I went camping for the first time last weekend. There was a single layer of fabric keeping me from sleeping beneath the stars, and I woke to the view of early sunlight peeking through the trees. We toasted s'mores and sipped slowly by the fire, telling stories of the people we thought we loved when we were four years old.
We took a cooler of sandwiches and iced tea and packed ourselves into the car to head toward the beach -- driving with the windows rolled down and the music blasting, dancing to the sound of summer and the feeling of electricity in our bones.
I think God gave me a fresh start this summer -- a fresh start that I didn't even realize I needed. But this summer has been like the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, a blank canvas I keep splashing color on.
This has been the summer of firsts for me.
There have been small things, like going camping or standing in the Pacific Ocean, but there have been larger things too: buying my first car, finding a wonderful friend, and deciding, after waiting for four years, to attend college in the fall.
God keeps whispering to me: Aliza, it's not too late.