After the Storm
What I learned in boating school is...
This morning, I embarked on what was maybe my 1000th walk of the summer and thought about everything I’ve done and everywhere I’ve been in the last 3 months. I looked down at my Rainbow flip flops that I purchased from a surf shop in LBI back in June, which feels like 2 weeks ago and 8 months ago all at the same time. I thought about how I visited Asia for the first time in that same month, which honestly feels like 2 years ago. How does that happen?
On my walk, I flip-flopped several blocks to the beach where I stared at the ocean and remembered a dream I’d had the night before about offshore wind turbines. I haven’t consciously thought much about these, so I’m not sure why I dreamt about them. The sand I was standing on was very flat. It almost looked like pavement. It was the result of the beach after the hurricane—unwavering and steady—which is exactly how my August has felt. The calm after the storm.
I’ve been on several walks since that morning—it’s precisely the point of the last days of August—and I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my summer. In summary, it’s been one of the best summers of my life. I did so much, yet at the same time, nothing happened! I didn’t get promoted or buy a house or get engaged or go through a breakup or go viral on TikTok for making my own Dubai chocolate or anything like that, which is why it’s been the best. I simply Had A Great Summer (HAGS).
(Okay, I did go to Japan. It was awesome.)
I finally read Pachinko, and it was the best book I’ve read in the last 5 years.
I ate thickly sliced Jersey tomatoes with olive oil and salt and pepper.
I applied 50 SPF sunscreen. (I’ve still never had a sunburn. Does it hurt?)
I saw Weapons in theaters the night it premiered and screamed, laughed, and cried. (Actual tears. Out of fear. It was awesome.)
I went to a fabulous dinner party on Governors Island with Emily, where we deduced that we were the Personality Hires (compliment) of the dinner party and everyone wanted to Know What Was So Funny at our end of the table and Missy Robbins gave a toast and our boat captain Ben steered us to the Statue of Liberty after the dinner party in the moonlight. And then our Lyft driver’s name was Lucky. This all happened on a Wednesday night.
I went to Coney Island with my best friends and rode the Cyclone 5 times.
I thumbed through albums at Academy Records and paid in cash.
I randomly made the Oaxacan Old Fashioned my cocktail of the summer. I’ve been making it in batches whenever anyone comes over for a drink, and it’s been an absolute hit. At the aforementioned dinner party, our new friend Alyson was explaining to the group the different categories that ChatGPT is used for, and one of them was categorized as Fun & Nonsense. I find myself in this category, as I’m frequently asking ChatGPT things like, “hi can you give me some recipe options for a smoky yet refreshing cocktail that uses mezcal for 10-12 people?” to which it will respond “hehe sure<3 do you want me to come up with a cute name for it too? :3” (I’ve trained my ChatGPT to respond as if it’s posting something on Tumblr in 2014 because it freaks me out when it sounds too robotic. And because it’s funny to me.)
I listened to a lot of Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Wet Leg, and HAIM. I recently discovered the artist Winter and have been really enjoying her album, as well as the new Big Thief songs. God, “Los Angeles” is such a great song.
I finally dined solo at Roscioli. I had the fried artichokes and the carbonara. Five stars. I didn’t talk to any strangers which is why you didn’t hear about it—I just sat there with Pachinko and ate my pasta.
I didn’t have a birthday party. I had a stress-free, inexpensive birthday dinner at a low-key Thai restaurant with my closest friends and my younger brother. I was in bed by midnight that night. It was perfect.
There’s a famous episode of SpongeBob SquarePants in which he’s given the opportunity to pass his boating license exam simply by writing what he learned in boating school. Mrs. Puff encourages him to think about what he learned as she repeats out loud, “What I learned in boating school is…” but SpongeBob becomes so paralyzed by the simple task that he can’t think of anything. The line is funny because it represents the pressure of having to articulate what you’ve learned and not being able to, even when you know the answer. SpongeBob is so flustered by this exercise that Mrs. Puff ends up passing him anyway, even though he doesn’t end up writing anything.
That was kind of how I felt writing this. I haven’t felt the need to pressure myself into publishing anything of much substance this month because I’ve just been Having A Great Summer. As I thought about what the theme of my summer recap would be, I felt like SpongeBob, thinking, “WHAT I LEARNED IN SUMMER 2025 IS…”
I had a whimsical June and an emotional July and a blissful August.
That’s the whole point, baby!
thank you for reading <3 i hope you had a great summer !!!!! i’m sooooo excited for september but i can’t say that in the body of the essay because my friends will yell at me.
i just love fall…………
I love Spongebob and you.
I swear you can write about anything and everything and make it sound interesting. I'm glad you had a great summer!