Self-Explanatory

The decision to go to London was rooted in my continual need for self-discovery amid the swirling changes, mounting responsibilities, and fuzzy transition between adolescence and young adulthood, so naturally-------okay, who am I kidding? "Continual need for self-discovery…" Barf.

I wanted to go somewhere that sounds prestigious and makes me look super smart, yet doesn't require me to put in the effort of 3 Sarah Lawrence-style conference papers per semester. And being out of the US during a presidential election has its merits as well…

But the truth is, you can't travel thousands of miles from home, meet hoards of new people, be completely removed from your natural element, and not learn a thing or two about yourself.

In that vein, I've been keeping a handwritten journal…makes the whole "self-discovery" bullshit even more organic and theme-conscious. Sometimes I have a lot to say, other times I hit a creative crossroads, and my brain decides to bail and hitchhike.

Last night was one of those nights, so the only journal entry I got looked a little something like this:

Things You Should Know About Alex (That May Come As a Shock At First, But Will Eventually Make Perfect Sense):

1. She loves Barry Manilow…especially "Mandy." In fact, that's all she ever wants to karaoke.
2. She is hopelessly afraid of great-horned owls.
3. Many would say the goofiness is a facade for the aching, brooding, tortured poet within…it's not. 
4. If you gave her a giant cookie with Gaslight Anthem lyrics spelled out in chocolate chips, she'd probably marry you. 
5. She thinks her penmanship is better than yours.
6. Her favorite words are: ****, synecdoche, and refrigerator
7. Her least favorite words are: viscous, moist, panties, and any scientific term for human anatomy
8. She's too lazy to master a foreign language.
9. She thinks the "Favorite Quotes" section of Facebook is the best insight to her personality, as it is a proportionate mix of self-explanatory, hysterical, and overtly intellectual. In reality, no one actually reads those.
10. She could survive on a desert island with nothing but Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a hot glue gun.