Make Yourself at Home

I'm finally settling into life here in the farthest Southeastern corner of our grand country. I'm getting a feel for the area, becoming acquainted with classes, slowly making friends, working my way into the nearby dive shop's staff, and really getting into a groove. The University of Miami is a great place to be.

The big question still remains: will I stay here beyond December? At this point, I cannot answer. As I've said, everything is going well, but there are little things that I do notice. I often equate my time here to the 2 months I spent in Hawaii. The school here is a far better fit for me, hands down. However, the city has little on Oahu (I say Oahu instead of Honolulu b/c Miami is about the size of the whole island). It took me until 23 years of age to determine that island life is indeed different than anywhere else. Everyone is very high-strung here in Miami whereas island life is completely worry-free. It's still early, but my instincts tell me that I belong on an island.

Everything still seems to be going my way so I have no real complaints. I'm having serious struggles in the very high-caliber orchestra which is having its first concert this weekend. It comes not three weeks after classes began but it is going to be the highest quality performance I've ever been a part of.

Ultimately I guess my time in Miami is going to teach me how to be a real-world adult. I have an unofficial part-time job, I'm essentially a full-time student (living off campus and not being a real undergrad makes it nothing like my time at Denison), and I am completely responsible for myself. Those things alone aren't much of a big deal, but combine them and throw them into downtown Miami and it feels like the most "real-world" life I've ever lived.