BRB Growing Up

It seems to me that the ages 17 to 22 are all about getting used to change and saying goodbye. Sure a couple of graduations, hopefully a few jobs, and a whole lot of loans happen as well but most importantly you learn how to embrace change and move on (and pray to god you move up).

The other day I found myself in a restaurant with a combination of people that hadn't been together since around the time we were celebrating our new driver's licenses. To a point we had kept in touch, especially two of us, but as a grouping there was certainly years to catch up on. As we discussed the theatre programs we are all graduated from this theme of changing in college came up a lot. I believe the phrase that was repeatedly used was "no one really changes, but it's important that they do a little bit"...deep, I know. You're probably like "woah.Mind?..blown." But really it all points flexibility. In a short four years you leave home for the first time and meet all new people, then year by year those people leave until eventually you leave. All the while on breaks and holidays you come home and regroup with those that you have stayed in contact with until suddenly people are getting jobs and all of us are scattered to the winds again.

After a certain point "good-bye" becomes so common. It's a meaningless phrase because you've used it so often. The only phrase with less value is the unavoidable "I miss you." True you sometimes mean it, but often times you use your recently learned super-adjustment powers and you acclimate to that person no longer being in your day-to-day life. If you actually missed them as much as you say you do you would be that emo girl who doesn't leave her bedroom and spends all of her time in every social situation texting people miles away who don't respond immediately because they're living their own lives (or they do respond because they aren't).

Don't think I'm exempt (I realize you didn't). I just said said good-bye to a best friend for the 4 millionth time since the first time I packed up and hauled off to college. But now it's a bit of an actual question mark when we will see each other again. We'll overlap on the east coast for a weekend and there is a possibility of meeting in DC but other than that, who knows?

There it is, adulthood out of no where. A world without winter breaks. A world where your parents might be sick of paying for your holiday returns. Maybe it makes more sense to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York with closer friends or in DC where you now live. Given this point happens at different times for everyone but it is certainly happening to me now.

Now lets be real? In a world of facebook, cellphones, skype, and now Google+'s hang out (ps I could actually write a novel about my obsession with Google+ called 'a luddite's fascination') it's pretty much impossible and completely unnecessary for a "parting is such sweet sorrow" moment. Distance is so easily remedied by technology. Still there is something to be said for having someone with you in person, especially when you have friends that can become easily distracted. Not that I do.

I totally do.

Not that I can be that person too.

I totally can.

SO good-byes. Sad? yes. But I feel like at this point in my frequently changing life once it actually hits me that I've said good-bye, I've adjusted to the new situation. I had to embrace years ago that long distance is just the way a lot of friendships have to be and that's totally healthy and normal. If anything it gives you some place to stay when you travel.

Not that I ever have any money to travel.

Because I don't.

#youngbrokeandfabulous

The Dollarz

Those who know me know this: I am awful with my money. Absolutely awful. I can work and work and work without successfully saving a single penny. In fact, during my summers of college I would work ALL SUMMER and almost ALWAYS overdraw my bank account the first week of school. At this point the extravagant spending is pretty much a talent.

But wait. Here's the funny thing. "Extravagant spending" suggests that I'm buying cool things and living a fabulous life. But I'm so not. (ok that's a lie. I mean...fabulous things happen every day (I hate the word fabulous (catacomb of parentheses))). I'm totally your typical American 'nickle and dimed' victim. Coffee? Sure. Lunch at work? Fine. Just a banana...what's 50 cents? (but really..what's 50 cents?). I suppose what's especially dire about all of this is the fact that it's absolutely 100 percent common. Being raised in the 90s I learned that I'm special and an individual and there's no one quite like me. Well that may be true but being a broke recent college graduate with little to no hope of making legit money in the future is about as original as a racist religion.

So here's the deal. Step one to fantastically figured out financially secure life: come out of the financial closet and embrace my brokeness. I tend to ignore the details of the contents of my bank account and go off of a rough estimate of what I think is probably there (Suzie Orman just had a stroke), but starting today I'm going to face the numbers and start of a journal of my spending?

Why now? Well I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions and I figured it's the 4th of July so why not start working towards the birth of my new money sense on the day the nation was birthed (I hate every single thing about that sentence). I'm going to stop silently resenting those in control of their financial situation and stop emulating my friends with bank accounts linked to high powers (and salaries). My reality is that I have a parking ticket to pay, gas to fund for the summer, and in less than two months a move to Washington DC that will probably require 1st and last's month's rent....the rent will probably be due August 1st. I'll probably end up begging my parents and then having to pay them back and hating my life.

It's going to be really tough. I already often feel like I experience way less than a lot of people that I hang out with because of money but if I have any hope of doing anything ever I have start organizing things now. Darin mentioned mint.com, maybe that will help.

Here we go...