one year later...

dear friends,

it has been over a year, actually, since i've written here and it's a little surreal to be doing so again. the past twelve months have at once flown by and also moved incredibly slowly, crystallizing certain moments and speeding through others. 

i am now a graduate of stanford university, which is still rather bizarre to say, as is beginning any sentence with "when i was in college..." or "____, my friend from college..." it makes it more real, i guess, that this phase of my life is coming to a close.

my year has been full. from digging into my studies to co-producing and co-directing an original play, from pushing myself in the studio at school to performing at the american college dance festival, from rekindling friendships that i thought were lost to meeting new people who make you feel complete, i would say that i have had a year of blessings and a lot of luck. 

reading back over my posts from last spring, i am surprised and happy that many of the plans and wishes i had written about are being realized. i will be going back to france in the fall, where i will be doing research for the academic year. you are sincerely invited and i hope that you do come to strasbourg and alleviate some of my inevitable loneliness, at least for the first few months. i will also be so proud and excited to show you all the discoveries and wonders of my new city! 

i am starting this blog again not only because i will be abroad for another year, but also because much like my life a year and a half ago, i am entering the unknown. outside of the comfort and confines of stanford, this is a step forward on my own. and although you cannot be there to call up for random meals or excursions, it would mean the world to me for you to experience it with me. 

i will keep you posted on my whereabouts and happenings at random intervals throughout the summer, and we'll pick up full-force come september, deal? 

with love and the light of summer sunsets, 
doria