Summer in Austin

At first when I thought of my summer plans months ago, I never imagined spending it in my favorite place. I dreamed of spontaneous weekend trips with my high school friends, late night movie binging with my mom, endless cooking with my dad, and snuggles with my dogs. All that changed however when I was offered a position on Zeta’s recruitment team and was required to stay in Austin, Texas all summer. The 1,600 mile distance from what I had already planned soon changed my prospective on what “the best summer” would entail. Leaving my family, hometown and high school friends behind after only two and a half weeks home, I embarked on a journey that created a new sense of “home” in ATX.

The second I landed in Austin, my new whirlwind of a summer began. Within the first twenty-four hours, I was moving into my new apartment, starting class and work and feverishly working hard to prepare for recruitment in the fall. While overwhelming, it was still exciting. The rush of 8 girls living in one apartment never left me with a dull moment. I feel like my phone is constantly ringing with texts in our group chat asking who wants to tan, go to the movies, try a new restaurant, or paddle board on the lake. This for sure is going to be a jam-packed summer.

While I never imagined I would have the opportunity to stay and explore Austin in the summer with my sisters, here I am. It was never the summer I pictured, but always the summer I dreamed of. The thought of building stronger relationships with some of my sisters as well as my new hometown is one I’m blessed to experience and am grateful to have. Every UT freshman always talks about how “if they could stay in Austin, they would” so you can pretty much say that I’m living the dream this summer.

ZLAM,

Elisa Carpenter PC'15