The summer is all in bloom, the summer is ending soon

Where has the time gone?  It's the middle of August, the summer is winding down, and I'm starting to get into the school and work mindset.  I can't believe that in just about a week, I will be a junior in college.

Wait...seriously?

I know, it's hard to believe, even for me.  But before I get to that, let's look back on what's gone on in my world and the world for the past couple of weeks.  There is certainly a lot to discuss...I really can't believe all of this happened in just a week or two.



To begin, how about Team USA totally owning the Olympics?  We finished with 104 total medals...wow!  There were so many fantastic displays of athleticism, sportsmanship, teamwork...you name it.  I'm still amazed by Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings winning their third consecutive gold medal in women's beach volleyball.  And I love that the final came down to both American teams.  What a way for Misty to go out.  Aside from volleyball, our swimming was stellar, as was expected.  Michael Phelps went out with a bang, too, and I couldn't be happier for him.  My favorite swimmer, though, is 23-year-old Nathan Adrian.  What a cutie!  Maybe we'll see him again in Rio.

Moving away from water and beach sports, Andy Murray finally broke out and won a big title: an Olympic gold medal in men's singles.  He was Britain's first man to win a singles gold in over 100 years.  He came so close at Wimbledon earlier this summer, but came back and showed us that he can do it.  And what better place to do it than his home courts at Wimbledon?  I hope that win gave him the confidence he needs to win a Grand Slam major.  We shall see at the U.S. Open in a couple weeks.

I could go on and on about gymnastics, basketball, track, but I will change gears here.  As for the Closing Ceremonies, I was a little more baffled at those than the Opening Ceremonies.  I'm still not quite sure what the giant octopus was about.  I loved how all of the singers rode around the stadium in cars and buses so everyone could get a chance to see them.  The Spice Girls still look great.  I was whisked back to my dancing days when they sang "If You Wanna Be My Lover."  That was certainly a blast from the past.  My favorite part, though, was Eric Idle singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Spamalot.  I was waiting for the Monty Python reference!  And now we must wait four years for the Summer Olympics to hit Rio de Janeiro.

(Side note: was it just me, or did the Brazilian national anthem make anyone else want to tango when they played it?)

Enough about the Olympics...August 9th was my final day as a USTA intern.  The weekend before, I worked a day at the Middle States Junior TeamTennis (JTT) Sectional Championship, which was held in West Windsor, New Jersey.  I played photographer and jumped from court to court, snapping shots for our MS blog and website.  After the day was finished, I went to dinner with four other wonderful Middle States people at a delicious Italian restaurant in Princeton.  That lasagna melted in my mouth, and the bread was fantastic.  It was a long day, but definitely worth it.  I'm sad to be finished at USTA; it was an amazing summer experience, and I'll definitely be looking back on it for years to come.

Two short days after finishing at USTA, I packed up most of my college-life items and made the drive down to Blacksburg for phase one of move-in.  After just 24 hours of unpacking, delivering, and arranging, my apartment is 95% complete...all it needs are me and my clothes, and a few smaller kitchen things.  Get excited, Tech friends...I'll be back on the 23rd!  I'm excited to be back for the fall semester, and am looking forward to my classes, editor-in-chief work, blogging, and two jobs on campus!  And football, of course, but that's kind of understood.

From Blacksburg, my mom and I drove down to Charlotte to visit family one more time before I go back to school.  I was glad to see my cousin Austin before he left for his first year at Appalachian State University.  It's always good to see family, and there is never a dull moment, for sure.  We spent a good chunk of the day yesterday shopping, and I'm happy to say I finally had some good luck at Kohl's and Old Navy.  It's really funny how the Kohl's I went to in Pennsylvania had nothing, but the Kohl's in Charlotte had a better selection.

I'll return to Pennsylvania on Friday, when I will have about five days to finish packing and head back down I-81 to Blacksburg.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy my last couple weeks of summer.

And again...10 points to the person who can guess which song the title references!