I MADE DINNER TONIGHT.

I actually got to SLEEP IN this morning…it was naughty and I shouldn’t have, but I did. I woke up at 9:30 and took a hot shower while pondering what I’m going to work on first when I arrive at school. My work needs to be as close to show-ready as possible for a review with my professor tomorrow.

Well, I’m still sitting in my bathrobe (yes, the one my mom gave me for my 16th birthday), eating breakfast in bed and doing my Internets stuff. There’s a nice spray of sun coming through the window and people are rolling through the street on their way to class.

Oh, and I’m listening to Justin Bieber. No judges.
Quite the morning, we’ll see how long it takes to get my buns out of bed again…

I’ve decided to stick around school for yet another semester and work toward my BFA degree. It was a really hard decision that all came down to several things:

01. I don’t feel ready yet (will I ever feel ready?) to jump into that real thing called the “real world.” I’m always looking for more experience and I think another semester will do me good. I will feel regretful if I don’t at least try.

II. I missed the graduation application deadline. By a month. Whoops. And I took it as a sign that I’m supposed to stick around.

More school can never hurt and I know I can have a successful semester. It’s at my fingertips, and I’m working this semester to make everything align for the future — scholarships, ideas, confidence. I even have a summer internship at my fingertips…something I thought I wouldn’t be able to say this early in the year!

It’s going to be hard. I don’t want to be here right now, especially after I’ve tasted other places. But I know I’ll get back there as soon as I’m done, sooner or later, I’ll return to where I’ve been…and it will be worth the wait! Good things come to those who wait.

I recall a quote by John Burroughs that I know I’ve posted before, and will repost. It reminds me that there is happiness and opportunities everywhere, if you only find the optimism within your surroundings:

“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are. Do not despise your own place and hour. Every place is under the stars, every place is the center of the world.”

Now I’m gathering up patience to sit still and, with hope, succeed. That’s something to feel really good about.

Decision was made,
dreams still wait like paused surprises
A half smile
Wishes and kisses and
adventure swinging midair
ready to run.

My old compadre Kelli stayed last night with me, completing the weekend trifecta of sleepovers! She was passing through town from G-Forks for a conference, and we had a nice (brief) time catching up. Kelli has been my friend since 7th grade, and we’ve had some great times. Together we’ve done plenty of boyfriend coaching (which, in hindsight we’ve realized how silly our high school relationships were). We’ve snuck out together for all the right reasons, and taken blames together for our mistakes. We huffed and puffed and wheezed together after running our races in track and sat benches together in softball and volleyball. We’ve cling wrapped cars and baked cakes and done dances together. We got our licenses together, and drove around the streets of Minot together with loud, vulgar music playing. There is not a stretch of Broadway we’ve not cruised ten times or a moment in her Chevy Celebrity (or my Olds Eighty-Eight) that we didn’t feel young and wild. Kelli has been around a long time!

Heidi stopped over this afternoon after work (we both worked overnight shifts) for a chat and a slice of cake. Sister time is always pleasant, and the sunshine made it more so.

One thing I learned from my aunt Amy is that it is necessary to indulge in flowers. I bought a bunch a few months back and they brought so much life to my tiny apartment. Last night I decided to give flowers another whirl, and brought home a fun bunch of pink and purple blossoms. They light up my kitchen table and make me excited about Valentine’s Day — even if, really, there’s nothing to look forward to this Valentine’s Day (in my opinion)…

(PS: This photo was taken with Instagram on my iPhone! You can follow my uploads here. Friend me, too, if you’re interested!)

I am 23 years young today. It’s been a beautiful day full of reminders from people and places that I love. I am so grateful!

I believe that a birthday, not New Years, is the best time to look back at at a year — after all, it’s when a person’s clock was set in motion. This year has been particularly enriching for me. I had the opportunity to take the cross country road trip of a lifetime, spend a summer in San Francisco, intern at a wonderful photo center, and live every day with keen curiosity. This year I gained confidence, understanding, and a sense of self. I lost things, too, but that’s life. I am learning how life goes.

Twenty-three years ago, at 3:56 a.m., I landed on this thing, “life.” I didn’t have a name for 16 hours. I was almost a Margaret. But here today, all 5-foot-one-inches of me, I’m Jenny!

To everyone that has been a part of my life this last year — and throughout the past 22 — thank you for embracing my wayward, peculiar soul. I am thankful for those by my side!

xxxx
jc