Day 40: Lauren

Lauren's leaving tomorrow. Hopefully you remember that Lauren is my bunkmate and we've become good friends so I'm really sad to see her go. She says she just can't do this work and then go right back to school and keep working hard. She wants a break and thought she could do this summer ordeal but has found she can't. It's her first time really away from her family and boyfriend and she's having a hard time so she's headed home. She's going to fly back, even though she drove here. She'll come back in a couple of weeks to hang out with us for a few days before driving home.

To say goodbye we had a little bonfire tonight and roasted s'mores and ordered pizza and sat on the porch and talked. I'm really going to miss her and I'll be a lot lonelier now but I still have Shelby and I think the two of us will soldier on. As Lauren told me, I'll be fine because I'm "already so independent" but having people out here that you really enjoy is what makes the work and the long stretches of time bearable. So I hope it works out but we'll see. I'm not even excited about having fewer people sharing one bathroom or having the dresser all to myself (and, if you know me, that says a lot)!