- Bedtime. Somehow, in college, I managed to subsist on 4-5 hours of sleep a night, save for days I didn't have early classes or work. Going to bed at 3 AM and getting to a 9 AM organic chemistry class was nothing. Somehow, I now require approximately 10 hours of sleep to feel functional at work. I'm beginning to understand why my mother goes to bed at 8 PM.
- Drinking. This often went hand-in-hand with bedtime; there were countless nights I stayed up far too late playing beer pong or downing shots or swilling a near-lethal mixture of Mountain Dew, Kool-Aid, and vodka. And afternoons spent drinking Jack and Coke while playing Rock Band. Once, on my best friend Amy's birthday, drinking hunch punch for breakfast. I spent an entire summer consuming unreasonable quantities of liquor with Amy, sleeping for an hour or two, going to the barn to ride, taking a siesta, and heading to work. These days, I'm lucky if I can drink three Blue Moons before falling asleep on the sofa. My last night of "heavy" drinking with my coworker Kyla consisted of half a bottle of wine, two beers, and playing shuffleboard. I have no idea when this change from hard-drinking partier to total lightweight occurred, but it's kind of annoying. And sad.
- Grad school. Up until two-ish years ago, I was convinced I needed to go to graduate school. For what, I didn't know. I still don't. When faced with the prospect of leaving UTM, I wasn't excited. I was scared. Martin, Tennessee was where my friends lived, where I had a job, where I had fun and felt safe. I didn't want to leave. Grad school seemed like the perfect answer- I could continue on with aforementioned habits, free of social responsibility, and full of money from the federal government. When I made the hasty and fanciful decision to move to Wichita, Kansas, the idea was still lodged in the back of my mind. Over the last couple of years, it's become more and more distant, though. I think I've finally accepted that it's okay to be an adult, far away from friends and family, paying bills and going to bed at 7 PM. I've made my peace, and now all I think about when graduate school comes up is how much money it would cost me.
- Boys. The less said about this, the better, but it bears mention. I went through a slew of questionable dates over the course of a couple of years. For the most part, they were interesting, nice, witty, and total freaks. I was fainted on, cried to, introduced to parents after a single date, told about divorces...the list is endless. I suppose this is what you get for going on dates with boys from OkCupid. It was fun, but I must say I am far happier these days all settled and co-habitating with the other author of this blog. Stephanie circa 2008 would be driven crazy, but Stephanie 2011 is extraordinarily happy.
- The music, maaan. My musical tastes have done something of a 180 over the last few years. Of course, I still adore Metallica, but you'll rarely find me listening to The Pink Spiders, Franz Ferdinand, The Acro-Brats, or Fratellis. I still enjoy these bands, but bands in my regular rotation tend to be less bratty pop-punk and more blues or folk.
- Friends. I imagine I'll have the same friends until people die: Moto, Amy, Mikey, Greer. They are superb friends. Although I feel like I'm friendlier and more open than I was a few years ago, it's become increasingly difficult to find new friends. Without classes or sorority functions or a job full of 20-something college dropouts, I've had trouble finding people to fill the gaps left by my BFFs' absence. I made a handful of friends in Wichita, but feel I've only really made three or four buddies in Tulsa. They're all fantastic, and I'm grateful for them. But I do wish I had the huge circle of people surrounding me that I had in college. I dislike being alone! Good thing I have Johnny to hang out with all the time.
Physically, I've apparently turned into an 80-year old woman sometime in the last two years. My left heel is constantly bothering me, as is my left hip. (I'm certain these are related.) My hearing seems to be getting worse. Somehow I seem to have put on 50 pounds and it's not budging, no matter how much I exercise. Exercise isn't as fun as it used to be. And, perhaps most telling of all, I'm just a tiny bit nervous when I'm riding a difficult horse.
But never fear! I'm not totally old and decrepit yet! How do I know? Because I still ride the crazy horses, still get on after a fall, and still live for the adrenaline surge that comes only from clearing cross-country jumps. :)
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