“To think that this is my twentieth birthday, and that I've left my teens behind me forever," said Anne, who was curled up on the hearth-rug with Rusty in her lap, to Aunt Jamesina who was reading in her pet chair. They were alone in the living room. Stella and Priscilla had gone to a committee meeting and Phil was upstairs adorning herself for a party.
"I suppose you feel kind of sorry," said Aunt Jamesina. "The teens are such a nice part of life. I'm glad I've never gone out of them myself."
Anne laughed.
"You never will, Aunty. You'll be eighteen when you should be a hundred. Yes, I'm sorry, and a little dissatisfied as well. Miss Stacy told me long ago that by the time I was twenty my character would be formed, for good or evil. I don't feel that it's what it should be. It's full of flaws."
"So's everybody's," said Aunt Jamesina cheerfully. "Mine's cracked in a hundred places. Your Miss Stacy likely meant that when you are twenty your character would have got its permanent bent in one direction or 'tother, and would go on developing in that line. Don't worry over it, Anne. Do your duty by God and your neighbor and yourself, and have a good time. That's my philosophy and it's always worked pretty well.”
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My philosophy for being 20: Live every moment like it's your last.
My plans for the future: After telling my good friend Sairi a few stories from my Spring Break, she told me: "You could get a Ph.D in adventure…and spontaneity. You're a pro."
Sounds good to me.
Bridge to Nowhere Hike!
This is the second year in a row that Brook, Evan, and I have done the 10-mile Bridge to Nowhere Hike along the San Gabriel River.
Made it to the bridge! At a waterfall with Brook on the hike back!
Spring Break
I spent the first 3 days with Lauren Miller and her family in Sacramento. It was the second holiday I've spent with her family (Thanksgiving freshman year was the other), and I feel so welcomed and at home with her family.
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| With Lovely Lauren in Sacramento, Easter Sunday |
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| Happy Easter! |
I spent the rest of the week with my friend Rachel Bicha, exploring some of the highlights of NorCal and SoCal!
Sacramento
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| Old Town Sacramento with Rachel! |
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| Downtown Sacramento, purchasing snooty but delicious chocolate. |
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| California State House |
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State House, Sacramento, California
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San Francisco for a day!
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| Biking San Francisco! 18 miles in 8 hours! |
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| Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park |
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| View of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco as we biked along the coast. |
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| Made it to the bridge before sunset! |
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| Half-way across biking the Golden Gate as the sun sets! |
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| Setting sun behind the Golden Gate |
Newport Harbor, SoCal
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| Stand-up Paddle-boarding in Newport Harbor! |
Biola Spring Banquet
Last weekend, I went with a group of my friends to Biola's Spring Banquet, an evening complete with dancing, dinner, live music, and a magic show! The theme was: "Swing Back in Time to the Roaring 20s!"
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| The Venue: Ebell of Los Angeles |
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| The courtyard of the Ebell |
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| The Roaring 20s! (Oh hello there). |
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| With Brook and Kathryn, my future roommate and current roommate, who have been by my side since the beginning of this crazy college experience. |
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| Charlotte, Lauren, Rachel, Kathryn, Katrena, and Rachael |
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| So much for "no dancing" at Biola…some professional dance instructors taught us all the Charleston and Basic Swing, and we ended the night dancing to two modern pop songs. (I may or may not be showcasing my moves in the middle of the circle in this photo). |
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| After the banquet and dance, we figured the night was still young, so our whole group headed over to Santa Monica Pier and enjoyed the night ocean breeze and good conversation. |
Mosaic Masquerade
The next night, one of the floor in the Horton Dorm hosted an evening of dancing, beverages, and interactive dorm room experiences.
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| With Rachel at an on-campus masquerade put on by one of the dorms at Biola! |
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| We didn't have masks for the masquerade so we used black feathers... |
Brushes with Celebrities
Last weekend, a professional film crew came to Biola and spent two days filming in various locations across campus. They were filming a made-for-tv movie for Lifetime (ewww), which is starring Eric Roberts (brother of Julia Roberts, father of Emma Roberts). He has an entire wikipedia page dedicated to his filmography, that's how many movies he's been in. Anyhow, through a series of events, I ended up being one of the Biola student representatives who helped the film crew navigate the campus for a few hours of their filming on Sunday. I was given a walkie-talkie with direct access to anyone on the film crew ("and, cut!"), and I drove a Biola golf cart (the long one with 3 benches!) to-and-fro across campus, transporting crew members and cast members between filming locations and their base camp. And yes, Eric Roberts came and sat down right next to me in the front seat, and we chatted about the filming and the campus as I drove him to his wardrobe room (without crashing the golf cart!).
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Eric Roberts as Sal Maroni in "The Dark Knight"
Also, if you haven't heard, I'll be living in a house off-campus next year with 7 other girls, and it turns out our landlord Marc is a professional stunt double. Below is a picture of him from a while ago, acting as a stunt double for Christian Slater. He was the stunt double for Riley in National Treasure 1 and 2, and also did stunt acting in Pirates of the Caribbean! |
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| Marc Shaffer, left; Christian Slater, right |
"All children, except one, grow up." - Peter Pan
20 years old...
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| The most beautiful edible arrangement from my dear mom. When the mailbox worker called me, he said very sweetly, "You have a very, very special delivery waiting for you at the post office." I started crying. |
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| In some ways, it doesn't feel like that much has changed... |
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, the love, encouragement, support, affirmation, and gifts. I love you all SO MUCH, and though I am so incredibly thankful for all the experiences I am having, I miss you all A LOT. Hugs and Kisses!
