Anyway, at the beginning of this decade I was in fourth grade. I spent a lot of time writing, reading, and daydreaming excessively. Indoor recesses were generally spent with my friend Sara, pretending we understood the rules to Jenga and drawing pictures together. In outdoor recesses, we joined my friends Anna and Kelsey and other friends to play heated battles of four-square. Kelsey usually won.
I rang in the New Year with all of them.
In fifth grade I was under the impression that we ruled the school. I was also under the impression that overalls were the best article of clothing on the planet second to clogs, so don't trust my judgement there.
In sixth grade I went to Sligo, spending most bus rides wishing I didn't. Early that September we were herded into the gym and told nothing while planes fell out of the sky. I sat behind a blonde girl in math class. We became friends and would later become senior swimming co-captains in high school. Funny how that works.
In seventh grade we were sent to Newport to relieve overcrowding, and everything got a little better. I got my first and only C because I refused to pay attention to things like actually turning my work in, in favor of going to the library every other day for another book to devour. I went from an hour and a half of basketball practice straight to two hours of swim practice, and I never got tired.
In eighth grade I did pretty much the same thing, just waiting for high school. Snipers forced some of my field hockey games to be cancelled because it was dangerous to be outside.
Starting high school I recoiled at being the bottom of the food chain. I dropped year-round swimming and tried new things. I survived the 200 IM and 500 freestyle every meet of my high school career. I played field hockey. I tried lacrosse and learned how to quit something. I even acted in a one-act play. During rehearsals for that One-Act, during which I had no voice, I got my acceptance to Ithaca College and danced around while silently cheering.
I also made some new friends. Two nights ago we made our annual trip to the Brookside lights and watched Titanic for the 1 millionth time. We provided our own commentary and ate freezer appetizers, bagel bites, and chocolate for our highly nutritious meal.
Freshman year of college I had to handle what I wasn't anymore. To the outside world, I wasn't a twin. I wasn't an athlete. I had to create an identity from scratch. I covered sports and wrote the same article over and over. I got on the radio and realized other mediums could be fun.
And now sophomore year. I'm a sister and a daughter and a friend. I'm a student and an athlete again as I head into the new decade. When this decade ends, I'll be 29, which is terrifying. I'll be paying my own utilities. So, I'm going to try to live in the moment.
Because 19 feels pretty good.
