Is this really happening?

Chapter 5

Hanging out with June was exactly what I needed. I was missing my mom like crazy. She was exactly the person I wish I could have gone to, with my tears. I feel like I've missed out on a lot, not having my mom around. But never once, did I ever go without, because I've always had June. Anything that I've ever gone through, since my Mom passed, that a girl would normally turn to her Mom for, June has always been there. We talked a lot about Mom, and all the good times that the three of us used to have together. We talked about how much things have changed, and how proud Mom would be of me right now. We talked about college, and how excited I was to go, and start a new life, on my own. June took me shopping, and insisted on outfitting my future dorm room for me. We talked a lot about my different options, andwhere I could possibly go. But ultimately, I my heart was still set on Harvard. I told June all about how much I fell in love with the city, and how magical it felt. I loved all of the old historical buildings and monuments. I loved going sight seeing, and getting to experience a new place that I've never been before. I loved how Boston was basically right on the water. It is even closer to the beach than my house is. And there is so much to learn out in Boston. I've always loved to study History, and living in Boston I feel like it would be really submersive. There is so much History all over the east coast, and I am really excited to see it all. June and I talked about so much. We talked about me, and who it is that I am. And she's right, I really don't know exactly who it is that I am. I've always been Lee's twin and best friend, and then for the last year and a half, I've been Noah's girlfriend. But I've never been just Elle, whoever that is. We talked about so many things, trying to come to some sort of understanding of things that I am interested in, and various degree programs that I could go into at Harvard.

One program that actually sounds exciting, is Video Game Development. I didn't even know that sort of thing was something that could be studied. Don't get me wrong, I remember Chloe jokingly telling me that I could blow off school, andgo "pro" at playing video games. I knew that kind of thing was possible, but I definitely don't think that it's something that I am too interested in. I definitely want to go to college. I want to get a degree, and a good paying job in the future. June and I happened to walk into a game store in the mall, looking for a game my little brother had mentioned, and while talking to the sales clerk, he told us about how he was studying video game design, right here in Los Angeles, at the University Of California.  He said that he was about a year away from getting his degree in Computer Science with an emphasis on Video Game Development. The cool thing is that I looked it up, andHarvard offers basically the same program. I can get a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree or even a Bachelor of Engineering and Applied Sciences degree. And both of those majors are part of the Video Game Design program. Harvard's website says that it is a hands on program that focuses on graphic design, animation, collision detection, and eventually creating and programming your own games. I am not exactly a computer nerd, but I do love to play video games,and I am pretty good at most of them. This program sounds like it will be a lot of hard work learning all the different programming aspects of game design, but it also sounds really fun. And now I am super excited to go to Harvard. I don't have to declare my major right when I get there, but I can definitely start registering for classes, and see if there is a wait list to get into the program.

June and I talked about college for hours, and she got me really excited to go. She even offered to fly me out there in the next couple of weeks, and maybe get a tour of the campus and talk to someone in the gaming design program. She said it's the same thing that Matthew had done for Noah, before he left for school, and that she would be honored to do the same thing for me. Lee was actually leaving with his Dad the next day to go tour Berkeley, and get registered for his classes. I need to talk to my Dad about it, but I think it would be a really cool trip. June doesn't want to step on Dad's toes of course, so if he would rather go with me, or wouldn't mind June tagging along, we could all go together. I can't wait to get home and ask my Dad about the trip. But it is going to have to wait until tomorrow.