Dear Fierce Lady on the Other Side of the Coffee Shop

Dear Fierce Lady on the Other Side of the Coffee Shop, 

Firstly, I must admit, you have an impressive amount of...confidence.  There you sit, legs crossed, heeled foot bobbing, slurping on your pink smoothie.  Those zebra-printed tights really make your denim skirt pop.  And, oh my, your hair!  My apple and its orange friend could happily hide beneath that magnificent pouf.  Behind that tease, they'd be safe from the hole in the O-Zone layer you contributed to with that last bottle of Aqua Net.  And it's really clever how you appear to be keeping time by popping your gum so methodically.  

It's characters like you, Fierce Lady on the Other Side of the Coffee Shop, that keep the world a stage.  We love the unknowing celebrities being followed by cameras, discussing their "Situations" and drama.  It just seems to be as if your camera guy took the night off.  So, thank you for venturing out today for that strawberry smoothie sans lens.  You've compelled me to share your image.  Now just hope it goes viral.

Regards of Some Sort, 

Laura

To All the Broken Hearts

College graduation represents that time when doors are closing, others are opening, some doors are windows, windows become walls...and luckily there's wine in the kitchen.  It seems only natural that relationships are changing as well.  People are finding themselves again, and this means finding someone else that fits the puzzle.  What's ironic, this doesn't mean always starting a new, wonderful, happy love with that dreamy whomever.  It's a time for cuts as well.  For wilted relationships to finally get tossed out the door.  So along with the stress of being twenty-something and educated, we arrive to the door of Heartbreak Hotel.

Not too long ago I was in a long term relationship, humming a happy tune while knowing the tempo changed.  I fought for  it to last, but when one fights while the other sits, well, you simply go in circles.  When the breakup finally arrived, I was crushed.  There was years of history within that relationship, and it ended as quick as Charlie Sheen's sanity.  I had no idea that it would be the best thing to happen to me in a very long time.

I was forced out of my comfort zone...my comfort zone was snatched away, actually.  While I watched the degradation of someone I once held on a pedestal, truth showed itself in unsettling ways.  I had to focus on myself to stay strong.  What did I need to be okay?  What do I really want in life?  Isn't it nice to only have my laundry on the floor?  

Friends stepped up to help me, and I created stronger bonds, found new ones, and became wonderfully okay with myself.  I knew I could make it on my own, I knew what I valued in life, I was more prepared for the real world than I ever would've been still settled in a stale relationship.  And I appreciate everyone in my life.  

So, thank you, truth and heartbreak, for making me who I am today.  Stronger, more confident, and the happiest I've ever been.  After some time, I had the fortunate chance to run into someone who showed me what a relationship could really be.  This whole year of experiences and realizations have me thanking the stars everyday that I had a hell to travel through.  Behind every heartbreak, every pain you feel you cannot bear, lies an opportunity to break though, to realize the terrific and improve your life beyond what you can fathom.  

Good Luck.  You're never alone.    

Hello World. Yes, the Real One.

Hey, Real World.  Your fly's open.

Made you look.  But the door of opportunity is definitely open.  With college graduation approaching at an almost rudely fast pace, it has become the moment every grad experiences: a breed of fear, excitement, hope, and bittersweet loss.  The last four years have been dedicated to an education no ACT or SAT could gauge for us.  And after that lifetime experience of a mere few years, we are thrown into a new learning curve, a new environment, a new chapter.

A new chapter in a bad economy.  A new chapter where our deepest friendships, although they will stand the test of time, are going to be stretched across state (and international) borders.  A chapter of uncertainty.

So, fellow people caught in the barrage of graduation stress, we have a lot to think about.  But the beauty of it is exactly what we're worrying about.  We have this new freedom; with a degree we have knowledge behind us, memories accrued.  There are no binding responsibilities, no boundaries.

It's the time for cliche...Chase that Dream, grad.