(no subject)
My life runs in cycles...kind of like the boom-bust economy. Ouch, that's a sorry analogy.
A month-by-month review of the past year.
January:
I had just started dating Drew after our trip to Rome and I was confused about what I actually wanted. My mom became sick with kidney problems, was in the hospital for a couple of days, and for a while the doctors were expecting a fatal outcome. I never actually told people what was going on and took out my pent up frustration on those who meant the most to me. I nearly totaled my car in my first accident, running into a telephone poll in a spin-out. College applications were being sent out and I had no idea where I was going.
February:
Um, I was alive? I think I was a page for the Maryland General Assembly the last week of the month?
March:
The college acceptances and rejections flood in. I didn't get into Wellesley or JHU, my top two choices. In June or July, I was accepted off the waitlist to both schools, but by then I was reasonably comfortable with that decision that I had made. I went to Philly with Drew to visit his godparents for the weekend, and that was about the time that I realized how much I appreciated him.
April:
Paged again for the last week of the Maryland General Assembly. I had dinner with delegates from my area, met brilliant kids from every corner of Maryland, and met the delegate with whom I am currently employed today. Smith paid for me to fly up and visit one last time, and even though I was sick with the flu and a 103 degree fever, I was in love. The art auction that I had been carefully planning for the past year was a huge success and we made nearly $4,000 in one night. I fell asleep at the wheel that night and clipped a guardrail. Did a good $1,000 of damage to my car. I'm a winner...
May:
My eighteenth birthday wasn’t exactly eventful but lovely just the same. I went on a twenty-five mile bike ride to raise money for a non-profit with my mom. Senior prom with my boyfriend was the first school dance that I have ever truly enjoyed, and damn I looked fine. The high school administration and the art department clashed and I was reprimanded for caring. My family from Kentucky visited to see me graduate. I began working one full time and one part time job.
June:
I had my first official road trip for the music festival Bonnaroo with Steve and Drew. Hopefully it will become a tradition. Despite the smoke, grime, and mud, it was quite romantic for Drew and I. I also went to the Florida Keys with Drewby and his family for a week. I took two summer classes at MICA (figure drawing and watercolour) and worked 6-7 days a week.
July:
I got my AP scores back and got a 5 on my art portfolio. I went to the All Good festival with Drew in the mountains of West Virginia and although there was the occasional torrential downpour, we managed to remain reasonably dry and front center 90% of the time. I officially fell for him and there was no way around it. Vulnerability is both a beautiful and unnerving feeling.
August:
Drew and I drove 4 + hours to Pittsburgh to see Coldplay, my favorite band, and the combination of unrelenting traffic and sleep deprivation was stressful. But wow, what an amazing concert.; speaking for myself, it was worth it. We had our cheap, bargain family vacation in Ocean City and the boyfriend joined us. He left for school more than a week before me, and I was a complete wreck. There was some fighting and lots of tears (on my part, not his). I finally left for Smith on the 29th for orientation. As soon as I became occupied with making adjustments and meeting new people, the anxiety lifted and a moment of clarity arrived. Drew and I decided we would make it work.
September:
Smith kind of felt like summer camp until classes began on the eighth. The girls at Smith were the most proactive, friendly sampling of people I had ever encountered, but I hadn’t experienced any life-changing encounters. I got my nose pierced and my mom got a new job. Convocation, Mountain Day, and other Smith traditions brought me closer to a lot of people. I went home the last week and protested the war in D.C. with fellow Smith Dems and my family.
October:
Crew was taking it’s toll on me with the hours that I had to put into practice, but I enjoyed my days as a coxswain none the less. I started getting involved in AIDS Care and other groups, making close friends, and began calling Smith “home.” I spent a few hundred dollars to visit my boyfriend at his school one weekend. Getting to Pittsburgh (I was very sick and my shoe broke on the first plane, thus I walked through the airport barefoot for most of the duration). But the short visit gave me a renewed confidence in us and I like that I can now have a mental picture of the people and places in his new life.
November:
My grandfather passed away from Alzheimer’s after 10 years of battling the disease. I went back to Kentucky for the funeral, went through a brief period of depression, and became very behind in my work. About a week and a half later, I flew home for Thanksgiving.
December:
I was hired to work with the psychology department to illustrate and conduct experiments that my adviser and other professors created, and the work will begin in late January. I began the long application process for Crossroads Africa so that I can hopefully do humanitarian/social work in Senegal or South Africa this summer. My boyfriend came to visit me the weekend of finals and we had a wonderful time together in Northampton. We flew back home together on the 20th and I resumed working with the politician for winter break. I spent New Years Eve at Dierdre’s apartment with some friends and the boy, the night seemed to be a good omen for another year.
