As summer comes to an end

Hey! I’m Rachel. I’m talkative (once you get to know me), energetic (unless, of course I’m tired), and well, I’m just me! I’ve grown up in the southeastern corner of Kentucky; the place where Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia all meet. It’s beautiful! I love the smell of spring, and the colors of fall, and the pitch-black nights when you can see the Milky Way winding through the sky. I know, I know...it sounds a little too picturesque...but it’s the truth.

Frakes, the community I’ve grown up in, is located 30 minutes (20 if you know the road well enough) from the nearest city, Middlesboro; where the “it” thing is hanging out at the parking lot on Saturday nights (which I've actually never done), and where the movies only cost $1.50 (yes, even new releases). I also live near two parks, Cumberland Gap National Park, which has amazing hiking and running trails, and Pine Mountain State Park—the prison...I mean, the place I've spent most of my summer.

I have never had a job before this summer. I work as a waitress at the Pine Mountain State Park Lodge. Working really isn’t as bad as I let on sometimes, it's just really time consuming. Juggling that and training for cross country in the fall wears me out both physically and mentally. Not to mention fried catfish, hot fudge cakes, and getting in shape don’t exactly go hand in hand. But it's all for the best. I’m helping pay my way to a great college education, and I’m still summer training, not as much as I should be, but it's coming along.

On the day we dropped my brother Nate off at Centre’s campus three years ago, I remember saying “Nate, see you in three years!” Since then, I have never doubted going to Centre. It feels like home to me already, and I’m not even there yet. I love the atmosphere, and the people, and Danville. Every time I visit, I’m reassured that it’s where I belong for the next four years...and that really pumps me up! As summer comes to an end though, my anticipation of leaving home is turning into nervousness, which is turning into fear. I know though, that as soon as I get there, all will be well. Until then!