Being a Beginner

Rita Hayworth

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:30:00 +0000

So I'm leaving for the beach today. I did my graduation clearance paperwork. Turned in my co-op paperwork. Emailed my teacher about my stupidity of not turning in my paper the right way on BlackBoard. And bought a shit ton (literally, they're like books) of fashiony magazines.

Clearly, I'm now thinking about Halloween. I think I've settled on Rita Hayworth. It still might change. What do we think?

Reprioritizing Life

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Riding the bus this morning, I wrote a small novel to myself. And decided I needed a life priorities/reminders list.

1. Trust my heart more often
2. Visit Paris
3. Jump without fear
4. Meet Rosalia
5. Be vulnerable
6. Get rid of negative "friends"
7. Stop using the phrase, "Because I have to"
8. Accept good enough
9. Fill up my passport
10. Spend money on what's important, skip the other stuff
11. Perfect my curves
12. Appreciate early laugh lines
13. Do good
14. Be thankful
15. Meditate

HALLOWEEN! (First in a series, to be sure)

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:53:00 +0000

And no, I will tell you right now, it is NOT too early. You gotta get the good costumes when it's still fun and relaxing to shop. Everything (well the big stuff anyways) should be taken care of by Columbus Day.

So we're kicking around the idea of doing Hollywood this year. I think we're going to go with old school glam Hollywood instead of va-jay-jay flashing, rich, talentless, skinny bitches Hollywood. I think we should really define it as pin-ups and rat pack era. Go curvy ladies!

So, since Kari is taking Marilyn, I'm thinking maybe doing Liz Taylor, Betty Grable, or Veronica Lake. Any opinions? Ideas?

Altruism in America

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Excerpts from an article by David Graeber in Harper's (Jan 2007):

Imagine, for a moment, that the United States as it exists today were the creation of some ingenious social engineer. What assumptions about human nature could we say this engineer must have been working with? Certainly nothing like rational choice theory. For clearly our social engineer understands that the only way to convince human beings to enter into the world of work and the marketplace (that is, of mind-numbing labor and cutthroat competition) is to dangle the prospect of thereby being able to lavish money on one’s children, buy drinks for one’s friends, and, if one hits the jackpot, spend the rest of one’s life endowing museums and providing AIDS medications to impoverished countries in Africa. Our theorists are constantly trying to strip away the veil of appearances and show how all such apparently selfless gestures really mask mine kind of self-interested strategy, but in reality American society is better conceived as a battle over access to the right to behave altruistically. Selflessness–or, at least, the right to engage in high-minded activity–is not the strategy. It is the prize.

When we are dealing not with strangers but with friends, relatives, or enemies, a much more complicated set of motivations will generally come into play: envy, solidarity, pride, self-destructive grief, loyalty, romantic obsession, resentment, spite, shame, conviviality, the anticipation of shared enjoyment, the desire to show up a rival, and so on, These are the motivations impelling the major dramas of our lives that great novelists like Tolstoy and Dostoevsky immortalize but that social theorists, for some reason, tend to ignore.

...we are so used to operating inside impersonal markets that it never occurs to us to think how we would act if we had an economic system in which we treated people based on how we actually felt about them.

One might put it this way: if value is simply what one considers important, then money allows importance to take a liquid form, by enabling us to compare precise quantities of importance and trade one off for the other. If someone does accumulate a very large amount of money, the first thing he or she is likely to do is to try to convert it into something unique, whether it be Monet’s water lilies, a prizewinning racehorse, or an endowed chair at a university.

The problem, of course, is that a higher education system cannot be expanded forever. At a certain point one ends up with a significant portion of the population unable to find work even remotely in line with their qualifications, who have every reason to be angry about their situation, and who also have access to the entire history of radical thought.

More thoughts on this later.

Olympic Fandimonium

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:30:00 +0000

Recently we discussed the aspects of being a 'fan' in our American Society class. There's a strong sense of group identity and emotional catharsis in being a fan. You get to experience the emotional highs and lows, you get to commiserate or celebrate with fellow fans, all without lifting more than a beer or your shouts of encouragement for YOUR team.

