all the terrible things that happen each day. eventually, it all comes around and you deal with it when that happens.

i still can't believe what happened to one of my closest friends this summer. the thought of it haunts me and i wish for nothing but to turn back time and undo what was done to her. her broken heart was just wanting to experience something new and exciting, and then in a matter of minutes, her entire life changed.

i have nothing to complain about here. i'm in one of the most beautiful places in the world and am pretty removed from any troubles back home. so i'm going to keep the mindset that i had while dancing in the rain. my carefree mind can enjoy this next month and figure everything else out later.