some things will always fit

to: charlie
from: laurie
re: 389 days later

1. Love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe: this was one of my grandmother’s favorite sayings, and I have to say in this first year out of school I have found it be true. In college there was an illusion, perhaps delusion that it the last two months of senior year would be what the rest of your life would be like. That you and your 15+ closest friends would stay in constant touch and talk about how much you loved your school and all the things you missed. You would get together for very adult gatherings like weddings and destination weekends that would rival any casino night or boat cruise. I was in – what might be described as a depression/detox for the first few weeks that I was home from college. Convinced that things would never be this good again and that I may have just flew threw the best years of my life. NOT SO… this first year out of school has been just as rewarding as the previous four. I am paddling my own canoe, with a few close friends, old and new along for the ride. I have learned more about who I am, as cheesy as that sounds – and more importantly how I deal with ever evolving relationships.


2. Your job is what you do not who you are: in this economy I am lucky to have a job – HOWEVER – I have had to learn to challenge myself outside my daily activities. Such as, going back to school – even if it means I spent half the year without a lazy Sunday – it was worth it! Taking time to travel, see friends and family and most of all explore beyond the island of Manhattan. These are the experiences that define me – not where I am 9-5.


3. Vampires have more fun: you would think that I would be embarrassed to say that after spending the better part of three years tearing through every great in Victorian literature I would be embarrassed to admit that the only books I have really enjoyed since college are about vampires. Now I could chalk that up to my recent inability to focus on anything with a comprehension level above an episode of 90210 or Dawson’s. Or I could simply admit that I enjoy a little escapism, a little fantasy in my otherwise ordinary life. Harry got me though high school and elves got me though college so why shouldn’t the Cullens get me though these even more formidable years?


4. Van the Man: I have never underestimated the value of music, however, I don’t think I have ever been so dependent on it. I wake up to it, I commute to it, I run to it, and chances are if I am quiet for any period of time I am singing it in my head. Never one to say, “Dave Matthews is my favorite band ever” or “I swear I loved Coldplay before XY” I have decided to embrace a classic. Some who could be indisputably loved by all – Van Morrison. Stepping Out Queen was not only the anthem to my first year in the city, it changed me, admittedly extreme – but have you heard the song?!?

In conclusion, I have learned – never underestimate the value of a best friend, a paying job, a devastating book, and truly great song.