We've definitely seen this with all of the Olympic hype lately. Now that they've started, it's hard not to get up caught up cheering for USA. Otherwise, you would be unpatriotic, you would be a traitor. As I sat in my living room last night, eating Cappy's pizza in my sweats, I couldn't help but think of the irony of watching the most successful athletes in the world compete against each other.

I'm so glad that I was watching the men's 4x100 relay last night. Because now I can say, "YEAH! I saw it live, as it happened!!" I got to be a part of my team's moment because I experienced the same emotions (albeit not nearly as raw or profound) at the same time they did. Through all the stress of finals this week, it's nice to have an escapist emotional outlet. And really, these men aren't hard on the eyes either. (Click here for NBC's "exclusive" photos from the race. Check out Phelp's face and phsyique as he realizes Lezak just SMASHED the world record and the French team.)

Pictures say 1,000 words

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:56:00 +0000

I'm ready to get off this emotional roller coaster

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Sunday and Monday was a ridiculous experience of going from the highest emotional high to the lowest low. From speaking at Kyle & Laurie's wedding ceremony to finding out about getting robbed of my jewelry (and old laptop). It was emotionally, and thus physically, draining. Once I got back to the city Monday, I napped and laid in my bed for a few hours, unable to find the energy or motivation to go much farther. And also scared that somehow leaving would have dire consequences. Kari and I did manage to be productive in the evening when we started cleaning the front closet and pantry - which was completely beyond words disgusting. I needed the act of packing to excite me and make moving out of this shithole with my slumlord a reality. 24 days and counting.

Tuesday was slightly more energetic and productive, if only because it had to be for the most part. But then, for the first time since the start of January, I didn't close on a Tuesday night. So I was finally able to partake of Ladies 80s Night at Red Sky ($10 of booze gets you a free three course meal). I had the best experience ever with BPD (Office D. Brown) when filing my supplemental report. After Red Sky, and observing the ridiculousness that is Menino's corraling of street performers at Fanieul Hall (see Universal Hub), I went home and watched TV in our peaceful apartment.

Today was a lot of class and reading, and the next week of upcoming finals is going to be crazy. But the power of positive thinking (I'm convinced that's what it was) brought me to the Jack Johnson concert in Mansfield for free, with the decision made about 45 minutes prior to leaving the city. It took an arsenal of calls to BR sales people but it all came together, and I even ran into one of my best friends from NH on Rt 495 on his way to the concert too.

Of course, listening to music you haven't heard in awhile, and truly hearing the lyrics, makes you start thinking. Especially thinking of things that hadn't been thought about in awhile, that get sparked by seeing someone special.

Well I was sitting, waiting, wishing
You believed in superstitions
Then maybe you'd see the signs

The Lord knows that this world is cruel
I ain't the Lord, no I'm just a fool
Learning lovin' somebody don't make them love you

Everything in Hollis is so green

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:49:00 +0000

I finally wrote my speech for Kyle and Laurie's wedding this weekend.

Being home, ie away from actual life demands in Boston, has been really nice for the last half a day. I feel more productive and focused.

I've only had time to Tweet lately instead of really blogging, but I'm going to try to write more. I promise. It's just hard in the summer, you know?

Also, everything in Hollis is such a lush shade of green.

Oh, you didn't know that muffin was bad for you?

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:48:00 +0000

MSNBC article about New Yorkers' reaction to the new laws the city finally got passed that requires fast-food type restaurants to display calorie content of food as prominently as the price.

Outside the Forest Hills’ Dunkin’ Donuts, Juan Restrepo, the 45-year-old owner of a construction company, said he was quitting corn muffins — 510 calories! — this time for good.

“My daughter warned me about them,” he lamented. “I just didn’t listen.”

Just proves the point that we don't believe it until we see it. So maybe seeing it over and over and over again will finally drill home how we managed to become to the fattest country on the planet. Changing our habits will change companies menu items (ah, capitalist supply & demand cycle) which means more healthy options for everyone - yay!

