The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Today was my last first day of school. Ever.
(Unless, of course, I decided to buy into that whole grad school idea...)

You would think since last night was the 17th first day of school eve that I've experienced, I'd be calm, cool, and collected. Oh, how wrong you would be. After scrambling around preparing for things, I lied in bed for at least half an hour, reminiscing on the my 16 year relationship with the one and only: education.

As I tossed, turned, and ferociously adjusted my pillow to its cooler side, it seemed like every memory from the past 16 years rushed to my brain; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

From organizing four of my friends and myself into the Hayes Elementary School version of the Spice Girls (the good - 1st grade), to the day I ate a whole tin of cinnamon altoids and promptly got strep throat (the bad - 5th grade), to the bright blue velvet track suit covered in stars and moons I frequently wore (the ugly - 4th grade).

Spice Girls in training

From the first time I experienced the joys of socializing during passing period (the good - 6th grade), to the backlash I got after I broke up with my first boyfriend over AIM, which I will admit, was pretty harsh (the bad - 7th grade), to basically every outfit I wore in middle school, especially the carefully crafted placement of my puka shell necklace hanging out of my navy blue Mickey Mouse hoodie (the ugly - all grades).

Note the omnipresent puka shell necklace and the signature Felicia pose

From winning best personality with my good pal Ben Koch (the good - 12th grade), to failing my first written driving test (the bad - 10th grade), to the hideous hodge-podge outfits that new dance team members had to wear for initiation (the ugly - 9th grade).

Best Personality, clearly

On top of these outfits we had to dance whenever someone asked us to...

And there so many more in between.

The best moments I thought of? The graduations from 5th grade, 8th grade, and 12th grade. By far my top three years of school so far, graduating from each of those grades was just the sweet, sweet icing on the cake. With remembering distinct moments from each graduation, I definitely smiled in between my glances at the clock to see how little sleep I was going to get. Getting pulled into a hug by Principal Thompson (5th grade), watching our rememberance video (8th grade), and holding back my tears after I finished my graduation speech to CRHS's class of 2010 (12th grade).

Alan Grove and I winning CR's Citizenship Award!

With all of those, I did feel a sense of finality, but I felt excitement more than anything. I knew I would be diving into this new, large pool that would be even bigger and even better than the last. But this morning, as I was putting on make-up and singing along to Black Eyed Peas' "Where is the Love?" (a ritual I've had since 6th grade), I couldn't help but feel a little scared and sad. I can't help but think that this will be the last time I do anything related to school. I can't help but cling on to this last year with all my might. Maybe it's because there isn't another institution of higher learning to head off to. I'll be heading into the real world armed with only #hashtags and tap shoes, and wow, it's a scary feeling. This new, large pool looks dark and deep, and naturally I'm hesitantly dipping one toe in, rather than just diving right in.

I want to soak this last year in. The mornings I wake up so late I rush out of the house without giving my looks a second thought (the ugly), the tests I fill out with only the guidance of "Well the last time I filled in A was three questions ago, so it seems reasonable that this answer might be A, too," (the bad), and those days where I nail a triple pirouette, where my mind is blown by a class discussion, where I learn, expand, and grow (the AMAZING).

Last first day of school with my amazing roomie Sean!

I'm going to soak it all in, and then, I'm going to cannonball.

Love Is Never Having To Say You're Sorry

Love is a funny thing in New York City. Or should I say; attraction is a funny thing in New York City.

Here's a breakdown of the levels of attraction I've experienced:

1) The Subway Eye Flirtation
Your eyes meet on a crowded subway, over the shoulder of a mom being clung to by a baby, past the right earlobe of someone listening to music; your eyes lock. Then they quickly shift away. Then you look back. Ah! They are still looking at you. Now downwards at your shoes. And back, but damn they are focused on wiping the sweat off their brow. Maybe they are trying to make themselves more presentable for you?

The subway eye flirtation is a favorite of mine, because it is non-committal yet deliciously entertaining. You feel good because they are checking you out, they feel good because you are checking them out. Everybody wins!

