Birthday Stuff: Advice and Letters
Warning: Long entry ahead, but worth the read (or so I think)

I've been inadvertantly asking people for advice on turning 20, and I've gotten quite a number of responses:

- enjoy your last days of teenhood, you'll never see them again
- get smashed
- switch the numbers 2-0 and act like you're 2 years old
- drink!
- don't drink 20 beers in a day (like my friend Greg did on his 20th)
- don't drink a whole 26'er in a day (like my friend Greg did the day after his 20th)
- drink lots of booze, smoke lots of pot, have lots of sex
- it will be even better than 19

A lot of them have to do with alcohol...I wonder why.

I am still a bit nervous about turning 20, but excitement seems to have taken over. I have my big surprise from my boy tomorrow, and in the morning I get to open my long awaited birthday letter.

I used to watch the show Ready or Not a lot when I was a young, pre-pubescent girl and this idea was stolen off that show. On my 12th birthday, I wrote a letter to myself to open on my 16th birthday. After 4 years, I had forgotten what I wrote (which was the point) and in a flurry of excitement, I opened the letter (the envelope was covered in DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU'RE SIXTEEN!!! OPEN ONLY WHEN YOU'RE 16! FOR 16 YR OLD EYES ONLY) in the morning to find my 12 year old self predicting what I would be like at 16. The following is the complete letter (with the exception of last names, to protect identities I suppose); incorrect punctuation, poor sentence structure and stupidity all included (but not the crappy 12 year old cursive).

96.05.01
Dear Myself:

As you know, I'm writing this letter on my 12th birthday. I'm writing this to predict what I'll be like at 16. Well now here's my prediction:

I'll be: more daring, outspoken, more fun, cooler, popular, I guess pretty, better dresser, possibly have a boyfriend, good at sports, more friends, and the real main thing is daring and outspoken.

Well those are my predictions. Right now, at 12, (on my birthday) I'm not much of those. I hope I'll be ALL of those on my 16th birthday. For my boyfriend, I want Kevin. Actually, I want him now. Oh yeah, I also have to know a lot about music, and have a CD player. I want so many things; but I can't list them all. Anyway, this is enough.

Sincerely,
Shirley

I can't remember what I thought when I read this on my 16th birthday, but upon re-reading it a few months ago, I laughed and shook my head at my 12 year old superficial quality. I wanted to be cool and popular and have a boyfriend and a CD player?? Oh Shirley, you've come a long way girl. The only redeeming thing in that letter is the fact that I said "the real main thing is daring and outspoken".

Anyway, after reading this on my 16th birthday I decided to write a better birthday letter to open on my 20th. I vaguely remember writing something about my boy in there (we weren't dating, I was just obsessed), so I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

2:02 pm