Things I Used To Think I Could Not Do

1. Take Overnight Road Trips (BY MYSELF!)

My senior year of high school I really surprised myself (and my parents) by taking a little weekend rendezvous around the south. I drove from my home in Asheville to SCAD in Atlanta, and then drove five hours from there out to Savannah, went to the beach, and then drove five hours home. (Except it was like tropical storming there and hard to drive and I possibly had sunstroke and had to stop halfway in a hotel.) This was a BIG DEAL for me, because a) college was something I REALLY relied on my parents for when it came to deciding what I wanted, and b) I have a pretty large dose of anxiety when it comes to driving, since I've had a bad wreck that really impacted my confidence. But, folks, I DID it, and I was so proud of myself for planning and executing that college visit trip on my own.

2. Save Money (Like A Lot)

In high school I worked 40 hours a week oftentimes (#homeschooler) and made a pretty penny between that and babysitting on the regular. Yet, I graduated high school with about 30 dollars to my name. PATHETIC! My parents used to harass me about it, and by "it" I mean my pretty extreme spending habits. I was entirely convinced that I was buying things I "needed" and that because it was pretty much a minimum wage job I "couldn't" save money. Well, now I'm working 20 hours a week, at a job that pays about 20 percent LESS than that high school job, and I'm saving hundreds of dollars a month. What changed, you ask? Really, I attribute it to my summer at camp. Camp counselors don't get paid much, but they ALSO don't have many opportunities to go to Target and blow everything they have. The summer showed me how much I really DON'T need, and I honestly can say I've curbed my spending habit and have a nice little cushion saved up for whatever I want* in the future. (I've also started investing, which is exciting!)

3. Cook Food (That Isn't Microwave Dinners)

I never, ever, ever cooked in high school, other than making macaroni for the kids I babysat. I thought I was bad at it. And mayyyybe I WAS, but just in the past few weeks I've started making dinners for my family, and DANG, if you told 15 year old Sarah that one day, she'd make a stunning artichoke frittata, she would have laughed in your face. Peeps, it happened. And it's happening! Last night I made the fanciest grilled cheese you've ever seen. I'm not sure why I had this shift from thinking I was somehow cursed in the kitchen to feeling pretty competent, but hey. I try not to question good things too much in case my bestie Fate** realizes I'm not suffering endlessly.

4. Succeed in Math (and Other Things I Hate)

It's ironic how I ended up choosing Economics as my college major, and even dedicating a semester towards researching, developing, and implementing a specific track for it with my Honor's College Dean. I actually started out my freshman year of college as a film major (cue canned laughter). During my first week of classes, I felt like I didn't have enough of a course load with the normal 15 hours, so I impulsively added the only open class I could find: Micro-Economics and Social Issues. It was a night class, and the sole course offering of the professor who taught it (heart you, Dr. Jack!) After the first class, I cried because I was so scared. After the second class, I changed my political stance (lolz) and realized economics was now, somehow, a big part of my life. It was a shock, as the class went on, to realize I AM good with numbers and number based concepts! it just took the right teacher, class, and context for me to be able to apply myself well. (I worked my butt off. Because I WANTED to.)

5. Blog (!..!..!)

I started a few blogs in high school, and some of them lasted a few posts, but I always lost interest in them. I thought, "I can't blog, no one will read it and comment and I won't feel validated!" Well, I've felt about the most un-validated a person can feel this past year, and it was at the lowest of the low that I started this blog. And here we are. Over 30 posts and 3000 hits later! It's only been six weeks and I've already seen how positively this blog has impacted me. I'm writing again for the first time in two years, and it is SO fun. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read, comment, and share with your friends, and by friends I mean parents. You'd be amazed at how many of my friends' parents see me and are like "OH SARAH I READ YOUR BLOG, YOU'RE A FUNNY LITTLE WHIPPERSNAPPER!" It's so, so great. Thank you, friends' parents.


footnotes:

*Who am I kidding we all know it's going towards college. HA!

**I fondly refer to Fate as a living, breathing person. I'll have to dedicate a post to her one day.

***Remind me to talk more about him later. REALLY strange little man, he's not even a Dean anymore, probably because after working with me he realized he wasn't cut out for it and quit. Sorry, Dean. Really sorry.