2) The Street Holler
It's the end of the day, you just climbed the stairs after a 35 minute train ride, and it begins. "Hola chica, que paso?", "Muy bonita, mama", "Mi amor, mi amor!". You adjust your earbuds, permafix a frown to your face, and march on down the street.

It's like Vanessa sings in "It Won't Be Long Now" in In The Heights, "The boys around the way holler at me when I'm walking down the street / Their machismo pride, doesn't break my stride / It's a compliment so they say." Okay great, another ego boost. However, these just seem lewd. Maybe it's because I'm not 100% sure what they are saying (WHY did I take French over Spanish?), maybe it's because I've never really experienced this kind of attention (Vancouver guys certainly haven't whistled at me on the street), or maybe it's just because I feel somewhat objectified (Thanks Theater and Dance classes!). It just seems a little absurd. I mean, I've gotten a marriage proposal before... Really? A girl you've seen for less than 30 seconds and you think she's the one to marry?

3) The Real Grown Up Dating
You meet up at the predetermined time and place. The basics are covered: where you grew up, where you went to school, family, your professional future (and only your professional future, your romantic future is taboo!). You discuss things you have in common, things you don't have in common, and if you're lucky, only a few awkward pauses.

Or you get stood up. Cute.

4) The Bicycle Built For Two
Basically the happy montage section of a rom-com. Exploring the city together, sharing Big Gay Ice Cream Monday Sundaes together, taking touristy photos together, loving life together.

This level of attraction is so fun. It's like nothing is the world can touch you. Sometimes I crave the affection of the level four attraction; the finger linking, the gentle kisses, the late night life talks. But on the other hand, there is something extremely freeing and exciting about not having to answer to anyone but yourself. That's what NYC has given me this summer. A chance to "do me". I've been doing independent, single, 21 year-old me, and as cheesy as that feels to read, it feels even better to live it.

And while I do appreciate the quote from Love Story that titles this post, I think we can all agree there are times when you hurt someone you care about, and you have to apologize. But when it's you, just you, you never have to apologize for being yourself.

New York City, the sequel.

In Theaters Now!

Put on your seat belts, ladies and gentlemen, for this post is going to be a doozy.

I first must take a moment to apologize to my loyal readers, who had been religiously following these posts (hey mom!), for not updating since March. But now that I'm back in New York, I've had a request to chronicle my life and the brouhaha that is likely to be this summer. I had already been scolding myself for not writing more, but after the NYC/Spring Break post, life got CRAY-CRAY. Just three mere days after I wrote that post I had to spend the night in Nashville, alone! A snowstorm delayed my flight from NYC so I missed my Nashville-Austin connection and had to sleep for six hours in a scary big (albeit suuupes comfy) bed in some random hotel ALONE. Talk about our 20s being a time to grow up.

I also threw myself into Theater and Dance when I got back. Our department hosted this AH-MAZING New Works Festival and my responsibilities with the end-of-the-semester musical theater performance peaked.

The 202 (the apartment I share with Sean!) became the social hub for our friends, and we spent many a night staying up til 4am, laughing, reenacting musicals, and me surreptitiously trying to sleep. (Didn't work-- my so-called "friends" even stole my mattress one night.)

Then I spent time in the good ol' Couve, where I caught up with my best friend, my fave local ice cream shop, and some much needed time with my pillow. I should have caught up on my posts also, but I'll be honest, eating s'mores and watching Gilmore Girls sounded a lot better at the time.

But now I'm back in that city that never sleeps, and it just feels right! NYC is where I took my first baby steps into the blogging world, and now that I've returned, it'll be easy to slip right in again.

It's funny, during my first couple days back in the city, I realized I needed to readjust back to several of my NYC-ccentric tendencies. I had remembered that since I'm in the same neighborhood that people would talk to me in Spanish because they think I'm Dominican, and I actually think it's really cool. But I had forgotten that I don't have to self-consciously try to hide my thick thighs when wearing shorts because there are girls that are the same shape as me. I forgot that I don't have to search high and low for hair products because there are girls that have the same hair as me. I forgot that you don't have to say sorry when you bump into someone on the sidewalk. And I certainly forgot how tiring the city is.

