Juniper

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

June

• Color- Since I live near Annapolis, I think it is appropriate to declare the color for this most fantastic month is NAVY. I like navy and white, navy and yellow, navy and pink. I like looking at the Navy men in their crisp uniforms. Navy is one of those classic colors. It is a staple for a lot of weddings and for a lot of home décor. It is one of those prime summer colors, for it's crispness looks elegant and casual all at once.
• Book- Although I am currently reading "East of Eden" for my thesis, I want to kind of switch gears and not do the one I am reading nightly. Instead, the book this month is officially "Love Letters of Great Men." It is a compilation of, well, love letters written by some of the great men to their beloveds. The list includes Mark Twain, Beethoven, Henry VIII, and Oscar Wilde. It is one of those books that warms your heart and helps the sentiments rise and when you receive it as a gift, it makes the sentiment even that much higher =)
• Song- In sticking with the deviation, I think this months song shouldn't really be a song....but rather, a noise. I think June is the perfect month for thunder. Obviously there is a thunder storm almost every single afternoon in June, but nothing beats the sound of rolling thunder in the late afternoon of a summer day. Even if there is no cooling rain or flashing lightning, the sound of the thunder always makes me stop and listen and look outside in anticipation for a potential storm.

Specialty of the Month- Birthdays- Yesterday was my twenty-first birthday. I can honestly and whole-heartedly tell you that I have never had any alcohol before yesterday, and I think I had enough to last me a while. Needless to say, I am spending my day today laying very low and just taking it easy.  So for all those who like to rage, I would just like to say, make sure you have enchanting friends who can take care of you in times of desperation. Because I had a few, and it made all the difference in the world.

 

 

                                                                     Sincerely,

                                                                               Me

 

P.S. Juniper plants actually smell pretty bad...kind of like cat pee. Yet somehow, I think of Junipers when I think of the month June. Probably because they sound the same...

A Little Listless

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      Right now I am reading John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden.  I decided to change my thesis topic a few weeks ago which meant abandoning Don Quixote for Steinbeck; but have no fear, I have maintained Dostoevsky in the overall scheme of things. Anywho...I read East of Eden my junior year of high school, making this the second that I've read the book. Since I have to actually pay attention this go-round, I am noticing quotes that are rather profound and applicable to my current state of being, such as this one:

                 "Time interval is a strange and contradictory matter in the mind. It would be reasonable to suppose that a routine time or an eventless time would seem interminable. It should be so, but it is not. It is the dull eventless times that have no duration whatever. A time splashed with interest, wounded with tragedy, crevassed with joy-- that's the time that seems long in the memory. And this is right when you think about it. Eventlessness has no posts to drape duration on. From nothing to nothing is no time at all."

      So obviously it is summer. Duh, I mean just look at a calendar, and even though the technical first day of summer isn't until the 21st, schools are out and swimming pools are open and the beach traffic officially is the sole cause of global warming. But what does it mean to be on summer vacation? Adults with actual full-time jobs don't get three months off of work. There is such a thing as "summer school" so the classrooms aren't all collecting dust. The mailman AND the garbage man still have to roam the toasty pavement. And don't forget all those people who work in retail, *cough, cough*, who still have to trudge into their stores and/or local offices to serve the general population of teeny-boppers who just like omg loooooove to walk around the mall and mess up everything in sight only to buy like this totally hottt pair of earrings...... sorry. CLEARLY I harbor a deep seeded grudge against those people when I am the one who has to be nice and friendly when they walk in.

      So again, I ask- What is "summer vacation"? I think for a lot of people, summer IS that eventlessness. Ask anyone how their summer has been thus far and I bet nine out of ten people would respond "It's too fast," or "I can't believe June is almost over," or my favorite "We need to start keeping an eye out for those back-to-school sales". For me, I Literally Cannot Believe June is almost over. I got out of school on May 1st this year. MAY FIRST. That means that I have had over a month and a half of vacation so far, and that is mind boggling.

      I think Steinbeck has really hit something with his above quotation. When my boyfriend booked his trip to come visit me earlier this month, every.single.day between booking and arriving dragged on like a freaking snail. And then it was like I was stuck in a time warp, because NOW I can't believe next week I am leaving for Charlotte to celebrate my birthday. Between boyfriend and birthday I have been stuck in a daily rut of wakeup, drink some tea, eat some Captain Crunch, shower, eat lunch, read read read read research reseach, watch TV, nap, dinner, readdddddd, TV, journal, bed. Wake up and do it all again. And you know what? My time is flying faster than a jet plane, or Superman. BUT, now that I am leaving in a week, the time warp has snapped open and dumped me back into Snailville.

      Sure, occasionally I do something daring like go to the movies or, shockingly, work. But when there is nothing life changing or even entertaining, it's like the days slip through my fingers and I find myself every night grasping for something that has already come and passed. People always say "Live each day like it is your last." But how do you do that when, truly, there isn't enough hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a month, etc.etc.? If I did something exciting and adventurous and different every single day, I wouldn't have the time or energy to fulfill my daily thesis requirements. So when your days comprise of nothing to nothing, how do you reconcile that with the societal expectations to have the Best Summer EVER? I am bored most of the time, but what am I supposed to do to fix that?

      If someone out there in the grand cosmos, or even in the tri-state area has the answer, I would be much obliged to be let in on the secret.

                                                                  Sincerely,
                                                                          Me

Allegory of the Cave

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      I caved. I caved big time. Usually I pride myself on not conforming to major trends...at least not conforming when it is popular to do so. I didn't get a Facebook until February of my senior year of high school. I didn't get an ipod until the summer before my freshman year of *college*. When I went to Israel in the fall of my senior year of high school, I took a CD player and a handful of CDs. Old school. I still don't have a Twitter and my phone is a dinosaur from the stone age. That's right folks, I can't snapchat you even if I wanted. But on Thursday night, my holding out took a nose dive into the ground when I got a Pinterest.

      This may come as a shocker and I apologize for any sudden heart palpitations, but up until Thursday, I never wanted a Pinterest. Everyone insisted that I get one because apparently, I seem like just the kind of person who would have one. I always secretly reveled in the knowledge that "Ha. I am a like a neo-hipster because I haven't caved even after it is cool." Now, that may make me nothing more than a freak with a weird sense of personal achievement, but I have been darn proud of myself for holding out this long. I guess I can not longer claim one small step for man, one giant leap for Megan-kind, can I?

      I really have nothing more to say on the matter other than, what would Plato say? He claims that the people in the cave are stupid and unenlightened and need to be brought into the light of the sun in order to know basically everything. So, does joining the realm of Pinterest mean I have stepped into the light? Does the expression "This, that, or the other CAVED" always insinuate something negative? Is conformity more appropriate to crawling back into the dark cave on my hands and knees and begging to stay? Or, is conforming to the general consensus part of what Plato considers enlightenment? The biggest question is probably this: Would Plato even give a flying banana pancake about my joining Pinterest? Probably not, and therefore, I will leave it at that.


                                                                     Sincerely, 
                                                                              Me