It's a sunny, hot day here in Southern California, and nearly half of la familia Barnes-González is in Illinois (or perhaps Indiana, on the way to Illinois), helping my grandparents move. My brother, Joshua, is undoubtedly playing with his new Nintendo DS, which he paid for himself, and which took its sweet time getting here. He's eleven, and such a boy sometimes. He once waved a dead cockroach in front of me on a stick and threatened to chase me around the house with it. But we're also reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix together, and he puts up with my constant attempts to teach him French, so I guess he's all right in my book.
El Centro is a sleepy place. Maybe it's because it'll be 115 today, or we're about two hours away from the nearest big city (San Diego), but there's rarely anything of consequence happening here. When I was finishing up my first year at the University of Virginia I couldn't wait to come home, but now that I've been away from school for two months I'm impatiently counting down the days to go back. I miss the bustle of college life, with friends just a portal away, and always someone to watch movies with at midnight. True, I don't have to pay three dollars to do my laundry when I'm at home, but I also can't run across the street and frolic on the Lawn in a Regency dress. Well, I suppose I could, though I'd rather not incur strange looks from the neighbors.
I do love some things about El Centro. For one, there's real Mexican food here, not the Tex-Mex they insist on serving us in the dining halls. As much as the idea of vegetarianism appeals to me, there is nothing more delicious after a long day than a steaming sincronizada (a quesadilla with carne asada inside of it, preferably made with flour tortillas). My mom also makes (and is teaching me to make) excellent Puerto Rican food, so I'm not lacking for tastiness at mealtimes. Many of my closest friends live here, although I've seen surprisingly few of them this summer. Still, I've managed to surprise Sadie and Katherine at the mall, have Starbucks with Andy and then Priscilla, go to the movies with both Fink twins, Alyson and Sara, rock Disneyland with Jessi, have an enjoyable chat with Mariana at Andy's party, and see several people from high school (Randall and Jonathan, just off the top of my head) while I'm working at the community college. There's also been lunch with Pastor Suzi, who is one of my favorite people, and a couple of Sundays of youth group, with Mrs. Tyler and my brother Richie's friends. I might get to see Gabby on Monday. And of course, I've spent plenty of time with Jackie, though she's currently away at Notre Dame for a summer program. I miss you, mi amiga!
I've recently come to the conclusion, however, that even the enjoyable aspects of El Centro don't really feel like they're a part of my life anymore. I've moved on. I love my family and I'm always happy to spend time with them. I love my friends and the company they provide. Church at FUMC is still interesting, and the congregation is as welcoming as ever. But that stage of my life is over now. It's nice to come back for a visit, but it should only be that. I'm returning to Charlottesville in a month and five days, and right now, it's where I belong. I have to get back to studying government, and my beloved Harrison, and Jane Austen Society, and informal worship at the Wesley Foundation. I have to start precinct captaining in earnest for University Hall, because we have a congressman to re-elect in the Fifth District (Perriello! Perriello!). I have to watch shooting stars at one in the morning with Sara and Maria, and have an Avatar marathon with Pooja, and finish up season one of The West Wing with Kathryn. I'll be twenty in November, and as much as I appreciate the slow days of summer (my last as a teenager), it's time to embrace adulthood now.
Or, at least, adulthood as it is in college.
