The Palace Within My Dreams: Sun, Sand, and SLOTS!

"I'm going to the beach!"
"No, Jenn... you're going to Atlantic City."

Well. AC isn't exactly the beach, and it's also not exactly Vegas... but it's got plenty of sand, an ocean of water, and a strip of casinos. After all, I am working in public interest law this summer and with my law school friends traveling from Tampa and Denver, I definitely got the sweet end of that bargain with only a mere two hour drive down. So, if AC is where we're going for a mid-summer reunion? Then I can call my destination whatever I want because I could not wait.

What could I not wait for?

I could not wait to pluck at brightly colored cotton candy strolling on the boardwalk, dangle my legs atop the Ferris wheel overlooking the water, munch on crispy chicken fingers blissfully aware of being swindled on water gun arcade games for stuffed animals I don't actually want, and drag my feet through the sand and splash my arms in the waves forgoing laying on a beach towel greased up with sunscreen and dozing through the latest book my Audible app recommended me to download while daylight shines brightly.

I could not wait to waste quarters, okayyy pennies, on slot machines, pretend I know what I'm doing at the blackjack table, indulge in fancy courses with an appetite worked up by being outside all day, and get dolled up in a tiny dress that would no way hold in my post-dinner food baby for a night out of skinny arming too many pictures in the hotel room, guzzling down weak cocktails I don't even need with tall straws, and at least mostly successfully attempting not to stumble in stacked heels at a pool club after the sun had gone down.

Done and done.

At law school we might tailgate like champions even when there's snow on the ground in October and bar review hard after hours of outlining in the library, but during the summer we get to do what we enjoy best without the thought of casebooks lurking in the all too near and not hazy enough horizon. And what do we enjoy best? We work hard, we play hard, and we dream hard. We have one year left before we're working in the real world rather than the reading room. This summer we've clocked in at our 9 to 5's, churned out legal memos, and drafted arguing motions at our respective internships. We've worked hard to kick back our feet and play hard.

I cannot wait to make my last year left at law school my best year yet, and if this weekend is any indication, there's no reason that won't be all too true. When the year's over and we're out into the real world if I can still enjoy my life this much with my best friends then I will really know not only have I dreamed hard, but I'm also living the dream.

And that goes for whether or not I'm at the beach.