It's the things that are given, not won, are the things that you earned.
So wow.
There are those points in your life that, as a kid, you never think you're actually going to reach. As a third grader, I could never imagine being a mature and awesome sixth grader; as a high schooler, it was hard to think that I'd ever be as old and carelessly cool as those college students you'd see walking with messenger bags and Northface fleeces.
Now, as a college student myself, I've never been able to imagine (among other grown-up things) being 21. It seemed, for lack of better explanation, distant and mythical -- like sex or the ability to find a good boyfriend. Honest to God, I've actually been pretty convinced that I will never be 21 -- it has become one of my defining characteristics (Melanie, noun: big chest; total geek; legal minor).
Over the course of 20 years, you get used to the fact that there is a significant portion of the world that is unequivocally off-limits. So, as you can imagine, it is strange and wondrous to realize that tomorrow, for no particular reason at all, all those restrictions will be lifted, and things will change, as things do. No longer do I have to walk two blocks farther in the rain on the way home to get somewhere dry -- I can swing into Max's. No longer will I get kicked out of restaurants early or have nowhere to go after midnight or be cut out of plans for my age. No longer will I suffer silly restrictions, all in the name of protecting the young: I can go to the concerts I want, get the vodka I like, buy the wine I want to cook with.
It seems silly to say all of this, especially because most of you have already been old enough for awhile, but I figure this is the last chance to think these things; I know that soon, I'll be just another person at the bars, and I'll have forgotten this childlike wonder at the mysterious world behind closed doors -- as well as the attending hurt in being left out by my (even marginally) older friends. And I don't want to, and I don't want to do that to my younger friends. So I'd just like to remember how exciting and weird this particular birthday is and remind myself to be good.
So yes, that's that! It's been a busy week, and it'll be a busy birthday, so the current plan is:
Today: Rennie's at midnight! Julian's probably working the bar, so there are undoubtedly at least a few free drinks to be found there.
Thursday: Maybe a nice dinner, go out to Davis's or the Bier Stein or somewhere relatively low-key, attempt to keep down the bevy of birthday drinks.
Friday: Let loose! Get something solid and greasy in the tummy, then go out clubbing and to the bars all night. This is when I plan on embarrassing myself in front of everyone I've ever known. And possibly getting Pita Pit at 3 a.m. So that's exciting!
Saturday: Recover, go to Saturday Market if it's nice? And then Matt's coming down, yay! I'm psyched for that. Not sure what to do that night -- I'm sure we'll go with the wind. :)
PLUS, NEXT WEEK I'M GOING UP TO PORTLAND, AND IT WILL BE AMAAAAAAZING.
Otherwise, I'm just working on studying for my finance midterm tomorrow (or well, I will be) and trying not to let myself get nervous about the NYT luncheon tomorrow... especially the part where I'm not sure if I remember what my boss looks like. Er.
As for today, I received a nice vase of flowers from Mom, then went to Econ only to have it canceled due to "WIFE IN LABOR, DO YOUR HOMEWORK, BYE." Floated around, read my notes, went to another class two hours later, and then had my interview for the South Africa internship. Which really didn't mean much in the sense of me getting it or not, but it did get me started on the next steps involved in getting out of the county. For example, yellow fever vaccine! (According to the CDC, I run the risk of contracting: Hep A/B, yellow fever, typhoid, rabies, malaria, African sleeping sickness, dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, river blindness (?), rickettsial infection, African tick bite fever, schistosomiasis, polio, and TB. Oh, and HIV.)
Yessssssssssssss.
Okay, back to studying. I'm sure I had more to say, but I just got way too excited about the potential of river blindness to go on.
Everyone, have a good Melanie's Birthday!