23 Things

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday and I'm one year closer to my ultimate life goal of being an old lady. To manage to mild terror I feel at my rapid aging, I made some lists.

     3 Things that Annoy Me about Myself at Age 23 
      (maybe the fact that this is a short list should be on the list)

1. I can’t stand silences and will talk to fill them, no matter what. Usually by terms of interrogation.
2. I never wake up when I intend to, but always seem to think I will.
3. When I say something awkward, I can’t just let it stand and move on. Instead I keep trying to make it better by coming back to it, like covering a typo with increasing amounts of bad quality white-out. (But really, your religion isn’t the most ridiculous one.)

     10 Things I’ve Given Up On At Age 23:

1. Have a fashion style beyond “this is what my mom bought me”
2. Being charismatic. 
3. Speaking Chinese. I spent the entire previous summer walking around with listening to Chinese for beginners. What I ended up learning was a series of sounds that only sounded like Chinese to non-Chinese speakers. Sometimes not even that.
4. Reading scientific papers with anything approaching the enthusiasm with which I read Harry Potter
5. Being mysterious. I’d say “obvious” is the word most often used to describe me, usually prefixed with “so”.
6. Reading classical books because I genuinely enjoy them, not just so I can say I’ve read them. Ditto with serious films.
7. Wearing dresses or heels without feeling ridiculous.
8. Talking slowly and clearly. It’s been my New Years Resolution for three years running. It’s…just…not…happening.
9. Having a real hobby besides stalking people on Facebook. (Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone.)
10. Being capable of eating only a “reasonable” amount of chocolate.

10 Things I’m Grateful for at Age 23:

1. Living in the 21th century in developed country. I’m a fan of a modern medicine, and 23 still being relatively young.
2. Being able to obtain a great education in both America and the Netherlands. Someday I’ll leave the 47%, but it is not this day!
3. Being alive. Being a human being. The odds aren’t great, when you think about, and I, for one, often spend lectures on bacteria thinking about how lucky I am not to be a bacterium.
4. Food, practically the type with sugar.
5. Facebook, email, and skype. It’s harder to miss people when they won’t go away. 
6. The people I know love me, even though they could definitely Skype me more often. You know who you are. 
7. Adorable babies and toddlers who now have Forever Families.
8. All the wonderful people at Bennekom. Plus Lucia.
9. The repeat option on my iTunes.
10. My family, both in the Netherlands and in America. The older I get, the more I realize how much I lucked out.