I want to take a moment to thank some of the people in my life.


Thank you Rude Neighbor Man. If it wasn't for your marijuana deals at 8:30 AM on Saturday mornings, I might never get up in time for the good donuts at Dunkin' Donuts. Your incessantly loud, incessantly awful music is so horrible, it renders sleep impossible for me. And I'd like to thank you for making sure that I can hear every word of your grammatically incorrect conversations--you teach me every day that my college education is not for naught. I would never want to end up like you: caught in the ghetto, dealing drugs so I can make the outrageously priced rent for a hole-in-the-wall apartment. My life will be better than yours because I will be able to make an honest and decent living. You give me the motivation to graduate.


Thank you Horribly Screechy Children. You give me a reason to procrastinate my homework with your shrill cries for 6 hours straight, giving me the time to do some Tai Chi Chih and watch an interesting documentary of The Secret Lives of Geisha. When you're right below my patio, yes, I have the urge to throw water balloons at you. But then I remember I don't have any water balloons. So I have the urge to throw eggs at you instead. But then I remember that my eggs are precious because I'm going to make the world's best chocolate chip cookies tonight, and I don't want to waste them on you guys. You kids play on a very sad, not-a-hill-but-it-is-kind-of-sloped-downward-from-the-shrubbery-area. You guys scream and laugh and giggle and play, honestly, for 6 hours straight, by creating makeshift sleds out of cardboard and garbage bags on the quickly melting 1-inch amount of snow. And you guys make me jealous, that not even snow makes me happy for as long as it does you, in Maryland. But you guys also teach me that maybe I shouldn't care as much about not doing homework for 6 hours, and rather, take those 6 hours and relax.


Thank you Very Bad Drivers That I Encounter Every Single Day On My Way To And From School. If it wasn't for the ways you cut me off, flip me off, honk, swerve, and nearly crash into me four days a week, I might not be as aware on the roads as I should be. See, my commute to campus is a fairly easy one: it's basically just 60 miles of straightness. But you guys make me alert, and force me to pay attention, so that I end up being a safe driver. Plus, you all make me value my life more than I ever thought possible. I cherish every day that I am not in an accident with one of you, because I will not allow myself to be victimized by your lack of competence on the road.


Thank you Professor Falco. Thank you for that 'C' you gave me in Medieval Literature. Some of the students from English 304 had a mini-reunion in English 307 this week, and we all laughed and cheered when we learned that we each had received 'C's in your class. We never worked so hard for a 'C' in our lives, so thank you for making us prepared for English 305, and thank you for showing us that not all grades come easily. I really learned in your class, and didn't just memorize.


Thank you Bedbugs. You've become my new phobia. You've taught me to be even more careful and mindful of thrift-store furniture and mattresses and clothes than I ever thought was possible. You're still not gone, but we're relentless against you. You've taught me the meaning of perseverance: you against us, and us against you. I don't know where you're still coming from, especially when our apartment is thoroughly poisoned. It must be from the birds and squirrels that infest the area and you must make your way through the walls and the roof. Well, my dears, the last time I saw you, I didn't freak out. I did lose hope that we'd ever be rid of you, but I was able to regain my composure and smite you good. When we leave this place, and Maryland, far behind us, in just 4 months--you. will. not. follow. You see, my dears, we're throwing away everything you've touched. And we're going to scour the moving van before we start moving furniture, just in case some of your little buddies are in there. You've made living in the ghetto, even more nightmarish. So I want to thank you for teaching me to never let my guard down. And to persevere. Even when my will is broken, to persevere.


Thank you Little Bamboo. I have seen you grow in just a week. I know you're stubby right now, but that's okay. You remind me that I need to remember to lay a foundation of happiness for myself before I'll be able to grow.


Thank you Lorie. For listening to the whining and the swearing when I've been overwhelmed over the last semester. You knew when to crack jokes, and when not to crack jokes. You tolerated my temporary insanity and proof-read my papers. And when on said proof-read papers, when I got a 'C' you supported the decision that those professors were crack-whores who didn't know a good paper about Online-Writing-Labs when it bit them in the butt. You were/are dealing with your own stuff, and yet still made time for me. And continue to do so. I know we haven't technically been friends for that long yet, but I really wanted to let you know that I appreciate every time we stay up until 7, 8, 9 AM talking and going to bookstores and expanding my musical borders.


Thank you Laura. For still writing to me, even though we haven't seen each other in a year. I miss you more and more with each semester that passes. And I always love your letters, and your e-mails. They seem to come when my day is at the grey-est point it can be, and your letters bring a much-needed spark of sunlight.


Thank you My Love for doing the dishes.



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