Where were you when...

[geminigirl]

I'm posting this more for myself than anyone else, but I'm giving you the opportunity to read it if you want.

I like this retrospective; it gives me a good chance to think about where I was and how I've moved forward. It's like chess sometimes-the pieces all move in their own specific way, but they all move towards one goal. Not that I'm aiming for defeating any opposing players or anything.



25 years ago
I was two and a half.
I was charming grown ups with my command of language
I was learning how to read
I had a broken arm

20 years ago
I was seven and a half.
My grandmother wasn't yet ill
I was already bored with school
I spent a lot of my free time roller skating.
I often argued with librarians who tried to make me take out picture books when I wanted chapter books.

15 years ago
I was 12 and a half.
My life focused on getting ready for my Bat Mitzvah
I hadn't yet menstruated.
I had a fabulous boyfriend.
My relationship with my mother began to fall apart.
I had, what in retrospect was a very serious revalation about my life; that I did not in fact like any of the boys in seventh grade, but that I had a crush on one of the girls who asked me about the boys.

10 years ago
I was 17 and a half.
I was applying to college.
I had recently gotten a driver's license.
I was smoking a lot of pot.
I had a crush on one of my best friends.
I was still cutting myself regularly; unfortunatly, if any adult knew about this they assumed it had something to do with wanting to kill myself.
I had purple hair.
5 years ago

I was 22 and a half.
I was absolutely certain of the direction in which my life was going.
I was applying to grad school.
I was working two jobs, doing volunteer work, running a student organization and taking a full course load.
I still wasn't getting along with my mother.
I was struggling with a lot of gender issues.

2 years ago
I had just moved back to the DC area.
I had no real job.
I had no idea what I was doing.
I hadn't yet started dating aquariumgirl
I was very confused.
I was mourning the death of my last grandparent.

Now I am:
Working at a fabulous and fun job, even if I do complain about the salary.
Realizing that some of my goals I hadn't thought about in a while are still very important to me.
Discovering that my parents respect my choices about my career.
Learning that even though I'm older than I was, I don't know what it means to be "grown up."
Starting to cope with my parents aging.
Gaining some sense of who I am now-not who I was then or dwelling too much on who I will be when...
Learning to be satisfied with me.


Maybe I'm lucky; I have two occasions during the year that really draw me into a reflective mode. I celebrate two different New Years, and their proximity allows me to really look at short and long term goals, and what progress I might have made towards any that I set.

Happy New Year. A bit early. May your year be joyful.

Comments

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year. A bit early. May your year be joyful.

Happy New Year to you as well! Did the New Year's-related e-mail I sent to your LJ address before Christmas get to you?

[geminigirl]

No. Weird-ness.

But I'd love to see you guys soon.

I'm glad you had a nice visit with curiousangel's family, but I understand how it feels to be back home. I even get that feeling if I stay at my parent's house too long.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

No. Weird-ness. But I'd love to see you guys soon.

Coincidentally, the missing e-mail contains an invitation for brunch on New Year's Day. If you want to e-mail me your address (to rivka5@comcast.net), I'll re-send it.

[geminigirl]

Done!

[fj.livejournal.com]

You know, every time I see your lj-name geminigirl in conjunction with aquariumgirl, there's too many (something)girls and you register as a superhero duo to me. Obviusly, you fight and confuse foes with your dualist nature that even allows you to split in two along the line necessary for the fight, but I seriously worry about how aquariumgirl is going to stop any nefarius plot by suddenly whipping out an aquarium...

[geminigirl]

She talks to the fishes.

But she doesn't sleep with them.

Thank you for making me smile today.

[aynjel.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me (somewhat off-topically) about the frige magnets I had on my lil cube frige in college. For the longest time, one of the blurbs on there said:
The Adventures of Anonymous Lipstick Lesbian and Femme Fag Boy

We decided it sounded like a comic book waiting to happen.

[geminigirl]

We are a superhero duo. And she is not a believer in things astrological, but suggested that I remind you that her Zodiac sign is Pices...the fish.

Are we getting to you yet?

Happy New Year.