As many may
or may not be aware, I’m not the most athletically gifted person, nor am I too
into heights, drops, or extreme things, but wave jumping, I say to myself
whenever near an ocean, is one of my favorite activities ever. Despite living a
mere hour from it, as of Saturday, I hadn’t seen the ocean in five months. Much
of the summer I was experiencing ocean cravings. Yesterday, this all changed! My
mom and I chose to head to the infamous 18-mile NH seacoast, and met up with
her close friend Addie and part of her family. They were so kind in allowing us
to spend time at their near-ocean home, and we were able to walk on over to the
coast. After some chit-chat and a long walk, it was time to jump waves. While I
tend to find myself to be a solo wave jumper, (not by choice) it was fun to be
joined by Addie’s adult daughter Lindsey who was equally passionate about the
sport. As my wave jumping skills were somewhat rusty, (I had previously gone
extreme wave jumping back in March…) it took some time to get back in the game.
While I usually wave-jump until I’ve been plunged under too forcefully several
times and emerge with kelp on my head (this
unfortunately happened several times during my March wave jumping…) yesterday’s
wave jumping was much more mild. Not wearing appropriate wave jumping clothing,
after my first unintentional plunge under, it was time to finish the wave
jumping season.
Today
(Monday) was my last day with the lovely women of philanthropy (and public
affairs!) at Concord Hospital. I’ve worked both this summer and last summer
periodically there and I have such fun memories of the office environment,
laughing too much, and two summers of driving/co-driving the beverage cart at
an annual golf tournament Concord Hospital sponsors to raise money for
different departments/technology for the hospital. The women there and the work
has given me a wonderful view into what I would like to do, and what I look for
in working for and with a non-profit in the future.
As for the
Grand Old Party, I don’t mean for this blog to become a political battlefield,
and while I am passionate about democracy, politics, and government, I don’t
see this as being the place for it. However, this past year has proven to be an
enormous year for politics. While I believe in a two-party system, I see the GOP
as continuing to drift, and currently at such a turning point. While I can’t
say I identify as conservative, I know the importance of understanding and
respecting each view point, and could not dislike another because of their
views – whether political or religious – unless others are being harmed through
those views. I do believe though, that for the GOP to survive and succeed in
the future, the mobilization of younger Republicans is crucially needed. I see
Republican candidates continuing to appeal to older voters and wealthier voters
specifically. While the economy, jobs, and government spending must be a
priority for both parties, the social issues preached by the Republican party
continue to be beliefs and values closely held by older Americans. The young
Republicans I have met have a commitment to the party’s economic priorities but
rarely have I found they hold the same views as their own grandparents in
regards to women’s rights and gay marriage. Of course there are exceptions
though. With that being said, I’ll insert some of my own personal views and
ask, why can’t ‘gay marriage’ simply be called and referred to as ‘marriage?’
In all
things musical, I’ve been listening to a lot of Bruce Springsteen lately, and
this past spring discovered a bit of new music. Earlier this year, I was faced
several times with what appeared to be endless hours of journalism. Sometimes
the projects were 12+ hours, other times they were 8+ but each one I survived!
While many of them were certainly challenging and there were tough days, I
found escaping into a song for two or three minutes was amazing and relaxing,
and I hope to continue this method when stressed in the future. While they’re
mostly classics, my rotating favorites became Buffalo Springfield’s For What it’s Worth, The Band’s The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The
Decemberists June Hymn, a bunch of Judy Collins, and Neil Young’s Harvest Moon.
In closing, a photo of tonight's (Monday, August 27, 2012) sky from New Hampshire.
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