Down the Rabbit Hole

Pretty often it happens that I find myself absolutely lost in cyberspace, wholly unsure of how I've come to be where I am.  (This is why I cannot allow myself to join Twitter, for I just simply have enough world wide web vices as it is.  That is a whole other topic for another day, though.)  Through one social network, website, blog or another, I've wound up somewhere I have no business being God only knows where, filing away the intricate details of the lives of people I barely (if that) know.  I feel like Alice, having fallen down some unexpected hole and landed in unfamiliar territory.  I strongly desire to leave this foreign place and return to that from which I came, but, still, I'm inexplicably fascinated by my new surroundings. 
Does this happen to y'all?
Should I be admitting that I do such things?
Don't answer that.
Anyway, last night I fell down one of those rabbit holes and started reading an acquaintance's blog and, from there, read several blogs of people whom, twenty-four hours ago, I couldn't have picked out of a line-up.  I know, I know... I still don't technically know them, but we're all friends here in the blogosphere, right?  Right?  Er... is this thing on?
Ahem, anyway.
I have a point, I promise.
Most of these blogs I read were written by people who were doing internships this summer in Washington, DC.  I, too, did an internship in the capital city four (horrors!) years ago, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.  So many of the events these bloggers were describing attending or participating in were events I so fondly remember attending during my time there.  It really took me back and made me wish I could do the whole thing over again.
Living in DC for the summer when you're twenty-one years old feels like you have the entire world at your finger tips, and there just aren't enough hours in the day to fit in everything you want to do and see.  Going out, working, exploring, and living in the city is such an amazing experience, you almost feel like you've received an unbelievable gift by mistake and someone will surely realize the error and send you home at any moment.  In other words, you're packing as many people, places, things, sights, sounds, and ideas as you possibly can into a summer that flies by at warp speed and is over before you really feel you've even begun.
I certainly feel like I left my mark on the city while I was there, and, let's be honest, the city left a very distinct mark on me.  I met and worked with some of the coolest people I've ever met with whom I am fortunate enough to still share friendships; I walked around without having a destination in mind, just seeing what I could see; I experienced the diverse cultures of the distinctly different neighborhoods of the city; I was able to share the beauty and history of the nation's capitol with visitors every single day; I made a number of, shall we say, bad decisions, and would make them all over again if I had the chance, for they definitely make the best stories; I saw and experienced so much of what makes America America; I took time to watch the sun set over the Tidal Basin; I marveled over and over at the fact that I was blessed enough to have such an experience; with my face pressed against the glass, I cried when my plane banked away from the Washington Monument, for I knew I would never again have such a summer.
I feel like I could cry now, actually.
Sheesh.
You see, last night I fell down a rabbit hole, wandered around disoriented for awhile, and, before long, I started to see some familiar sights.  It turns out I knew where I was all along, just taking a stroll down one of my favorite streets--Memory Lane. 
I hope those kids (when did I start referring to people a mere four years younger than me as if they are from a wholly different generation?) are having the best summer of their lives.
I bet they are, but they may not know it yet.

I didn't when I was their age, but we rarely do, do we?