Sorting through the first 18 years of my life.

My parents moved into a new house in June, leaving behind the home I spent a decade of my life in. This Thanksgiving weekend has been the first time I've actually stayed and slept in their new home.

And because of that, my dad has charged me with sorting through all of the crap I accumulated when from ages 0 to (almost) 18, which my family had to pack up since I was in Reno during the summer.

There's a lot of it. I've only gone through two boxes, and I know there are at least a dozen more in the garage.

There are several Barbie's from my doll collecting days and Pokemon memorablia left over from that particular obsession. Unfinished scrapbooks and tons of cardstock lie in piles. Stories I conceived years ago remain ideas in notebooks I haven't touched in years.

College letters of acceptance were filed away with papers that had grades and SAT scores. A confirmation cross is now sitting on my desk, with no place to go.

At least three boxes for old cell phones have been discovered. Two press passes from past journalism conventions are coming back with me to Reno.

It just shows me how much I have changed throughout the years.

And that I'm a horrible pack rat.

Early signs of a quarter-life crisis.

When I was younger, I used to joke around that we were going through quarter-life crises as things tumbled around us.

And tonight, after realizing my dissatisfaction with my life right now, I looked up what this crisis actually entails.

Here are the signs according to Wikipedia:
* feeling "not good enough" because one can't find a job that is at one's academic/intellectual level
* frustration with relationships, the working world, and finding a suitable job or career
* confusion of identity
* insecurity regarding the near future
* insecurity concerning long-term plans, life goals
* insecurity regarding present accomplishments
* re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
* disappointment with one's job
* nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life
* tendency to hold stronger opinions
* boredom with social interactions
* loss of closeness to high school and college friends
* financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
* loneliness
* desire to have children
* a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you

The ones in bold are the ones I can identify with right now. Notice, the only one that isn't bolded is the boredom with social interactions. For the first time in a year, I feel like I actually have a social life. It's nice.

And don't be alarmed about the "desire to have children" thing. It's mostly because every time I talk to someone from high school, someone else has a new baby. It makes me wonder when I'll have that kind of news.

I've always been that person who has the five-year plan, the one who somehow has her shit together. I've always known what I wanted to do with my life and how I was going to do that. Even in bad times, I pushed on because I knew that it'd get me to where I wanted to go. People would tell me they thought I was older than my actual age because I was so focused.

And now, for the last couple of months, I've had more than one person ask me about my priorities and what I want in life.

The truth is, I don't know.

I'm 20. It's to be expected. Everyone goes through this, right?

I think half the problem is that I worry constantly about other people's expectations of me. My parents, my co-workers, my friends. It's probably time to start worrying about what I want out of my life than what everyone else expects me to do with it.

I think I need some time to figure this out. I'm banking on Thanksgiving. Five days of sitting at my parents' house for lack of transportation, with a laptop, books, movies and my thoughts.

It's going to be fabulous.

13 days to go.

Stolen from Cari's blog.

Because I love doing this stuff.

Crazy 8s

8 Favorite TV Shows:

1. CSI
2. CSI: Miami
3. Sex and the City
4. My Boys
5. Charmed
6. Dancing With The Stars
7. Will & Grace
8. Dexter

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Yen Ching
2. Sushi Pier 2
3. Hong Kong Diner
4. Olive Garden
5. Gold & Silver
6. Denny's
7. Archie's
8. Macaroni Grill

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

1. Dragged myself to reporting class
2. Opted out of my sightsinging class because I still can't stop coughing
3. Realized the power bill is due today
4. Went to work and started working on Tuesday's CP
5. Ignored the boys' conversation when they tried to freak me out
6. Did a couple of internship packets
7. Had dinner with Becky at Gold & Silver and learned about the latest details of her love life
8. Fell asleep while watching Dexter

8 Things I'm Looking Forward To:

1. Not being sick anymore. Seriously, it's been more than a week.
2. This semester being over.
3. Thanksgiving.
4. Christmas.
5. Payday.
6. Inauguration day.
7. Being done with this year's internship application cycle (which won't be done until someone offers me a job).
8. A vacation anywhere.

8 Things I Love About Fall:

1. College football.
2. Lots of colors.
3. Wearing sweaters.
4. No more wildfires creating tons of smoke that's bad for your lungs.
5. Pumpkin pie.
6. Starbucks bringing back its seasonal flavors.
7. The holidays.
8. Random snowfalls.

8 Things on my Wishlist:

1. A new (or a fixed) laptop.
2. Clothes.
3. A new cell phone.
4. A fixed window.
5. A better Internet connection.
6. A good internship.
7. Good grades.
8. A magical cure that will get rid of my cough.

Inspired.

I still feel the goosebumps from watching the results come in as I helped cover the Dem watch party for the AP tonight.

As I watched Obama's speech over the tops of several heads, all I could think was how historic this night was. I wasn't aware at the time of the record voter turnout or the absolute blowout in electoral votes. I just felt it.

I am proud to say that my generation stepped up and made their voices heard. I am proud to say that I voted in this election. I am proud to say that Barack Obama is my next president come Jan. 20.

This is history, folks. But don't let me tell you that.

Let him.

Busy day tomorrow.

- Health center (must get rid of this horrid, horrid cough. I'm pretty sure I've got bronchitis for the billionth time in my life)
- Finishing touches on provost CP
- Interview with new science dean
- English class
- Work on dean story
- E-mail AP folks
- Ethics class
- Finish stories
- Call parents to tell them the sad, sad story about being a sick, poor college journalist
- Walk home to pick up car
- Change into clothing that is appropriate for political rally
- Go to Palin event at livestock events center (am tempted to wear a cowboy hat to event)
- Go back to work for rest of production night

Gotta love Mondays.
And when I say love, I mean hate/strongly dislike.

Looking forward to a break on Wednesday afternoon, when we will hypothetically know who the next president is and all of this election season stuff will be done.