Last night I actually got some work done on one of my papers. During 5th week! (technically.) Also, first paragraph of said paper involved both Aristotle and Oprah. Crazy, no? I might tone that one down a little before it gets to print...

And Microfsoft Word, I don't give you enough credit. Last night, by pure happenstance, I came upon your auto-format function that allows you to italicize text merely my putting it in between two underscores. My life has been forever changed! No more pausing mid-sentence to put the font sets on, wasting ALL of that time finegling to get my cursor/arrow alll the way to the top of the page. No, no. Just use the underscoring. And keep going.
Brilliant!

And now for the big news: I just finished writting up thank-you notes. And just so that we're clear on this one, let me restate this in a different way: I, Kat, who, in the entire 23 year course of my existence, have never been able to get details like that right, who never has been able to get thank-you notes out before at least a full month has passed from the day that marks the anniversary of my birth, and who will only remember to do so after frequent reminders from my very ettiquette-savvy mother, have finished my thank-you notes!

:::sniff::: I think I'm growing up.

I have three hours left of being 22, so I'd like to take this opportunity (before it is wasted) to be... well, a little prosaic.

I don't think I've ever had a bigger year, honestly. I've already made the 18 vs. 22 comparison elsewhere...so I'll try not to completely rehash. But...damn. When you're 18, yeah, you're moving out. And yeah, you're on you're own for the first time. But only sort of. 22 is when it hits the fan and expands into optimism all at the same time. Yes- "Shit...I have to move out again? But I love it here!" and "What? I have to pay my own bills all by myself?" and, of all things, "What am I doing here? Besides just going to school?" But Oh My God all of those things are important- because you're not just "on your own," you're ON YOUR OWN and you have to make it mean something. Holy crap!

Holy crap...

But you know? Sometimes I look up when I'm coming home at the end of the day, and I'm like "See that little apartment with the balcony in front? I paid for that." And sometimes I'm like "What am I still doing in school?" and on my good days I realize that it's because I like it and because I want to know more about the things I like PURELY FOR THE AGGRANDISEMENT OF MY OWN BRAIN. Holy crap! When else can you get away with doing that?

So I'm glad that I had one last incredible semester at Berkeley. I'm glad that I had to decide on grad school. I'm glad I had to graduate. I'm glad I had to move home and spend my summer answering phones and dealing with real people. I'm glad I started school (in a completely different universe.) I'm even glad that all that family stuff happened because we're coming out of it and we're all okay. And I'm glad I have my doubts about stuff, and I am so glad that I'm finally learning to do things because I just want to do them.

23...BRING IT ON.