i'm a big kid now: making the transition from the happy meal to the arch deluxe...

Sundays and Thursdays are my laundry days. it's a brilliant schedule because thursday cleans your clothes from the week so everything is at your disposal for the weekend and then sunday cleans everything from the extended weekend to be ready to go for the new week. so as i was folding my clothes after dinner i reviewed at my sorted wardrobe. If east coast suburban WASPs had an outfit... my closet would perhaps be it. cardigans, v neck sweaters, oxford and polo shirts, khakis and chinos, and yes, even sweater vests. but i also have t-shirts and jeans and hoodies...although i'm not sure if that qualifies as "mixing it up". i actually didn't realize that my wardrobe was so fraiser & niles crane until one of my dear friends, lindsey, noted the other week in a totally casual benign way that i was the "preppiest person she knows". and then at dinner with the ladies i was the go-to source for catalog shopping at lands end and l.l.bean and explaining the term "snappy casual" (a term i learned at PC which the perfect way to describe "dressier than casual but more casual than dressy") i'll tell you why i like these kinds of clothes so much....they're functional. i typically like relatively plain, clean cut, tailored clothes. because they're easy, sharp, and you can make 1000 different outfits with them because the pieces are interchangeable. everything has a purpose- each pocket, each button, each loop. it's just a classic look that's pretty low maintenance. i feel comfortable in those clothes. clothes are like your second skin. they shape your image, positive or negative.Alec Baldwin's character on 30 Rock, Jack Donaghy, said that "your hair is you head suit". so that "it's what's on the inside that counts" and "don't judge a book by its cover" is 50% BS. it does matter. presentation matters as an adult. wearing a suit, combing your hair, and shaving says "i'm ready to do business". wearing a sports uniform says "i've got my game face". wearing a t-shirt and jeans with a baseball cap says "i'm hanging out". unshaven with greasy hair and disheveled pj/lounge wear says "i'm a jackass that clearly can't even take care of myself, let alone another person or important task." some people see prep clothes as a semi-deliberate signal of entitlement even though those wearing them may just enjoy the same practical qualities that i highlighted earlier. they may just be comfortable. the trick is finding a wardrobe where comfort and image can coexist. that being said, i spend a good amount of time in athletic clothing and i feel comfortable in that too just like when i'm hanging around in jeans and a t-shirt. but i'm also realizing that it may age me a bit. i do get people frequently that say i look 18 or younger (i'm 22) and i think a big part of that is my height (5'3"). but my "preppy" wardrobe may be pulling me to far in the other direction making me look like a suburban housewife/soccer mom. this sounds like a trivial dialogue to have with oneself but it's actually just a smaller conversation that's part of a bigger discussion going on in my head. that discussion is about me becoming an adult and finding the borders between adolescence and adulthood to be less finite than i had originally thought.

this is my 5th year of college (known as the Super Senior) but i'm academically considered a junior (even though i have more actual credits than the average graduate. after a broken neck, transfer of schools and change of major, i'm 2 yrs away from graduating with a B.S in Tourism and Events Management (2011). so i'm basically enjoying a couple "bonus" rounds of collegiate life. I think many would agree... if you're going to be doing extra time anywhere in your life... college is the place to do it. I love college. it enriches me differently every semester. never has my own personal growth been so rapid. it's fascinating and exciting but it's also overwhelming and i find myself often sitting or walking totally engrossed in my own thoughts just trying to sort through buckets of ideas, questions, opinions, and emotions that are constantly evolving. my mind is never idle. the quandary of young adulthood has become so exhausting that one of the only ways i find any solace from the stress is watching comedy on TV.

one thing that has become clear already in this semester is that i feel more inclined to be more of an adult in daily life. i'm the main housekeeper in our apt. i lysol the apartment, clean the counters and stove tops, vacuum, clean the bathroom, replenish hand and dish soap, wash the towels and wipe the tables. my mother and father would sob with pride if they saw the snow white and seven dwarfs number i'm pulling on this place. i keep a schedule in my planner. penciling in things like tests, papers, soccer practice, campus events, dinner dates, etc... i drink coffee in the morning to wake me up in an effort to become more of a morning person and i drink tea at night to soothe myself and wind me down for bed. i try to read the latest edition of the paper that's in starbucks each morning while i have my coffee before class (although usually i opt for the Onion which is fake news.... whatever. suck it, i'm a young adult. cut me some slack.) i try to exercise will power when i shop for food and say no to Edy's Butterfinger Max ice cream and yes to ...almonds....

socially i see myself changing as well in terms of preference to where i like to hang out and who i like to do it with. i'm not into the classic frat party. predatory d-bags looking for pretty underclassmen who are tipsy and willing. two games of beer pong and a disgruntled pledge in charge of hunch punch distribution. top 40 mix that's 70% R&B/rap 30%Pop. no TP in the bathrooms. no thanks. and i'd rather punch myself in the face than pay a $10 cover charge to go to a club with a disco ball, blacklights, and outrageously priced rail drinks just to dance with dirtbags soaked in dakkar noir thinking they're in like flynn when it comes to hooking up. the music is essentially a playlist of house remixes of pop songs blasting at a volume that would drive even marlee matlin up the wall. i don't think so.

Things/scenes i am into? poker night, bowling(tipsy or sober), going to a sports pub with friends, putt putt, dinner dates, big band/jazz spot, walking around DC day or night (especially georgetown, chinatown or the national mall), concerts, karaoke bars, and sporting events.

young adulthood is a gift. it's the perfect opportunity to have a period of completely organic reflection, discovery, growth, and definition.

sleep of course is a necessary part of this process so i'll shut it down for the night.

love