Let's do a quick recap of this past week's highlights:

*Attended Chicago night at Below 54 with my friend Jennifer
*Fan-girled over Adam Pascal at Chicago night
*Second first day of summer internship at DoSomething.org
*Drinks after work with one of DS's graphic designers, Keri, and the oh-so talented performer, Kyle Scatliffe
*Made Kyle serenade me with "Felicia Green Eyes" (formerly "Sarah Brown Eyes") from Ragtime
*Celebrated DS's 20th birthday in a major way:
     -Sang along while Hanson performed
     -Received cell numbers from two guys in 15 minutes (a first for me..)
     -Bonded with new interns and saw/laughed/danced with old interns
     -Went karaoking (which is much better when you are 21 and with the DS staff)
*MY FRIEND JENNIFER WON TONY AWARDS STUDENT RUSH TICKETS!
*Wore an XXL T-shirt and yelled #fitchplease outside of the flagship Abercrombie store.

...and those were just the highlights. So now I'm in bed, enjoying this luxury of, well, doing nothing. Even Wonder Woman has nights off.

I'll admit I might have been a little nervous that this summer wouldn't live up to the summer that never slept. I mean, they say that good things come in pairs, but in my experience, that isn't always the case. Thing 1 and Thing 2? Two people obnoxiously making out on public transportation? And don't even get me started on Grease 2. However, if this first week is any indication of how the rest of this summer is going to go, I have no reason to worry. I can already tell this will be a sequel I enjoy, like National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. Love me some Nicholas Cage and Justin Bartha!

xx

How Do You Measure A Year?

In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? In cups of coffee?

Or maybe how your level of comfortability while riding the New York subway?

It's crazy to me to think that it was merely one year ago, that I was here in New York City for the first time by myself. Even though I was so excited by the city and felt like I belonged, there was still a sense of uncomfort and nervousness within me. And on top of that, it was exactly 365 days ago that I watched Sister Act in The Broadway Theatre, then trekked off on the R train to stay with a friend in Brooklyn. Or so I tried. The R train was down for maintenance and the panic on my face triggered a young man to help me get to my destination. If it hadn't been for him, I may still be stuck on the Union Square subway stop. Flash forward to this March 15: I watched Cinderella in The Broadway Theatre, then trekked off to the R train to stay with a friend in the Lower East Side. I accomplished the endeavor with ease and comfort. Here I am writing this blog.

You can measure a year with birthdays, holidays, school years, but returning to NYC a year after my first lone experience of the city opened my eyes to how much I have grown in the past year. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I hate to admit that all those times our parents have told us "you really find out who you are in your 20s" they were right, but they were. This probably means they are also right in the sense that will miss taking college classes after the fact, but I'm finding this one seriously hard to believe. I do believe that my core values, my "essence", my Felicia-ness, has been there since December 26, 1991 and will be with me until I peace out, but it's exciting to see the change and growth in my life since this time last year. I feel like there is a newfound confidence and it came from me taking that leap out of my comfort zone and spending the summer in the city by myself.

This city is the best. Ever. There's this energy that can't really be explained-- you have to experience it. And I feel like the best time to experience it is in your 20s. It's the time where sleep isn't high on the priority list (okay it's way high on the priority list but for some reason we all go without it anyways), and you can just ride that constant wave of energy until you crash, take a power nap, then do it all again. My friends Ja'Michael and Jelisa were able to experience this energy for the first time during this spring break, and I was so happy we met up and I was able to be a part of it and see the excitement of their first visit!

It was also great to be a part of the UT seminar for the second time, and feel prepared and professional. I was a part of the journalism group and it was AWESOME. We visited The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated, The Huffington Post, ABC News, CNN, BuzzFeed, and Food Network Magazine. I made some new friends that I can tell will be good friends, and was able to reunite with the fabulous folks of DoSomething.org that I love so much.

