Santa Barbara | Sophie's External Brain

Category Archives: Santa Barbara

Cate School

Posted on July 27, 2024 | Leave a comment

Lucky Llama chai tea late, no foam. Voodoo Donuts, Portland Oregon. Matt Moore surf shop. Aviator Nation sweats, Lulu Lemon top, and a Nike fuel band. Not wearing my glasses… probably walking around barefoot outside Botheen Dorm. This, or micro-shorts and a backwards trucker hat, were my uniform for 4 years of high school.

I used to “manage” the boys lacrosse teams. That is to say, I would take pictures, blog, and bake treats instead of actually doing a sport myself, junior and senior year. I was very proud of my work, especially after the parents of one of the international students reached out to thank me for blogging about the games because they never got to see their son play lacrosse otherwise.

I always loved this photo. I took it on the school bus into town one day. The window and the bridge made it look like a film roll to me.

Almost everyday, for at least two year at boarding school I would run the three miles from campus into Carpinteria, and three miles back. The road was beautiful. A steep downhill to start, then on long flat through the avocado fields, past the little produce cart.

I will always love the smell of eucalyptus.

So apparently all the cool kids used to go here to poke smot and hook up… I just liked going on walks.

I took this on Senior Prank Night after sneaking in with Shutaro Kobayashi and Matthew Firestone for a late night swim… my Wildfox bikini mysteriously disappeared that night.

Not featured: red velvet cupcakes from Crush Cakes. A carrier tray of thai iced teas from Siam Elephant. A filet mignon from Sly’s. A Jack’s bagel eaten at the back of the dinning hall on a Sunday morning. Studying in the library with Ya’kuana… or forcing her to accompany me to the pool on weekends so I could tan in a Brazilian cut bikini bottom. Me failing the swim test and having to take lessons with Joshua Yaro. Bonning. Mrs. Arango. Mr. Pouye. The view from school house. The hoedown. 25 House. Transition House. etc. etc. etc.

Gradient Rose

This is from the Rose Garden at the entrance to my old boarding school, Cate, in Carpinteria. Carpinteria, Montecito, and Santa Barbara are just beautiful. I loved being outside there. I would run three miles from the top of The Mesa into town almost every day, and longer, down to at least the Seal Sanctuary on weekends. Carp was a small town where I usually felt very safe, which meant getting to run without my phone or headphones, without feeling exposed and self-conscious.

Category Archives: Santa Barbara

Cate School

Gradient Rose

Carpinteria

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