boys.

So there's nothing too special to report about Paris this week. We had two excursions, one to L'Opera and the other to Quartier Latin. Both were places that I've been to before and neither were too exciting. My cousin Luc is back in town! It's so great having him around. I hung out with him a couple of times this week. My friend Deborah from LA came to visit on her way to Barcelona. It was so good to see a face from home. We went shopping in Le Marais and I bought a great vintage red coat. I'm sure you'll see it in pictures soon enough. Scotty is here too! He'll be here for the next nine days and Lea gets here tomorrow! Justin is here too. I love that everyone I love is coming to France.

I think I've made a few new observations this week about life in Paris. The one that stands out the most is that boys... are dumb... in all parts of the world. As much as we like to think that French boys are special and that Paris is the most romantic city of the world.... we're wrong. Aside from being a significant amount cuter and a tad bit more charming than most boys, French boys, I've come to find, are just as clueless as American boys. They're just as confused about their relationships and are quite casual about cheating on their significant others. They really take "carpe diem" to another level. French dating is quite confusing. I've asked many of my friends about the ins and outs of French dating and have received different responses from each. Some say it's okay to kiss on the first date, some say its not. Either way, I think I've realized that, just like it is in America, everything is on a case by case basis, and really, you shouldn't do anything you wouldn't do in America.

On a more serious note, I spent some time yesterday at le Jardin du Luxembourg reflecting on the last three weeks of my life. As some of you might know, one of the goals I had for studying abroad was to learn how to be comfortable just being on my own. I'm involved in so many different groups on campus that I feel like I'm always surrounded with people I love and that my time is always occupied with things to do and people to see. Don't get me wrong, I love that; but I realized that I was becoming to dependent on being with other people. I realized that I really hated being by myself, not by myself as in I'm one of those girls that always has to have a boyfriend (which I'm not) but by myself as in just not being with people in my life. Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten how to just relax, and how to be completely independent.

After sitting in the park today, I realized that, it's nearly impossible to be completely independent from others. Our personalities are built by the people we encounter and the things that we experience. We're social beings and without social interactions we wouldn't have anything to base our characters off of, we wouldn't have anything to validate our presence. Granted that it's important for us to be comfortable enough with ourselves to validate our own behavior, it's also necessary for us to learn and grow from the behavior around us.

On that note, I've come to realize (again) how much I truly love the people in my life, and that I don't voice that appreciation well enough. I have these moments when I'm around my friends where I think, wow, this is such a great moment or wow, these people are amazing. I cherish moments like that with all my heart, and want to thank all of you in my life for those moments. You have no idea how much they mean to me.

That's all for now I think. This might be deleted soon. Sorry.

(Currently listening to: Emily Haines)



Peace and Love!