The Sunshine State

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." - Maya Angelou

Back to California. This was all I could think about as I lay awake in bed losing the precious hours of sleep before my 4 am flight. Back to the sunshine, beaches and fun times with family. Every trip to visit my cousins would always involve them whisking me away to squeeze in as much of California as possible before heading back to school - and this time did not disappoint.

The drive to San Francisco was 7 hours of open road. Even with the radio station blaring in the background and the hum of the car engine, everything seemed silent as if to welcome me back to freedom from responsibilities.

I walked through streets flooded with tourists from every country. My cousins took me by the hand, guiding me through the history of the buildings, stopping at popular landmarks and commenting on all the changes to the city. The Ferry Building Market: fresh oysters. Ghirardelli square: ice-cream sundaes. Chinatown: fortune cookies. The day was filled with good food, laughter and plenty of pictures to commemorate my time there.

This was a stark contrast to my past semester. A cloud of anxiety and worry hung over my head from the stress of deadlines and overwhelming tasks to complete. For the first time, I felt a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. My cousins had given me the breath of fresh air I needed. My memories of San Francisco will always be colored by this feeling of freedom and happiness.

Maya Angelou beautifully said: "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."

Today, I was reminded of this mission and hope to bring some sunshine wherever life takes me.
My cousins and I

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