oh the irony

For being a year older, I actually feel much much less wise and less sure of myself. Funny how I usually don't realize my naivete and life mistakes until after the fact, and then I smack myself in embarassed retrospect at the thought of how little I knew and understood. Anyway, for the first time in my life, I'm painfully aware right now of how inadequately equipped I am to handle things that I never even realized were going to be difficult. Adult life feels so much more permanent... you can't go around making haphazard decisions anymore and hoping that time will take care of whatever happens. And yet you can't sit around postponing difficult things and hoping they will magically be okay. Perhaps most importantly, you have to know who you are and what you want, and I think that that's the hardest part.

In any case, thank you all for the warm wishes and gestures. I am truly blessed to have such wonderful, caring friends and family.