Memphis, Tennessee

So many wild things, where to begin! 
This summer season has been a whirlwind of location hopping and life-events. 
Last month, I was in China. I also lost all my wisdom teeth, two separate surgeries. Long story short, one was an emergency right before I left the country (perfect timing. Love my teeth.), and the other followed immediately after arriving back into the country. 
Now, I'm sitting in Southaven, Mississippi, more commonly known as Memphis. Right on the border. 
I'm in the middle of my internship with a Textron company where I'm doing a bunch of logistics projects that I don't really care to get into because it's work-related and that was meant for 8-5ish Monday-Friday. This is summer! A time of fun and relaxation. Right? Work and play can coexist, right? Still working on that balance. Guess I have my entire life to figure it out so I'm not feeling rushed. 

Unbeatable Tennessee trees!

---

My Love! Margarita and Beale St.

Above and below, The famous Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis. Nightly rooftop parties, free comida, and happiness. Also there are ducks that march around every hour. I couldn't make that up.

The most important things about my Memphis experience: 
1. Finding new friends: Margarita! Or Margo for short. This girl, we found love in a hopeless place! She, too, is participating in this logistics internship, and is from Wisconsin. My first lovely northern friend! I love combining our cultures and seeing the differences.  
2. Beale Street. The road of dreams. Clocking many hours here. 
3. The Mississippi River, my neighbor's airplane, the lake, my new favorite local ice cream venue, and of course, Gus's fried chicken. If any guy has had my heart before, Gus has stolen it for good. 

---

My Mississippi/Tennessee life has been relaxed. I've fallen into the culture here. Time moves a little slower, and conversations go a little longer. Everyone waves and everyone smiles. It's like Texas a bit, except more Southern? A deeper Southern. And a lot more humidity. And heat. The "I'm not saying it's hot, but I just saw someone sit a pot of water outside to boil" kind of hot. I've been having to do my running at 9:30 PM. And even then, the mosquitos are still attacking me. Encouraging me to run more quickly, so maybe it's a plus? 

Some of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' was filmed on this lake. True story.

I love every single person I have met here and am so lucky to have this opportunity to bring more souls into my life. The relationships I've built I know will last a lifetime. Even though I'll be here for such a short time, these times and days and minutes I spend will go down in my history forever. As I go into my last semester of college, I'm anxious to use the skills I've learned through my "first job," my first time living in a different state than my family, and my first collections as an "adult" (I don't know if I'll ever feel like one even though I'm now three years past 18...) in my new life post-college. I hope my next chapter gives me just as much adventure as this summer did. Here's to the future, and to beginning the job hunt! Got the ammo, just have to get the gun. 

The old firehouse after work

Call me captain.

Hope to see you soon, Memphis!

M. Kaitlin