A month-by-month review of the past year.
January:
I had just started dating Drew after our trip to Rome and I was confused about what I actually wanted. My mom became sick with kidney problems, was in the hospital for a couple of days, and for a while the doctors were expecting a fatal outcome. I never actually told people what was going on and took out my pent up frustration on those who meant the most to me. I nearly totaled my car in my first accident, running into a telephone poll in a spin-out. College applications were being sent out and I had no idea where I was going.
February:
Um, I was alive? I think I was a page for the Maryland General Assembly the last week of the month?
March:
The college acceptances and rejections flood in. I didn't get into Wellesley or JHU, my top two choices. In June or July, I was accepted off the waitlist to both schools, but by then I was reasonably comfortable with that decision that I had made. I went to Philly with Drew to visit his godparents for the weekend, and that was about the time that I realized how much I appreciated him.
April:
Paged again for the last week of the Maryland General Assembly. I had dinner with delegates from my area, met brilliant kids from every corner of Maryland, and met the delegate with whom I am currently employed today. Smith paid for me to fly up and visit one last time, and even though I was sick with the flu and a 103 degree fever, I was in love. The art auction that I had been carefully planning for the past year was a huge success and we made nearly $4,000 in one night. I fell asleep at the wheel that night and clipped a guardrail. Did a good $1,000 of damage to my car. I'm a winner...
May:
My eighteenth birthday wasn’t exactly eventful but lovely just the same. I went on a twenty-five mile bike ride to raise money for a non-profit with my mom. Senior prom with my boyfriend was the first school dance that I have ever truly enjoyed, and damn I looked fine. The high school administration and the art department clashed and I was reprimanded for caring. My family from Kentucky visited to see me graduate. I began working one full time and one part time job.
June:
I had my first official road trip for the music festival Bonnaroo with Steve and Drew. Hopefully it will become a tradition. Despite the smoke, grime, and mud, it was quite romantic for Drew and I. I also went to the Florida Keys with Drewby and his family for a week. I took two summer classes at MICA (figure drawing and watercolour) and worked 6-7 days a week.
July:
I got my AP scores back and got a 5 on my art portfolio. I went to the All Good festival with Drew in the mountains of West Virginia and although there was the occasional torrential downpour, we managed to remain reasonably dry and front center 90% of the time. I officially fell for him and there was no way around it. Vulnerability is both a beautiful and unnerving feeling.
August:
Drew and I drove 4 + hours to Pittsburgh to see Coldplay, my favorite band, and the combination of unrelenting traffic and sleep deprivation was stressful. But wow, what an amazing concert.; speaking for myself, it was worth it. We had our cheap, bargain family vacation in Ocean City and the boyfriend joined us. He left for school more than a week before me, and I was a complete wreck. There was some fighting and lots of tears (on my part, not his). I finally left for Smith on the 29th for orientation. As soon as I became occupied with making adjustments and meeting new people, the anxiety lifted and a moment of clarity arrived. Drew and I decided we would make it work.
September:
Smith kind of felt like summer camp until classes began on the eighth. The girls at Smith were the most proactive, friendly sampling of people I had ever encountered, but I hadn’t experienced any life-changing encounters. I got my nose pierced and my mom got a new job. Convocation, Mountain Day, and other Smith traditions brought me closer to a lot of people. I went home the last week and protested the war in D.C. with fellow Smith Dems and my family.
October:
Crew was taking it’s toll on me with the hours that I had to put into practice, but I enjoyed my days as a coxswain none the less. I started getting involved in AIDS Care and other groups, making close friends, and began calling Smith “home.” I spent a few hundred dollars to visit my boyfriend at his school one weekend. Getting to Pittsburgh (I was very sick and my shoe broke on the first plane, thus I walked through the airport barefoot for most of the duration). But the short visit gave me a renewed confidence in us and I like that I can now have a mental picture of the people and places in his new life.
November:
My grandfather passed away from Alzheimer’s after 10 years of battling the disease. I went back to Kentucky for the funeral, went through a brief period of depression, and became very behind in my work. About a week and a half later, I flew home for Thanksgiving.
December:
I was hired to work with the psychology department to illustrate and conduct experiments that my adviser and other professors created, and the work will begin in late January. I began the long application process for Crossroads Africa so that I can hopefully do humanitarian/social work in Senegal or South Africa this summer. My boyfriend came to visit me the weekend of finals and we had a wonderful time together in Northampton. We flew back home together on the 20th and I resumed working with the politician for winter break. I spent New Years Eve at Dierdre’s apartment with some friends and the boy, the night seemed to be a good omen for another year.