i want a real true amazing friendship. one with love and giving and laughs and everything that the friends cast had wrapped up in me and someone else. or even a whole six people.

it’s funny because i’ve been to so many damn places and seen so many friggin things, but it’s a curse and i hate to say that. i know people who want to travel but can’t. and here i am acting like a little bitch about it. i’m sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry!!

but i can’t! i want to stay in a place where friendship was real, where i had fun, where i felt loved appreciated, accepted.

the most random place in the world- frederick, maryland. engineering innovation by johns hopkins 2018. a month with top students, learning and immersing yourself with the college experience.

for me, this camp was a damn blessing. an escape from abu dhabi (which left me broken, more on this later), a place of beautiful weather, a typical yet unordinary american town, and i love me a good american town! it was perfect, though i failed, almost got kicked out, wasted possible college credit and disappointed my parents (specifically my dad, who wants me to be an engineer). but this camp changed me so fucking much. excuse my french.

it’s funny looking back. it seems like a weird dream, the whole month fading in and out in my memories, confused conversation and muddled music, but an overall theme of- “oh shit, i’m happy! this is new!”

it’s just, abu dhabi sucked all the life out of me. it took some good friends and some good times for me to know how to be confident, be myself, be unique and beautiful and interesting and anna. so, the lesson is people can change you, regardless of whatever you believe. i’m an introvert and with others, i began to flourish into an extrovert, slowly but surely (i was an extrovert before people judging u was a thing!). let people you love and who love you into your life. go out and find people. it’s really not crazy! this is mostly a letter to my future self, aha!

ciao. anna