I'm not sure if I can accurately expresse how alive this city makes me feel, but I can say how much it has influenced this past year for me. In some ways, it has been there for me to daydream about during Biology for non-majors, and in other ways, it has seriously altered my future. In the past 525,600 minutes, I have measured my life in New York City.

xx

@yournamehere

If it isn't obvious, I'm obsessed with all things social media. You can often find me at my computer resembling something of this nature:

Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, tumblr, all those fun things. There's nothing I love more than thinking up a witty caption for a photo or an amusing 140 character anecdotes about one of my mundane life events.

I think a lot of people, like myself, like the community that's created through social media. Aside from cyber bullying and those annoying people who just like to pick fights on Facebook walls, people can really connect with people to feel more included and less isolated. Especially now that people are really increasing their live tweeting of national events (Obama's second inauguration, Oscar's, etc) and using an excessive amount of #hashtags, people can easily access what you have to say.

Like those photos take during the weekends that show how seriously you are taking your duty to drink legally? We're all applying for internships and jobs and guess what-- they DEFINITELY google you and look at your twitter. When pictures of your ratchet Thirsty Thursday comes up on your feed, they'll be like that US Olympic gymnast and will not be impressed.

So what info do we put on which social media platforms? A lot of my friends will post personal things on twitter and then keep facebook nice and tidy because they have parents and other relatives on there. I personally like to keep twitter for professional networking stuff (and don't forget those anecdotes about my life events!) and leave my personal musings to facebook.

I'm not sure if there is a right or wrong way to do social media, but this is just a friendly reminder to be conscious of what you put on your social media because you never know who is going to see it. And a reminder to not use hashtags on facebook, because that just irks everyone.

xx

Ima Buy U A Drank?

I'll be the first to admit I'm still a newbie to the alcohol world. I didn't go crazy and do massive amounts of drinking my first two years of college, and the only alcoholic drinks I could/can name are ones from movies and Caribou Lou by Tech N9ne.

"Oh, I'll have a cosmo." -Sex and the City
"Two martinis please, and make Mr. Parker's a double."-The Parent Trap
"I'll have a Grey Goose Martini, two olives, dirty."-Sweet Home Alabama
"Two double seven and sevens."-Bridesmaids
"151 rum, pineapple juice, Malibu..." -Caribou Lou

But seriously, when did everyone learn about different alcohol and drinks? Was that a class I missed freshman year? Even on my 21st birthday, after I ordered my Cosmopolitan, my friends had to help order as I decided what kind of taste I liked. The verdict: fruity and sweet so I can barely taste the alcohol. How cute and precious I am.

I'm not ashamed that I didn't drink before my 21st birthday, but it's just a weird transition going from zero to twenty-one in one birthday. With a lot of my friends turning 21 now, we're going to celebrate their birthdays and I still have no idea what to order. It's also all so expensive! I'm not made of money! The most recent birthday of my friends took place this last week, and we went to Chili's happy hour, which helped me save some face because they had margaritas and I certainly know about margaritas. Or at least I thought I did. When the bartender asked what flavor, I excitedly pointed to the marchino cherries and said "I really like those...can I have some of those in it?!" The innocence, the innocence!


I also get really nervous buying alcohol in the grocery store. It's weird, it's almost like buying condoms or a first bra, trying to avoid eye contact and paying as fast as you can without giggling from embarrassment.

So clearly, alcohol and I won't be making BFF bracelets anytime soon, but hopefully one day I can actually order a real drink without hesitation, because right now, starting :26 and on is an accurate portrayal of my life:

This week is brought to you by the word struggle bus

Sometime between Monday and Tuesday, I boarded the struggle bus and I haven't gotten off. What's worse, I willing waved my arms, flagged it down, and got on!

I'm still trying to find this balance of having fun, and responsibility. With quotes like,"You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does..." (Tom Petty) floating around, I can't really be blamed that I went out dancing instead of learning how to conjugate "mettre" for my French class on Friday right? Not to mention that I felt super cool flashing my 21-year-old ID and got to skip those hideous black X's on my hands.

