This will be the last SUM post, as AUT will succeed with the start of school tomorrow. Actually, the next two days will be Orientation for noobies to the Department of Architecture here at UW. School officially starts on the 30th. Updates on how Orientation goes later this week.

I just came back from a 4-week trip around Western Europe! I saw amazing things, met fantastic people, and acquired extraordinary experiences. I’ll update my Flickr once I get to organizing them. Some personal highlights were SANAA’s Serpentine Pavilion; Vitra Design Museum; Le Corbusier: Art and Architecture Exhibition; Greek statues; getting lost in Berlin 3 in the morning; Tadao Ando; Netherland Architecture Institute; Barcelona beaches; OMA; Belgian chocolate; and no drinking age! (yes, I am 20, unfortunately for living in the States).

Aside from the jet lag and enjoying the last day of summer at a Pacific Northwest Beach, I feel an urge of “cold feet”. Yes, I believe that is how to say it. Basically, my recent resignation from fulltime employment as a barista and entrance to the architecture department means that I will be a 100% architecture student for the first time! This is extremely exciting for me on a personal level that has taken me some work to achieve. I feel the start of a new episode in my life, per say, and within all the psychological complexity, I am questioning why things happened this way and if it is the right way. Do I really want to go into what sounds like an education and profession of underpaid, overworked, and competitive nature? Do I have enough passion for it and/or creative juice? Will I still be able to backpack the world, something I consider a necessity for my wellbeing?

Nevertheless, I’m downright psyched for tomorrow.