2006

so i graduated from michigan a year ago. crazy. what have i done in the past year since i said good-bye to ann arbor? first, i spent three months enjoying life and traveling - no school, no work, no nothing. in february, i traveled three weeks throughout japan, which was the first time i have been off of this continent. then i moved to a new city, good ole natty, where i'll probably be for quite some time. i'm living on my own for the first time, completely supporting myself. i'm also living alone for the first time. i got my own place, which i decorated and furnished all by myself. i bought my very first front door and a water heater, that's right, a water heater, exciting. i got two kitties and lost a fish. i started a full-time job, where i work year round and don't get a fall break, christmas break, spring break and the entire summer off. i lost a manager, had no manager and now i have a new one. i worked my ass off for eleven weeks, but it paid off because i also got my first raise! i learned so many acronyms i could write a book. i learned more about doing laundry than anyone should know. i traveled at least once a month for work and at least once a month for fun to places like new york, l.a., boston, breckenridge, denver, chicago, d.c., new orleans. on stage i saw spamalot, stomp, blue man group, giselle and bob saget. in concert i saw death cab, james blunt, stars, the shins, red hot chili peppers, secret machines and wilco. i've met jared leto, ellen degeneres, maria menounos, adam levine (maroon 5), teri hatcher, felicity huffman, eva longoria, nicollete sheridan and the rest of desperate housewives cast. sienna miller sat at the table next to me at ago restaurant in l.a. i had one of the best weekends of my life when i went backpacking for four days in the smokies. i also experienced the worst week of my life. i went to my first wedding, as well as my first funeral. i jumped out of an airplane in hawaii...with a parachute...and some guy. i rode a mechanical bull...with a girl. i started biking, and i ran my third half marathon. i rented my first car. i was a chaperone for the first time ever to stay up all-night with a bunch of high schoolers for my little sister's relay for life team. i went to three games at the big house for the first time not as a student, and i had to sit the whole time since we were in the "real people" section. i joined my first alumni association to be part of the largest alumni network ever, well to be honest, really just to get football tickets. i spent countless hours trying to figure out how to get season michigan football tickets. i ate the best hamburger and the best sushi ever. i drank the worst tequilla ever that made me sicker than ever. i found a bar in cincinnati that serves oberon on tap. i ate at white castle and long john silver's for the first time. i gave in and bought an ipod and a north face, well two. i figured out that i'd rather spend money traveling than buying things. i realized that some things you just have to do alone, but i've also learned that my parents and my best friend alexa, even when she was living on the other side of the world, will help me through anything. i've finally understood that although i don't talk to some people every week, my five siblings, and tim and mitch will always be there too. i've learned to breathe when i thought i couldn't. i lost friends and made new ones. i've received and given the "let's be friends" speech, but all in all, i really just like being single at the moment. i've become afraid of the idea of commitment...or maybe i just haven't met the right person. i read the average cost of a wedding is $27,852, but the rate of divorce continues to increase. i learned that you can't control who you open up to, and the person you might least expect can be the one who gets to see more of you than anyone else. crazy.

crazy how time goes by so quickly. crazy how many new people i've met. crazy how many people i don't really talk to anymore. crazy how much in my life has changed. crazy how much i've changed. crazy if you've actually read all of this.