New York is not the only city pushing calorie labels. New laws in Seattle and California’s Santa Clara and San Francisco are scheduled to go into effect later this year, including some more stringent than New York’s, requiring restaurants to post information about sodium, carbs, fats and cholesterol in addition to calories.

Hey Boston - where are we? I want calorie counts on my menus!

I actually wrote my Law, Policy, and Society thesis about this topic in December. Here's some really fun facts:

* Only 35% of Americans are healthy (according to BMIs)
* After the Nutrition and Labeling Education Act 1990 (you know, all those lovely labels on the stuff you buy at the grocery store): 48% changed their decision to buy or use a product and 24% to 37% choose high calorie items less often
* New York City residents at Subway restaurants who reported seeing calorie information bought 48 fewer calories on average and those who claimed they actively used the information bought 92 few calories. “The Health Department estimates that, if the same pattern held at every restaurant covered by the proposed regulation, its adoption would spare at least 150,000 people from obesity over the next five years, preventing more than 30,000 cases of diabetes” (NYBOH PR). If we use US Census Bureau information to estimated the population of New York City to be 3% of the national population, these statistics become even more significant. Federal adoption of the MEAL Act would then spare an estimated five million people from obesity in the next five years and prevent one million cases of diabetes.

(Let me know if you'd like to read a full copy.)

Lately: Bball, DOTC, Bowling, Mac&Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:44:00 +0000

Being back in classes means a lot more running around, a lot more switching gears several times a day, and a lot less reading/blogging in between adventures.

Here's what I've been up to:
Saturday
Basketball tournament for AI kids out in Brookline. Watched some kid slam his face into the side of the pavement. Sports are so interesting because really, what does winning mean? For street games there is no trophy, no prize money. But the way these guys were playing, you'd think it was a battle to the death. Chanting, yelling, pouring sweat, harassing each other, half-court shots, scrapping for every rebound - it was unreal. But to be THAT in the moment with something, it's an intense thing to watch.

That night got eaten alive by mosquitos on my feet (damn flip-flops) at Dancing on the Charles. Definitely not my crowd, music preference, or age demographic, but we still managed to make it fun. (See Adam's post at www.bostonin60.com)

Tuesday
Worked at Banana. Met up with friends at King's Bowling Alley to watch them compete in the championship for the College League. Apparently it's "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner." They were on fire for awhile, knocking out strikes left and right. But alas, there will be no chicken dinner or pizza party for us. Also - playing pool with intoxicated friends is dangerous.

Wednesday
Had the best homemade from scratch macaroni and cheese ever. Seriously, I can't explain how delicious it was. And made even better by the fact that I didn't have to cook it, or clean up really, just drank white wine on the couch while looking at my lovely flowers.

I'm a Bravo TV addict. I am SO, so excited to watch the new season on Project Runway. And there was a new Sheer Genius on last night too. Seriously, how can you go wrong with clothing design, haircuts, and bitchy queens?

More exciting stuff is on the horizon this weekend, so stay tuned.

Also, really interesting video (Lest We Forget) that we watched yesterday in American Society. Watch it and tell me what you think.

"Those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it."

Writing will rot your brain

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:31:00 +0000

I protested to my mother: I did not want to be an engineer. The idea of toiling endlessly on applied calculus problems in Calc 4 is completely unappealing to me. But to be honest, I do miss being able to derive and integrate, or even just play around with trig problems. There's something nice about math in contrast to sociology, journalism, or policy classes -- it has answers. Maybe I should have sprinkled a few math classes into my college career just for the change of pace. Eh, who knows. But for now, to quote my favorite math teacher Mr. Nagy: "Don't drink and derive."

That tan looks great on you.

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:53:00 +0000

It's been awhile, did you miss me? Probably not. Or rather, hopefully not. You should have shut you laptop, donned your white-rimmed plastic sunglasses, and headed out into the great sunshiny world away from the blogosphere. Or at least that's what I was up to for the better part of the last two weeks. I spent three solid days at my lake house disconnected from the world beyond those who showed up to BBQ, play cribbage, sun themselves, and splash around in the lake. It was glorious. I always feel rejuvenated when I'm there; I think it has to do with the fact that so much of my regular life is spent indoors near electronic devices connecting with people. Disconnection is exhilirating.