And at work on Wednesday, another 8th grader made me realize how different life is at 14 and 21. She was telling me how lucky I am that I can stay up as late as I want, have people whenever I want, eat whatever I want, and basically do whatever I want. Which is kind of true. We have a lot of freedom at this age, and I've been wondering if I've been taking advantage of it since I like to keep my life organized, scheduled, and planned out. Maybe that's why I ate a whole pan of brownies with friends instead of reading a 27 paged article for class. Maybe that's why I had to eat a Hershey's chocolate kiss for breakfast on Wednesday. (Which isn't as glamorous as our first grade selves thought it would be to have candy for breakfast.) As fun as these past couple of nights have been, I have definitely felt the consequences in my classes. Forgetting assignments, not doing well on quizzes, only hitting a triple pirouette once, and just the general feeling that I will pass out from exhaustion at any moment.

I wish that when it came to partying and procrastinating I could say that

But when I felt super sick Friday night, I finally found my stop and got off the struggle bus because I made myself skip a party just so I could get sleep and feel better. 

I'm sure it's possible to balance having fun and and being responsible. But maybe it's okay that we're not really sure how to equalize them right now. And maybe it's better to have a few slip-ups now than later when we have jobs. After all, work never ends, but college does.

Nancy Meyers presents: Love.

Growing up watching every Nancy Meyers romantic comedy, I have often found myself choreographing my own happy-moments montages, applying soundtracks to my emotions, and hoping that my current love interest will execute some grandiose, romantic gesture. Basically, I wish my life was a rom-com. And can you blame me? There's love, laughter, and the conflict is solved in under 100 minutes.

Of course, I'm not silly enough to truly expect my life to reflect rom-coms (but if any cute guys wants to organize a flash mob in Grand Central Station like in Friends With Benefits, I won't complain...), but they've definitely have had me thinking about love. Especially with yesterday being Valentine's Day.  Confession time: this is my first Valentine's Day being single in five years. WHAT? I'm only 21 years-old! Clearly, romantic love has been a priority for me for the past five years, probably because of all those rom-coms. You would think yesterday would have been hard for me to get through, but I can sincerely say it wasn't. Sure, it was weird to not bake brownies or write a wonderfully cheesy card, but I've found out that my idea of love has grown and expanded, which is why I didn't drown myself in chocolate ice cream and The Notebook.

My realization that my idea of love has expanded came the day before Valentine's Day, when I worked the front desk at Ballet Austin. Like I have for the past year and a half of working there, I found myself listening to stories of 8th grade girls and their love predicaments. Things like the stressful task of giving your crush a Valentine, or slow-dancing with a boy for the first time. I mean, do y'all remember how exciting it was to bobble around in a circle to some R&B slow jam? (It was Usher and Alicia Key's "My Boo" for me!)  It was so nice to reminisce on the simpler times as they recounted their stories. I remember at the time, slow dancing, hand holding, and just talking on the phone elicited a feeling of being loved. As we've gotten older, clearly the feeling of being loved has become more intimate, with losing virginities and planning futures together. Then, after the break-up with my boyfriend last semester, my idea of love expanded even more. I thought I wouldn't feel loved for a while, but it was quite the opposite! My mom and my close friends showed me where the love was (I have to remember to tell the Black Eyed Peas next time I talk to them), and they were there for me whenever I needed them. That's when I realized that rom-coms don't have to always end with the girl getting the guy that she was mad at a mere 17 minutes ago. Love in real life is scary and awesome, and isn't only manifested through romance. It can be felt through your mom listening to you cry on the phone for the 100th time, laughing about embarrassing moments with your best friend, or even dancing the wobble with your friends in your living room on Valentine's Day. And cue: "This Will Be An Everlasting Love" by Natalie Cole, because everyone knows a good rom-com ends with a scene of dancing to that song.

xx

Let's Talk About Success Baby

suc-cess |səkˈses|

noun

1. the accomplishment of an aim, goal, or purpose

How do you define success?

Is it getting an A on a math exam? Rapping every line of Macklemore’s Thrift Shop perfectly? Someone telling you that you could be Beyonce's doppleganger? (The last one is correct, btdubs.)

