This was the promise of Warren G. Harding, in the election of 1920.  A promise to redirect the nation, after it was seemingly misguided from World War I, a slew of related-domestic issues, and the leadership of Woodrow Wilson and his political obsession with the League of Nations.  Through his malapropism, Harding gained a landslide victory against fellow Ohioan Cox—but his presidential success arguably ended there.

The point is, I experienced many of the same dynamics this August.  A return to school means a return to the most familiar part of my life.  Nine months of scholastic endeavors and social constructions which have defined my college career.  A return to normalcy.  Or, normality, rather.

But the real question remains, from what am I returning?  The answer, simply, is the most amazing summer of my life.  Fourteen weeks in San Diego.  A video production internship for an environmental non-profit, located on the northern, coastal end of the Tijuana Estuary.  A non-profit which focuses on animal and land conservation and water quality issues.  In a city where the speed of work is as steadily relaxed as the fluctuation in temperatures.  A summer in which I discovered much about my life—and learned much about living completely independent.