August 31, 2021
1:07 AM

Yesterday, I went to Leadbetter Beach with my roommates. Before we left, my dad called me and told me he might visit at the end of September. He said he was quitting his job and wanted to take a van and go on a road trip alone to some beaches, and asked if we could grab lunch if he comes my way. I said yes. I don't know what I expected his phone call to be but that definitely took me by surprise. He mentioned he wanted to get away from all this corporate stuff and I think my first thought was that it was a good idea, in fact, maybe he should've done this a long time ago.
Sometimes, I forget that my parents have a life separate from kids and from family. I think if I were in his shoes, I would appreciate something like that.

Also before we left, I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple, and string cheese, my favorite glasses, my water bottle, wallet, and a green bath towel. I never packed a beach towel when I was moving, I'll need to get one eventually. Solee drove us and we found a spot to sit where there wasn't so much sea weed. The beach was quiet and not very crowded, which I really appreciated. We made sure to put on sunscreen before laying out to tan, and we talked about things like body hair and tattoos and how Amelia's mom is a Pixar mom. I saw the lifeguard in the lifeguard tower, and I thought what a boring job most of the time, but if something were to happen I would feel so stressed if I were her.

A family came to the beach and they had a toddler. She had pony tails on the back of her head, and above her forehead like a unicorn because her hair was too short. My roommates all said that they want to have kids eventually, and a family. I'm not sure that I want the same thing as them, but I'm open minded because I don't really know how life will play out. I just think raising a child is a big responsibility that people might underestimate. Also, if I were to ever have a kid, I would want to be well educated about how to raise one, that's another thing I don't think everyone considers.

After tanning for a while, we finally went in the water. It was very cold at first but easy to get used to. Allison and I were running back and forth trying to get as close to the waves as possible without touching it. Amelia and Solee stood in the water but they just laughed at us and compared us to kids. They mentioned the other day how they thought our personalities were paired up. I think we are all very different people but I have an appreciation for all of them.                                                            
Solee has a very caring personality, she's the youngest out of all of us but she really acts like the oldest. She cooks most of the time, and drives, and pays for things and seems to be responsible. I know she's close to her mom because she calls her often and the way they talk feels like they are sisters, her mom had her when she was pretty young, and she said her parents never married, I'm not sure whether or not her dad is still in her life. Also, she is the only other one in a relationship, and she's doing long distance too. They've been dating for 3 months and they FaceTime at all times, apparently even while they're asleep.

Allison is her roommate, they've been friends since high school. Allison went to Dozier with her but Solee ended up transferring to Deer Valley after two years. Allison did gymnastics and also taught gymnastics to kids. She can also be energetic and funny, she reminds me a lot of my friend Autumn in that way. She has a brother who goes to UCSB too, he is going to be a senior this year. They seem pretty close too, they get groceries together and FaceTime even though they're like two miles away from each other. I know she's had one previous relationship in high school with a boy named Skylar, but she said he broke up with her because she was too busy to ever see him. Now we joke with her about a guy that goes here named Matthew Tang, I think they met as lab partners.

My roommate Amelia, seems like she's having it pretty rough. My first impression of her, I was scared I'd get annoyed by her but I feel I've gotten a good sense of her background since then. She's the only one out of all of us who's from SoCal and she's very passionate about it being better than the bay, even though she hates her home town. She lived in Glendora and she said its mostly white, and people there are religious and conservative. Her high school had a Trump club for example and she was raised in the church. Although she used to be close to her beliefs, she said she questions it now. She said it's hard coming from a place where that thinking makes up the majority. She's also gay and her mother found out from a letter she wrote for confirmation camp, her mom is really religious, but she says her grandparents are even worse. They are racist too, and didn't approve of her father who is Hawaiian and Japanese. She has one older sister who lived with her grandparents while she attends school in Arizona, her sister has been helping her mom accept her as gay. I've met both her parents when they came to visit this last weekend, I can tell where she gets her behavior from. Her mom reminds me a lot of my dad's mom, very nervous and anxious. I also met two of Amelia's friends, Ari who goes to Chapman and Jingwen who goes to Vanderbilt. They all seem close, especially since their friend Carrie passed away. That is why she has been having a tough time, she goes to therapy once a week but she's been trying to find a new therapist and she talks with Carrie's boyfriend Nick sometimes on the phone. I know her and her late friend played soccer together, I can tell she's really good. But she's had 5 concussions and had to take a break for a while.

Anyway, after the beach we went and got boba from this place called 805. I ordered a honey milk tea but their Thai milk tea was really flavorful, I wish I got that instead. We went back to the apartment singing Mr. Blue Sky, Bohemian Rhapsody, and More than a Woman on the way, when we arrived we scrubbed tar off our feet with dish soap. That's what I hate about Santa Barbara, the beaches have tar from all the oil rigs in the ocean. I showered after and Solee and Allison made us orange chicken, green beans, and rice for dinner, and then hung up our hanging plants. We talked about our plan to find friends, especially since we just got new neighbors, who already have friends.

Solee is getting breakfast with her friend named Teo, he knows a lot of people and she's hoping he'll be our way into meeting some new friends. While she was texting him, he said he still had feelings for her, but we don't know if he was joking or not. She said her boyfriend is already jealous because she told him Teo is bi, but he doesn't even know that Teo ever liked her or that they're getting breakfast together. I wonder if keeping things secret is just something people do in relationships, I wonder if it's healthy to do that or if it's ever necessary. I've seen so much from other people's relationships.

Biggest news of today, Lindsey is coming to visit today. She stays with me until September 5. My roommates and I were trying to plan out what things we can do and I'm really excited to show her around. She said she was nervous which I think is reasonable because I felt that way around her friends, but I know my roommates are very easy to get along with and I think she'll get comfortable quickly. I'll let you know how it goes, just a couple more hours!