Oh and I've also been doing a little bit of that thing called school again. Taking American Society, a discussion based sociology course, and Entrepreneurship. Both of which are challenging and rewarding in opposite ways. It's good to be in an environment that really engages my brain again (except for the homework).

On that note, these are some things you really should check out:
Boston in 60
My friend Adam has two months left before he leaves Boston for an internship in DC. He's challenging himself to do something different every single day. Follow along, tag along, and make suggestions!

You Look Great Today
A fun salute from Happy Corp to "capture greatness in the wild." Scroll through the pics and smile or go on your own greatness-seeking adventure and share your own pics.

America, You're Getting Old

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:38:00 +0000

Not in the antiquated, old school European way. More in the, you're no long a world leader in everything, so get over it, okay? kind of way. The more I read the more I truly believe that America was the country of the 19th and 20th centuries, but we will not be the driving force of innovation or the mecca of world culture in the 21st.

Architecture: A new 80-story skyscraper to be constructed in Dubai, designed by an Italian, with 79 wind turnbines between the floors (so that not only is it energy efficient, it ADDS to the power grid)... THAT MOVES! You have to read the article from BBC and watch the video.

Technology: Indian-born developer's technology for cellphones is being widely adopted in Japan... not the US where his company is based. An example: using your phone as an e-wallet:

"Instead of printing out online coupons, movie tickets, and boarding passes - and toting around credit cards and gift cards - consumers will son be able to store bar codes in their phones."

Want that soda from the machine? Point your cellphone at it and it will deduct the money from your account. Oh man, can you imagine how much easier it would be to have a tab at the bar? You could point your cell phone, text your drink choices, and voila, no jostling for the bitchy bartender's attention. (Only downside, imagine the problems if you LOSE your phone.)

(I'm going to look for some more examples perhaps, I'll be back)

Only boring people get bored.

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:35:00 +0000

It's one of my favorite quotes of all time is from my Meme (grandmother for those not familiar with Quebecoise).

So when I saw this at Copley today (part of a Hugo ad campaign), I had to share:

A place for your stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:01:00 +0000

Last Monday of co-op. George Carlin died yesterday (NYT article).
And somehow that combination made me want to post his, "A place to put your stuff."

Love that dirty water.

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:29:00 +0000

24-point defecit. Game 4. Los Angeles. And still the C's managed to come through.

Reminds you of the 2004 ALCS when the Sox were down 3-0 and somehow managed to win 4 straight against the Yankees before sweeping the World Series.

Last night at Greatest Bar, not only was everyone chanting the requisite BEAT LA and DE-FENSE, there were a few rounds of "Fuck LA! Fuck LA!" basically to the tune of "Yankees Suck!" Ah, Boston we love you. It's nice to have a fresh rivalry to focus on and some new colors to sport proudly. But maybe most of all, it's nice to know that when the Finals are over we still have 3 (or 4) months of baseball left. (Plus my hubby just officially became a US citizen!)

Stark Raving Sane and the Bad Idea Bears

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:59:00 +0000

You know when you're in a great mood? Like, truly a great-everything-is-wonderful kind of mood? I love that feeling.

It's summer. It finally feels like summer. This heat wave has sufficiently thawed Boston out of the last 6 months of winter/sleet/rainy/gray days. Kids were swimming in the fountain at Copley square yesterday - not just splashing around, but legit swimming in it. I sat down at my desk on Tuesday and after about 20 minutes noticed an extra post-it note stuck to my monitor - "I (heart) Carr!!" The two intern boys have made the last month here so, so much better.

Last night after work we out to watch karaoke at Club Cafe with my "she-shes" hanging out. We had to much fun judging people and drinking vodkatonics (I want to be able to TASTE the alcohol I'm drinking tonight). After Club Cafe we went to Fritz, also on the gay Boston circuit because it's the holiday right now in Boston -- that's right it's Pride Week! If the Boston social scene is like that of a small town, then the city's gay scene is comparable to a mansion. Everyone knows everyone - hags included.

