Long Island through my camera phone.

Well, at 10 pm today there is a flight reserved in my name on Delta from JFK international airport in NY to Manchester international in the UK. But I will not be on that flight. My visa did not come in the mail today, which also means that I do not have my passport, because the British Consulate still has it. So instead of leaving tonight, arriving in Wales tomorrow morning, I will leave Wednesday night (giving my passport/visa 3 extra business days to get to me) and arrive in Manchester Thursday morning. I'm going to miss most of orientation, but I'm still going. I'm sad, I'm packed, I'm ready to go. Let's just all hope my passport comes by Wednesday. :(

In the meantime, I've been enjoying Long Island. I've been lucky enough not only to have my Long Island buddies, but many good friends from New York and beyond come and spend time with me. Yesterday I had a Bill, today and tomorrow I have an Emily O'leary, and come Tuesday I'll have a Brandon. Spending time out here makes me love it and respect my decision to travel all the more. Cutchogue is a town that you have to choose your experience in. You can either have your childhood here, develop and change out here, or settle out here. You can't possibly do all three because if you never leave, then you never really appreciate a place where the school nurse still remembers your name 6 years after you graduated from high school.

I also know that I would feel trapped out here. The North Fork is diverse enough that everyone can have their own community, but everything else (for better or for worse) still leaches in. To have a life out here you do need to fit in, in some capacity. Not that it's a bad life; it's a safe life, a calm life, a simple in a cold-drink-of-water-my-that's-refreshing way. It's just not my life, yet. Before I see how I fit into anything, I have to know all the different shapes I can take.

Some say college is the road to self discovery. I say it just helps weed out all the things you realize you don't like about yourself. Helps you become more of who you wanted to be in the first place. New York did that for me too. New York was proff to myself that I can be on my own, and be alright. Even though spending 2 years living in New York City before moving on to graduate school was completely accidental, I'd recommend it to anyone. Not just New York, but simply taking time off from the "education process" to fill in some of the details.

So before I shove off, I can look at the details of my hometown and find a new way to appreciate them. Whether it's the abbrasive McCain support banner or a church quoting Shakespeare, or just the natural beauty that pointed me in the direction to study marine biology in the first place, I'm happy I spent some time home.

Besides, if I hadn't, I'm sure that wouldn't have sat well with good ol' Mom and Pops. ;)

Emily
Cutchoge - Home Desk.

---

---