And even more importantly, who do you let define your success? Being in college and working at jobs or internships, we are constantly trying to meet a standard defined by someone else. But I think things would be a lot easier for us if we stopped comparing our bangs to Zooey Deschanel’s or our number of instagram likes to those girls' from high school; if we defined our own success.

For me, I often equate success with recognition of my hard-work. I’m trying to avoid leaving recognition for other people to award me, and instead deciding myself. Like some days, I decide if I'm successful if I actually take a shower and go to bed at a decent hour. Other days it's being able to flip an egg without breaking the yolk. And then it can also be finding out The New York Times article I was interviewed for was published.

I remember when success revolving around stickers of butterflies and not getting tagged by the lava monster, but now, it's a whole different game. We're all still trying to run around not being attacked by the lava monster which is now labeled as failure. Of course there may be some days where it seems like the lava monster is only chasing after you, but even Beyonce has her off days. Success is what you choose to make it, and the definition is yours to write.

xx

The Fourth Line

There’s a popular picture on the internet, consisting of a triangle and a possibility at each point: good grades, social life, and enough sleep. Inside the triangle it reads: “choose two”. It’s definitely a real and hard decision students have to face daily. It’s almost as hard as deciding whether to work out or stay home and eat cookies while watching New Girl. Okay just kidding, that’s clearly an easy decision. 

And if that wasn’t hard enough, in the past year or two another line has been added: career preparation. As we near college graduation, we have the added duty of finding a career to sustain us once we’re out of college so we’re not like the bird lady in Mary Poppins. Although she did seem bad-ass and "Feed the Birds" is one of my fave Disney songs.

How do you balance school, friends, sleep, and finding internships/networking with top-dogs in your career industry? Can you even balance it all? And if you can’t, who gets voted off the island? This is seriously like Sophie’s Choice. Kind of.

I’m wanting to go into social/digital media and editorial/entertainment writing after college, so in order for me to keep up with the industry, I literally need to watch TV and constantly check twitter so I can be up to speed on the latest pop culture references, (it’s actually pretty awesome). But I can’t always sit down for 30 minutes and watch TV, and retweeting the latest social media news while conjugating French verbs in class just isn’t possible.

I have friends who want to be directors and actors, but can’t go to auditions or spend all their time blocking a show because they need to study bio or read for their economy class. 

And don’t forget friends! And sleep (which practically is our best friend anyways right?)! I truly used to be a believer that it was possible to do it all, but now that we’re adding more lines, and more funny shows on TV, I’m not entirely sure that it is. But I consider myself an inclusive person, and I want to keep everything on the island! Whether that means I’ll have to sacrifice a few hours of sleep, or not immediately know about what Kimye is naming their baby, I guess we’ll have to see. But I’m going to make these four lines into a diamond and make every point shine. (It’s the end of the week, you needed that cheesy line.)

xx

Whose fun is it anyways?

My friends, I hope you will pardon that my post is coming a day later than it suppose to. Although, I do have a good reason! And it incorporates into what I already wanted to talk about: I was having fun.

In two the blogs other I've written, I've always done at least one post on fun. Which makes sense right? Having fun is such a huge part in our lives, especially in our 20s when we just deemed it the decade of exploring, discovering, and contemplating the vastness of the universe.

The first post I wrote about fun, was about how fun comes in all shapes and sizes. It was cute, for an out-of-state freshman at a new university who had no friends. I was trying to justify why I wasn't going out to parties. Now I'm a junior, I have friends, and I go to parties, but the funny thing is, I still kind of agree with little ol' freshman Felicia.

I really do believe there are different ways to have fun! And I don't really like how society prescribes drinking as the best way for college kids/20-somethings to have fun, but being a freshly turned 21-er, I know that's definitely a way to have fun. Let's do a case study:

Last Friday night, I spent in my bed, catching up on TV shows, eating spaghetti. I was asleep by 11:30pm.

Last Saturday night, I spent in my bed, doing homework (!), eating butterfingers. I was asleep by 1:37am, only because SNL was moved to 12:00am because there was some West Texas Telethon on at the normal time slot.

