Friday Five

1. My dislike of Boston  is not the hatred my friend Sam has, a hatred sparking the fire for her drive to finish the program in three years. It's not the loathing I had for Atlanta, with its lack of public transport and its hills. It's not the love of Oxford's spires, or  the longing for London's busy thoroughfares. It's just a knowledge that I don't belong here. Yet some evenings when I walk home and the tops of buildings are the fiery orange of sunset clouds, I know my city is beautiful.

2. I haven't been sleeping well this week. Uncertainties have rooted themselves in my brain. Big decisions. Not of the kind I made last year, but life-altering in their potential. During the interminable wait for the bus at Panera today, I realized my uncertainties are fear. I do not let fear stop me, so hopefully a decision will be made.

3. Speaking of which, my decision to Not Grow Up and Run Away to Europe has been thwarted by the Simmons Financial Aid office. Owing the school $96 does not a Eurotrip make. It may a trip to SCBWI-LA make, since my Euro-Buddy has family outside LA. All of these things contribute to the possible decisions in numero dos.

4. For all that I dislike Boston, my happiness here far surpasses last year. I miss my friends daily, but I do not foresee my life falling apart in the near future, the way it did last year. I am not reliant on the sight of a doctor for cheer, or so delicate that censure from one authority figure will send me spiraling downward. Progress.

5. My new favorite swear is monkey balls.