I'm actually kind of sad I'm leaving the city this weekend. But anyways, this entry was rather useless, so I'll leave you with a few fun things to check out:

This post brought to you by:
Stronghold in Siam - On the Rebound
The Help - Thunder and Bison
The Bad Idea Bears - buy some beer! (or in our case, VodkaTonics)

And stumbled upon a few quotes from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (add that to the re-read list):

Half of what he said meant something else, and the other half didn't mean anything at all.
We cross our bridges when we come to them, and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.
We are tied down to a language which makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style.
Guildenstern: A man talking sense to himself is no madder than a man talking nonsense not to himself.
Rosencrantz: Or just as mad.
Guildenstern: Or just as mad.
Rosencrantz: And he does both.
Guildenstern: So there you are.
Rosencrantz: Stark raving sane. (This one is for you Ris.)

The revolution will be televised, blogged, and podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:32:00 +0000

Obama - Change I hope to believe in
Politics absolutely blow my mind sometimes. Obama has been crowned the Dem's nominee finally after a long, hard, and bitter road through primary season. At the time of my primary in New Hampshire, way back when, I voted for Edwards because his policies aligned most closely with what I feel are right. (One of the best websites for objective comparison: The Pew Forum for Religion & Politics.)And, partly I see now, because I didn't want to have to choose between the first black nominee and the first woman nominee for the big seat in this country. As the battle raged on, I found myself irritated with HRC for failing somehow - failing to be the WOMAN candidate, failing to capitalize on what many saw to be her greatest weakness. So now that the party's decision has been made, and even though I'm registered independent, I'm going to learn as much about Obama as I can and pray to god in November we make history.

Listening to his speech after the last primaries, I can't help but feel what most of his supporters have felt all along - that slight twinge of hope. Maybe? Maybe this candidate will do what he says he can, or at least he'll try, maybe he can save our country from being the ridiculed, petulant teenager of the world. We'll see what happens in the months to come.

Michael Michalko - Creative Negotiation
Interesting read about 2 people, 3 coins, and the way we negotiate power, assets, and position with each other. Reminds me of the mother who has one kid cut the peanut butter sandwich in two and then lets the other kid choose which side he wants. Cut unfairly and you're likely to get screwed, so you're better off being fair out of the gate. And who knows, maybe one day you're brother will give you the whole damn thing in exchange for your extra cookie.

New Math
And sometimes you just need something silly to make you laugh. Mike, the infinite YouTube master (at least to me), sent me this link last night: Bo Burnham - New Math.

Honey, why aren't the kids working too?

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:28:00 +0000

Brett at Pursue the Passion noted these facts from a Northeastern University study today:

• The average teen employment rate for January-March 2008 was 33.5%, implying that 1 out of 3 teenagers were employed. This is the lowest rate since 1948.
• Eight years ago, in 2000, the employment rate for teens was 45.2%, a difference of 11.7 percentage points.
• If teens had been employed at the same rate as 2000, there would be another 2 million teens working in 2008.
• During the national job recovery from the third quarter of 2003 to the end of 2007, total civilian employment rose by 8.747 million workers. The number of employed teens at the end of the boom compared to the beginning was 10,000 workers lower- despite continued growth in the size of the teen population.
from The Continued Collapse of the Nation’s Teen Job Market and the Dismal Outlook for the 2008 Summer Labor Market for Teens: Does Anybody Care?

But seriously. Is it because there are no jobs for teenagers, or because teenagers don’t want jobs, or even because they don’t want CERTAIN jobs? Whichever answer says a lot more about our society I think than the statistics alone.

If it’s because there’s no jobs — do we speak the “r” word (one we don’t use here in the investment industry yet) and cite broad rises in unemployment? Or is it attributed to a crowding at the top as more boomers work later into life, leaving less room for everyone to move up the later?

