Summer 2025

Hey! Long time no blog. I meant to make a post all summer and then just didn’t get to it. Keep reading to see what happened this summer!

Busy, busy, busy

I spent most of my time working and taking online summer classes. I took a 3-week class and then a 7-week class. The 3-week class was brutal, and I don’t think I would do it again. But I’m happy to reduce the number of credits I have to take during the semesters.

When I wasn’t busy with that, you could find me at physical therapy. The real ones know that I sprained both my ankles in the spring and also really hurt my right Achilles. How? I’m not entirely sure–you just need to know that it was an overuse injury from an embarrassingly little amount of exercise. And it turns out that ignoring an injury for two months impedes healing. Huh. Who knew? So, I spent a few months strengthening those bad boys. They’re still not what they used to be, and I get sore very easily, but I’ve made lots of good progress. I even got cleared to dance again!! Plus, now I get to make cracking noises when I rotate my ankles. Shoutout to my physical therapists, you guys were awesome.

Renaissance Faire

In the beginning of June, I went to the Virginia Renaissance Faire for the first time! It was definitely an interesting experience. It was a little hot, but it was fun to walk around and see everyone’s costumes.

Church Exploring

Something I did a lot of this summer was explore different Catholic churches in my local area. I started going downtown for Mass and discovered some churches that I really like! I had never been to the Richmond Cathedral before, and it’s absolutely stunning. St. Benedict’s was probably my favorite. It has an amazing painting of Jesus on the ceiling. There’s also an altar rail, which my home church doesn’t have but that I really enjoy. Additionally, the way they do Mass is slightly more traditional, which I like.

For the first time, my family went to a Latin Mass at St. Joseph’s. That was really different. The whole thing (except for the readings and homily) really is said in Latin.

Rhode Island

The best part of my summer was getting to visit my cousin in Rhode Island! I’d never been to the northeast before so that was super cool. It was gorgeous there!

Some of the things we did while in Rhode Island include:

• Biking around Block Island
• Ocean Drive
• Gawking at the Newport mansions
• Cliff Walk (although I sat and watched the water while my family walked because, you know, recovering ankles)
• Sunbathing at the beach
• Bonfires with the fam
• Hanging with the animals on my cousin’s farm
• Going to the same diner two days in a row, shoutout Jigger’s in East Greenwich
• Going to church (they talk really fast up there–I couldn’t believe the Mass was only 45 minutes)

Here are some pictures:

Recap

Overall, it was a good summer! It was nice to be back home with my family and to see my friends. I’m excited to be back at school, though. I’m looking forward to dancing again, and there’s even one or two classes that I think will be fun.

Hopefully I don’t take such a long break before posting again.

We’ll see.