Reflections

Thanksgiving proved to be all that I imagined. I enjoyed a lovely visit at home before returning to the mayhem that final exams has produced. The following are a few revelations that I have experienced in the time frame between my former versus new life:

• I am, fortunately, not the only one who has gained weight.
  
• I did not put enough effort into making my own friends in high school, but rather relied on current boyfriends to create social situations for me.
  
• My former boyfriends are both crazy. I was just too blinded by love to notice.
  
• I could make more friends if I were friendlier.
  
• I am not nearly as innocent as my friends are.
  
• In dating situations, it is better to play than be played. Though my secret and deepest desire is to be involved in a relationship that consists of mutual attraction and admiration, I have learned that this is impossible. That type of relationship does not, and may not ever, exist. It can, however, be amusing to join the game. I have become extremely skilled in a short amount of time.
  
• I probably will not marry my next boyfriend, or the next, or the next...
  
• I do not believe that you can love your significant other when you've only been together for a month or, in one particular case, for three dates.
  
• People will change certain aspects of their personalities.
  
• People will never change other aspects of their personalities.
  

Lastly, I have learned that small hometowns aren't nearly as suffocating and lifeless as we once considered them to be. They are the places that we grow up in. They provide us with backbone and structure. More importantly, their bad qualities provide us with the inspiration we need to better ourselves.

Regardless of how often and to what extent I change, there is always a part of me that is my hometown.