That's what she said.

I find myself in the expanse of summer without an expanse of my friends. They are off in other cities, studying, working, drinking, etc. I am here.

But I don't complain -- I accomplish. I won't take the time that would have been spent at gossiping for hours over skim-no-whip raspberry mochas and just throw it away. I have taken my relaxing summer and turned it into a timetable for accomplishing goals.

My time thus far is split as such: two days a week interning at Pittsburgh magazine. Remaining days working in my dad's accounting office. Portions of nights go to my boyfriend, what friends remain (2), and family.

Then there are my self-improvement goals. Time after work (should) be spent working out -- 30 minutes of cardio and then abs and weight-lifting. I have decided to take up the violin again after a 4 year hiatus. I have made it my goal to write three short stories and a handful of columns by the end of the summer. I decided I wanted to buy a house next summer and made a savings plan. I am now also suddenly preparing for the LSAT on September 30.

However, such pure ideals and worthy goals never fail to leave a bitter taste at the end. My workout plan ended sometime in July. I successfully had someone else tune my violin, played one song, and then stopped. I have no short stories, no columns, and have scarcely written in this blog. I am slightly more than one fifth of the way to my savings goal. I have purchased an LSAT prep book and read the intro. This is my biggest success.

But it is better to have tried than to have done nothing. I have learned that time that seems long and free at the beginning of a summer can quickly dwindle and that maybe one or two modest goals are better than five or ten impossible ones. From what seems like a summer of failure, I can take one or two of my goals and move them over to the fall semester.

For the sake of my neighbors, it won't be the violin.