Here's the best part: I was actually having fun doing all of that! There were moments that I would think to myself "Wow, this is actually really fun. I feel bad that I don't feel bad for not going out tonight."

Let's continue:

Tuesdays and Thursdays are my favorite class days. It's all about musical theater and dancing. I start out TA-ing Natasha's beginning Musical Theater Dance class, then I go to French, then back to take Natasha's advanced Musical Theater Dance class, THEN, we have rehearsal for our Spring Musical Theater Performance. We did tap this week, and it was so fun. The sweat was dripping down my neck, the endorphins were pumping, and the smile on my face was huge.

Then yesterday, after my last class, the sun was shining, the air was perfect, and I set out to sit on the beautiful south mall with my friend Caleb and write this blog about fun. But you know what happened? I had fun. I'm sorry y'all! We ended up talking and our friend Paige stopped by and we talked even more. She made us laugh and laugh and laugh. Our cheeks hurt from laughing so much. Then last night, my friends and I stopped by three parties and had a blast!

So guys, here we are. This was more like a recap of my week and had way less pop culture references than I wanted it to. Let me just say this: there really is more than one way to have fun! Don't feel bad about how you like to have fun, unless it's kicking dogs or telling little kids Santa doesn't exist. Don't do that. But as long as you're happy, you're having fun the right way.

It's only cheesily appropriate to end with this quote, from the people who know fun best:

"Tonight, we are young, so we'll set the world on fire, we will glow brighter than the sun." -fun.

xx

Welcome to the Twenties Club

Spending this last month at home for Christmas break, I found myself really nostalgic. Maybe it’s because it was the tenth anniversary of my first Nutcracker performance, or because I visited my high school and felt irrelevant, or maybe even because Gossip Girl ended, but I was seriously reflective about my life and how my friends and I have all changed in the three years since graduation.

It made me realize I had taken my childhood for granted. The years when you compared lunches not drunken hook ups; when deciding your career could easily change every other day; and where your heart only broke when you missed the new episode of Arthur.

Maybe those cheesy confidence boosting books they gave us in elementary school secretly did help, because we all seemed to have had it figured out then. Now this wonderful decade of our twenties that we’re all embarking on, has no manual or confidence guide. Lizzie McGuire has been replaced with HBO’s Girls and Chicken Noodle Soup for the Teenage soul has been replaced with articles about what length of pencil skirt is appropriate at an interview and how to really tell if that guy in your psych class likes you. While those are great, isn’t more than just that happening? We’re figuring ourselves out-- our beliefs, values, passions. This is the time to experience everything and truly discover what we want in this life. I’ve had so many friends say they are confused and scared for their future, and to that, I say welcome to the club. The twenties club: where everyone is at least a little bit scared, and if they say they aren’t, they’re lying. 

Yes, our futures are unknown which can be scary, but isn’t it also exciting? There is so much for us to do and it’s waiting for us to find it.

“Being in your twenties is all about discovering which things hurt you and what makes you feel good. This is what your twenties are for: to feel and see as much as you can. Don’t think for a second that you’re not going to miss those nights you spent putting on your make-up, changing five million times, drinking wine, smoking cigarettes out your apartment window. You will miss all of this. This is a luxury. Youth is fucking magic.” -Pinterest image quote

"Your 20s' are your 'selfish' years. It's a decade to immerse yourself in every single thing possible. Be selfish with your time, and all the aspects of you. Tinker with shit, travel, explore, love a lot, love a little, and never touch the ground." -Kyoko Escamilla

I don’t want to wake up one day, be 50 years old and realize I didn’t fully appreciate my twenties, just like how I feel about my childhood now. This is an exciting time my friends, and since we’re all freaking out anyways, let’s freak out together. Like how crazy is it when facebook seems to be announcing an engagement every day? What are appropriate drinks to order when there are no red solo cups and unidentified liquid in a punch bowl in sight? And am I the only one who has had a phone interview while sitting in my bathroom? We’re going to be finding out regardless, so why not chronicle my experiences for others to relate to, laugh at, and/or mock? I’m in the twenties state of mind.

xx


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