So my birthday was on Friday (yes, Valentine’s Day) and I am officially the newest and the last “adult” in my circle of friends. Since I got to come home for Reading Week, I also got to have a weekend of celebrations with the fam  and with the friends I have still living in my hometown.

Did you know that Blue Chip will make you a giant cookie with your name on it for your birthday? (Not pictured) My roommate did that for me and she shall now be known as the Greatest Roomie Ever.

Obviously in the split second between 11:59 pm on February 13 and 12 am on the 14th, I didn’t suddenly develop a fully matured prefrontal cortex and start making only rational decisions. I didn’t suddenly figure out how to file taxes, or find a place to live next year or get a job. These are all things grownups do right? It’s funny to me that 18 is considered the point when one becomes an adult, but I guess it’s as good a number as any. Over the last few months, I’ve learned a little about what it’s like to act like an independent adult. I had to learn how to take care of myself when I was almost the sickest I’d ever been, which involved hospitals and insurancey-type things (thank God UBC hospital makes that pretty simple for you). And I’m learning right now just how freaking difficult it is to find a three bedroom apartment anywhere near campus.

So in honour of the last 18 years I’ve had on this planet,  here are some non-academic things I hope to implement or do in the next one, God willing:

1. Go ziplining
2. Bike/Rollerblade the Seawall
3. Read my Bible everyday (but maybe start with a 3x/week as I’ve already failed at this quite a few times)
4. Do the Grouse Grind
5. Perform at both UBC Slam and Vancouver Poetry Slam
6. Downsize my closet and donate everything that isn’t absolutely essential
7. Start volunteering again
8. Go to bed before midnight on weeknights (This was my only New Year’s goal —not resolution– and I still haven’t succeeded)
9. Start going for a run a few times a week
10. Get a paying job and reduce or eliminate my student loan amount for the remaining years of my degree
11. Travel to a part of the country I’ve never seen before
12. Start laying down actual designs for the clothing brand that’s existed in my head for a while
13. Get my drivers license and go on a road trip
14. See MGK live again and start going to more hip hop shows
15. Complete a creative piece of writing every week
16. Join a recreational soccer team
17. Go on a brief mirror fast like the kinds described here and here and hopefully learn something. (This one’s because I think that NOT having a full length mirror in my dorm room is actually making me more vain.)
18. Start phasing out music that contributes to the sexism and misogyny in our culture. Support and promote positive hip hop.

This list may change but I’ll try and blog about each one that I accomplish.

Oh and in case y’all were wondering, the first drink I ever ordered was a “frozen white peach Bellini”. Yup, I’m that girl. Or should I say woman?