Scrambled

Feb 11, 2008 by Sloane Solomon

Each month, Sloane’s funny frankness echoes the experiences of young people and their choices.

I love the New Year. It’s a special time that comes along every 365 days that reminds me I need to stop smoking, be nicer to my parents, and get good grades. And every year I start off really strong. I stop smoking (for six days), I’m a lot nicer to my parents (until my bank account is filled), and I try to show up to at least two out of my four classes (until Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.)

But instead of making a bunch of resolutions I can’t keep (whatever, I’ll stop smoking once I get knocked up) I decided to make one solution this year: get serious. Serious about school, serious about my health, serious about my relationships, serious about my life. I’m 21 years old now, and that may seem young, but I know real adulthood is looming around the corner.

Actually, I’ve sort of been forced into real adulthood. My last remaining Miami family members, my Dad and my stepmom Nancy, have up and left for Newport Beach, California. Starting January 10th, I am officially a gypsy. I have parents on either side of the country, a boyfriend in Miami, and a sister about to go to college possibly in Hawaii. I’m already two flights away from a freetrip with Southwest Air, and now with my parents separated by a mountain range and three time zones (as the good Lord intended), I’ll really be logging those Skymiles. It makes me feel old and mature to have my parents so far away. I’ve never had quite so much independence before.

I’ll be going to school full-time, working parttime, and stressing out all the time.

And as you all know, once this semester in Tallahassee ends, I’m packing a U-Haul and building a nest with Paul. I’ll be going to school fulltime, working part-time, and stressing out all the time. I’ll be paying bills, driving around Miami, playing house, and starting my real life.

2008 looks like it’s shaping up to be a very interesting year. If you told me last January 2007 that in a year my parents would be whale watching in their new backyard, my boyfriend would be a successful college graduate, and I’d be even better looking, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

So far this year has brought a lot of twists and turns, and I can’t wait to see where else it brings me.

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