The summer has always been the most exciting time of the year for me! My mother often reminds me of my ten-year-old self coming home on the last day of the academic year and exclaiming while school was for studying, summer was for learning. Summer 2024, which was kickstarted after a fairly intense finals period, was the perfect blend of fun and work.
I’ve tried to capture the essence of my summer shenanigans as they vary geographically—I spent the first half working in Baltimore (with trips to neighboring states), and the rest of it at home in India with family and friends. I hope this is convincing enough for you to reflect on your break as well!
Baltimore
- Work: I made progress in my research on climate opinions in Baltimore, got a taste of the real world with my internship at a wind farm company, and waited to be blessed with an epiphany for an independent study idea!
- Slippery surfaces: This has to be one of my proudest moments on campus; we converted Freshman Quad into a slip-and-slide for our friends! While the soapy hour was a sight to see, the chest pain I felt after was a good reminder that I am not a ten-year-old anymore.
- Heists: As we moved off campus into our rowhome, I was spurred on by my new roommate’s love for plants and spent a day concentrating loose dirt from around campus into raised garden beds in our backyard with the hope of growing our own vegetables!
- Mountain biking: With Patapsco State Park just a short drive (or slightly longer light rail ride) away, a friend and I took on the hills with our mountain bikes. With no intention of making it through my first trip upright, I did run into a series of bumps. Still, it was one of my best days out!
- Salutations: In a uniquely American experience, Fleet Week came to Maryland! This weekend-long event was a chance to see naval ships and fighter jets as close as the Inner Harbor!
Appalachian Heartland (Virginia, West Virginia & Pennsylvania)
- Backpacking: I got a chance to lead my fellow Johns Hopkins Experiential Education instructors on a 12-day backpacking course in the parks and wilderness regions of Virginia and West Virginia! It was the perfect way to kickstart the summer, as we all slowly descended into our trademark ‘wood’s craziness’ and trekked down mountains. You can read more about the course and my learnings from it here!
- Kayaking: One of the best ways to beat the summer heat is to spend your day on the water. A group of friends and I got together in mid-June to kayak down the white waters of the Lower Youghiogheny River, a three-hour drive from Baltimore. Surprisingly, I escaped the clutches of the Yough relatively dry and had my best day on the river!
- Culture: I explored the magnificent city of Philadelphia on a day trip to visit my cousin and a friend. The city of brotherly love is just a short (and surprisingly cheap) Amtrak ride away. There, I fell in love with their used bookstores (of which you can get a map!), the art and curation of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and marveled at the robustness of their public trolleys (adding to my fascination with public transit)!
Washington, DC
- Family: I had the privilege of meeting some extended family who were visiting DC! It was great to see so many of them after a while and look at DC in a whole new light.
- Music: I got the chance to see Prateek Kuhad, one of India’s biggest indie-folk artists, live in concert! It was amazing to expose my friends to Indian music and see the Desi diaspora that comes out to these events!
- Biking: Having sullenly missed Baltimore Bike Party, a monthly group ride across the city, I was over the moon when a friend agreed to join me for DC’s iteration! The MARC train makes it simple to travel with bikes, and we had a ball while biking the nation’s capital!
- Culture: I visited the Kennedy Center for my first-ever play (although, the terrace patio and its views really stole the show)! It was unreal to take in this theatre version of the “Kite Runner” after having read and watched it in high school.
India
- Familiar places: It’s been almost six months since I’ve been back in Bombay (and two years since I’ve frolicked in its monsoon), but it feels like I haven’t missed a beat. Visiting friends, old haunts, biking in the misty rain, curling up with good books and traditional homemade food—it doesn’t get better than this!
- Discovery: Ever since getting my driver’s license, I’ve been itching to get out on the open road and discover the magnificence of my country. In a continuation of my family’s series of road trips, we took six days to make our way from Bombay to Indore, with intermittent stops for history, food, and the occasional fort!
- Creativity: I finally got a chance to add to my lockdown summer project from a few years ago! Since the summer of 2020, my mother and I have slowly been filling a section of my bedroom wall with art. Whether it’s “Star Wars” or “Hamilton,” we always love a two-day intensive stretch of grayscale artwork. This year, in honor of my city, we drew an outline and depicted our beloved monuments and integral train lines!
- Farming: It had been almost eight years since I had seen a childhood friend, and I flew across the country to Chandigarh to stay on their family farm! In what was a trip two years in the making, I got to plant lemon trees, take in the lower Himalayas, and experience the street food of a completely new region.
- Family: To cap off the summer, I flew to the city of Bangalore to visit my grandparents, friends old and new, little cousins, and distant relatives. I’ve been there every summer as a child, and I’m excited to see it from a different perspective every time I go back.
In a bit of a eureka moment, I realized I wanted my life to be guided by a pursuit of adventure, collecting moments and making memories I can write home about. I hope, as the timer counts down on the summers I have left before real adult life catches up, I continue to learn a thing or two more about myself.
