Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Six Months into It

Hello, World. I'm officially an adult. I earn a paycheck, pay bills, pay taxes, cook, clean, and have no homework. I've settled into a glorious routine- coming home to my best friend every day, watching football on Sundays (Go Giants! even though they were terrible against the Panthers), going to quiz night at the local pub on Wednesdays, just to name a few of my weekly regulars. Certainly nothing is perfect. I do work pretty hard in a job I'm not particularly fond of. Cambridge/Boston is DAMN cold. I am SURROUNDED by Red Sox fans. I NEED a dishwasher. But generally, life is good. :-D

This life is certainly quite different from the one I was living less than a year ago. College life was, well, college life. It was a wonderful time, living in the Penn bubble and having nothing to worry about but grades and living it up everyday college style. I certainly miss it- Sink or Swim at Smokes, Half price lunch and Happy Hour at Mad4, Newlyweds with my roommie, weekends that started on a Wednesday night- but I think I've outgrown it to an extent. Sad to say I can't drink as often as I used to, scarf down MickeyD's at 2AM, or even veg out in front of the TV for too long. But in exchange, I've gained a more grounded perspective that's resulted in small changes of habit here and there that, I hope, have made me a better, or at least more tolerant, person.

I'm beginning, for example, to really appreciate my mother and everything she's gone through. She can still be quite irritating and pushy as hell, but she's my mom and I love her. She's a parent and only wants what's best for her children. It's much easier to understand her actions and behavior when bearing that in mind. This sort of attitude really comes in handy when dealing with all sorts of people.

I'm starting to learn about what priorities I want to shape in my life. I've come to realize that I need to be motivated by my job and be truly satisfied with what I do. I want my life to have some sort of overall mission that is noble and selfless, at least to the extent that I'm making some sort of difference in the world. I do live in America and need to make money to get by, but I don't want that to be the driving force behind my work. I think it's important to live life outside of the workplace and constantly be trying new things. I don't want to die with regrets, realistically with not many at least. :) I've come to appreciate how beautiful and ugly the world can really be, and am amazed that something so complex could develop from randomness (at least in my opinion). I've come to realize that good friends are hard to come by, and whether I show it or not, I truly cherish my good friends and my memories with them. This is going to sound cheesy, but I want to love and be loved, a la Moulin Rouge. :) It's quite the trip being with someone who cares about you as much as you care about him; I hope this high never ends. :)

All of this may sound idealistic, and perhaps even trite. I suppose I'm just not yet jaded enough to think that I have no control over my life or what my priorities are. I still feel like I have the rest of my life ahead of me and that I'm starting to figure life out. Whether or not this is true, I'm happy. :) Perhaps this is what it all boils down to in the end anyway.