However, if it’s because kids don’t want certain jobs or jobs at all - are we raising lazier teenagers? Are we over educating and unemploying them? (Sometimes I even feel superbly frustrated by the monkey-like manual data tasks I have to complete.)

Completely Disconnected

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:38:00 +0000

CNN's headline story today is about sightings of an Amazon tribe that has never been contacted by any outsiders (i.e. the other 6.2 billion people on Earth).

Can you imagine being completely disconnected from everything? What does that feel like? Clearly they aren't too fond of the planes flying over their heads as you can see their bows pointed towards the sky.

It actually reminds me of the South Park episode from a few weeks ago about the Internet that parodied John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. No one knows what to do without the internet - or even how to handle being rationed 30 second bites.

I'm guilty of this too - going from my laptop each morning to my office desktop and back again - chatting with friends as far away as Iraq while scrolling through blogs, Facebook, and Gmail. But there are definitely times when I find myself needing to get away, away from being available for anyone and everyone that has my screen name, email address, or Facebook. That's why the lake is perfect. My mom has a permanent ban on TV, microwaves, and any kind of phone line. You have to actually be there with the family and DO things.

I wonder sometimes what the strain of being connected to so many people will be in the future? Will the expectation of maintained friendships across long distances with so many people eventually drive us crazy? As our social networks become wider and wider will our inner circles of truly trusted and available friends become tighter and tighter?

Anything.

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:46:00 +0000

Sometimes you just need something. Anything.
I've been needing a lot of anythings lately. But still somehow just floating along.

Things to Do Before I'm 30

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:24:00 +0000

I wrote this list about 5 years ago. I just found it.
Going to check off what I've done and add another 13 things to bring it up to 30.

Bolds are still to do.

1. Skydive/ Bungee jump
2. Learn to Belly Dance
3. Travel to Italy -- Venice, Florence, & Rome in 2004
4. Learn to surf
5. Learn Italian
6. Drive a stick-shift
7. Road trip -- VA beach, NY, MD (alone)
8. Donate blood ten times -- check, we're at 13 or so as of this week
9. Graduate from college w/ my BA -- soon
10. Live alone
11. Own a pet -- most likely a puppy
12. Fly -- I can assume I meant in a plane - so yes, multiple checks
13. Skinny dip -- haha yup
14. Sing Karaoke -- check, at T. Rowe for SB's goodbye party
15. Waitress -- Starbucks is as close as I ever want to be now
16. Have a child *update - I've giving myself til at least 35 to do this
17. Live in the city - 4 years now

18. Live in France for at least 6 months
19. Get 20 years in Girl Scouts
20. Pay off my credit cards (all of them!)
21. Start saving for retirement - Roth IRA
22. Hike one of the 5,000+ White Mountains
23. Visit Montreal with my mom/Meme
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.

The Happy List: I do.

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:58:00 +0000

Read the latest at The Happy List.

Harpoon!

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Just got an email that they have my application & they're looking it over. Now just waiting for the all-important "Yes, we'd love to interview you" call.

Update: It's not right, right now. But I think I'm going to keep trying. Maybe apply for the Six Pack training program as we get closer to graduation.

Where does time go?

noreply@blogger.com (Danielle) — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:38:00 +0000

We're already 75% through May. Where did it go?

I spent last weekend in New York for a friend's wedding. It's the first wedding I've been to without my parents for friends that were my peers. It was a slightly surreal experience. This guy no longer has a girlfriend - he has a wife. Another friend recently changed her last name to match her husband's. But in my head she will always go by her maiden name.

This weekend my best friend from high school is graduating from Boston University. She's going to wear her cap and gown, walk up and take her diploma, and then be done with college. She's not the only one - I went out with 3 girls who are all graduating this weekend too. It feels like just yesterday we were all freshmen.

And in only one month my little brother will graduate from high school. He'll be going to Johnson & Wales for culinary training. I'm so excited to watch the people my siblings are becoming. I'm so envious of their independence, defiance, and free spirits.

I'm already 22 years into my life. Where is it going?