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What is it about today’s culture that the statement “I defriended [name] on Facebook” has more of an impact than “[Name] and I aren’t friends anymore”?

Is it because simply saying that two people are not friends isn’t enough anymore and that “proof” must be provided to validate the statement? Or is it because Facebook has permeated our lives so much that unless social and romantic developments in one’s personal lives are documented on the website, they aren’t “official”?

Inquiring minds would like to know.

As of today, I have officially finished my second year of college¹. It’s been a very interesting year, with extreme highs and lows. On a whole, though, it’s been a good year. I’ve definitely learned a lot academically and even more socially, both friends-wise and relationship-wise. I’ve gained a plethora of work experience and have a much more impressive resume to show for it.

Academically, I’ve taken a full course load both semesters and have excelled in my classes. I’ve now taken classes that have begun to really get at the heart of my studies and I now know for sure that I am choosing the right academic path. I worked really hard fall semester and early spring semester on my scholarship application and was fortunate enough to be chosen to receive it.

Work-wise, I’ve held what might possibly be my favorite position, ever. I also had my first internship, which was a huge learning experience and gave me great insight into the workplace in my field of study. I made some great contacts through both my job and internship, and I am hoping to maintain them throughout the next few years. I also worked at a prominent museum for a brief interim last semester, and that most definitely taught me everything I ever cared to know about standing on my feet for hours on end!

Socially, I think I’ve learned more this year than in any other year of my life. I lost a best friend; I drifted apart from some of my old high school friends. I made a vow to detoxify my life from the “poison” that was in it. I also became so much closer to my core group of friends and met some absolutely fantastic people this year. In a nutshell, I learned who my real friends were and became a stronger person because of it.

There were some great memories from the year, as well as some pretty low ones. Last semester, I had a tendency to focus too much on the negative. (To be fair, the majority of the negative stuff from this year happened in the fall.) But this semester, I’m taking away all of the positives and running with it. These are the memories that will last me for my year abroad; these are the memories that will make me want to come back after being away for so long.

Throughout this entire year, I’ve been so eager for the school year to end so that I can clear off and go abroad next year. Now that it’s ended, though, I find it to be a very bittersweet ending. I am still as excited as ever to go abroad and am beginning to make more extensive and detailed plans for my adventures in Beijing. But there’s a lot I am leaving behind, and I’ll miss so many people. Still, everything will still be here, when I get back, right?

1. I would say I’ve officially finished sophomore year, but credits-wise, I’m somewhere in the murky area between a junior and a senior. [↩]

One of my good friends and I decided to go explore DuPont Circle in search of brunch this morning. Washington, D.C. has a huge amount of well-known and delicious restaurants, but my friends and I have the tendency to go to the same ones over and over again. Don’t get me wrong, the restaurants my friends and I frequent are awesome, but it’s nice to change things up every once in a while. So, armed with nothing but the desire for good food, my friend and I set off for DuPont this morning and began our search for tasty, delicious food on this slightly overcast Saturday morning.

After some exploration around the Circle, we ended up having brunch at Crepes-a-Go-Go, a wonderful crepe restaurant I had never dined at before. It was absolutely delicious! I ordered a savory crepe with cheese, spinach and green onions; my friend ordered a sweet crepe with strawberry and kiwi that was drizzled with honey and cream. I particularly enjoyed how the atmosphere reminded me of a Parisian crepe restaurant I dined at when I did my high school exchange to France.

Next, my friend and I hit up Kramerbooks to check out the travel section for guidebooks about China. Attached to Kramerbooks is Afterwords Cafe, which is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in the D.C. area. The food is excellent and the desserts are to die for. However, my friend and I weren’t really up for pie after eating crepes, so we perused the guidebooks and came up with a tentative list of places to visit in China next year.

Once we were done checking out the book selection at Kramerbooks, my friend and I explored DuPont Circle some more. We stumbled upon Du Froyo, a frozen yogurt place that not only sells froyo but smoothies and bubble tea as well! The place is really lovely; it has a lot of natural light and a lovely color scheme with the walls and furniture. There’s a cozy area upstairs with two loveseats and some chairs, which made for a really nice area to sit in while enjoying froyo and good conversation.

For an impromptu morning adventure, this morning’s food findings in DuPont Circle were incredibly successful. (They didn’t hurt my bank account that much either, which is always a plus for a broke college kid!) I wish I had taken pictures of my food (both the crepe and the froyo) but I didn’t have my camera with me. Oh well, the memory of the successful exploration is more than enough. And let my morning’s success be a lesson to all: go out and explore to see what the area you live in has to offer!