sixteen to twenty-six

in these ten years, you will take control of your life (whether you want to or not) and form it into something you never would have guessed. maybe you think this is "becoming an adult" and it will all just fall into your lap when the time comes, but i hate to say it just isn't that easy. it happens slowly, imperceptibly, and the next thing you know you're saddled with debt and a job and serious relationships and family drama and everyone expects you to handle it!

these years are, by no means, a definite block of time. some people start much younger, many may never really feel like they have achieved adulthood. (others don't think about it at all!) for me, these past ten years have been eye-opening and mind-numbing and i have gotten through most of it through sheer luck.

but lets get to the burning questions : why am i writing this and why should you read it? 

there were too many times in my life when i have thought "ohh! if only someone had TOLD me!" this happened to be with school, with relationships, with friends, moving, and jobs. it happened to me about two weeks ago and it'll happen again sometime soon. now that i am a once and future youth librarian, i see tons of kids from ages 12 to 30 who have the same problems, or maybe they're just totally oblivious! since my advice is not always solicited, i thought this could be a non-judgmental and easily-accessible place to categorize some questions, research some answers, and share what we've found. 

as always, you should take EVERYTHING on the internet with a big old grain of salt. sea salt if you can swing it. no one has all the answers, and the only reason i consider myself an expert on the last ten years is because i am currently living within my means, happy, and (most notably) alive. this blog is meant as a conversation. 

my mom (who always worries that i will blame her but i most often credit her as my best inspiration) told me i should write a book on teen etiquette. not so much about dinner forks and thank you notes as applying to college, finding roommates, cooking and cleaning, and so on. the more i thought about it, the more i realized i couldn't find all the questions alone. i need you to tell me i'm wrong, or to tell me my perspective is too far away. i want you to be able to read what i have to say, then immediately tell me what you think. i need you, not some book editor twice my age. (unless you are a 52 year old book editor, in which case i would love some feedback!)

i have constructed a little quiz to get us started. everyone loves an internet quiz, right? i hope that these questions make you think a little more about yourself instead of just spouting off opinions like so many quizzes are. give me adjectives, no names!

1. i am : 

2. my best friend is : 

3. if i could change one thing about my family it would be : 

4. i spend most of my time :
5. when i am with people, i feel :

6. when i am alone, i feel : 

7. my favorite place to be is : 

8. i can't wait until : 

9. when i go on a date, i expect : 

10. my favorite outfit is : 

11. when people ask what i do, i say : 

12. when people ask what i want to do, i say :

13. to me, money is : 

14. my celebrity crush is : 

15. my biggest pet peeve is : 

and since i have asked you to fill it out, i figured i better do it too...

1. i am : a daydreamer and fingernail-biter.

2. my best friend is : the best hugger in the world.

3. if i could change one thing about my family it would be : our secretiveness.

4. i spend most of my time : reading. books, signs, facebook, texts...i'm reading all the time!
5. when i am with people, i feel : ok, usually, but the more people there are the more likely i am to have a panic attack. and those are not pretty or fun. 

6. when i am alone, i feel : peaceful and retrospective. or sometimes just bored.

7. my favorite place to be is : kisatchie bayou. it's my happy place - in the middle of a bayou in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowheresville, louisiana. 

8. i can't wait until : i get a salary instead of a wage.

9. when i go on a date, i expect : very little these days, sadly. i hardly even expect the guy to call it a date.

10. my favorite outfit is : my joan cleaver dress and my red heels. it's impossible to be sad in that outfit. 

11. when people ask what i do, i say : i work at the library-owned bookstore, and then proceed on a tangent about how amazing my job is. sometimes i'll mention my all-girl garage rock band in which i play cello. 

12. when people ask what i want to do, i say : i want to be a youth librarian. i did it for a few years as an intern, thinking it would just be a job to get me through school and then i'd never work with kids again. but one day, out of the blue, i fell in love with the job and decided i never wanted to work with adults again.

13. to me money is : a tool to be used. so it's kind of silly to me when people stock pile thousands and millions of dollars with no intent to use it. you wouldn't save a bunch of hammers and never buy any nails, right?

14. my celebrity crush is : adam scott. he's hardly a celebrity but he's currently on the show parks and rec. not only am i a sucker for those big brown puppy dog eyes, i love that he always plays a sensitive and understated character. i constantly root for the underdog. he's like my generation's john cusack. (who, incidentally, is my other celebrity crush.) 

15. my biggest pet peeve is : an audible ring tone. i'd rather listen to fingernails scraping a chalkboard.