gracie_musica | 25 Things

So yes. It's my birthday today. And a sincere THANK YOU goes out to everyone who wished me well through LJ, PMs, emails, and text messages, bought me v-gifts, made me icons, and even wrote me fic! I think I thanked most of you, but I'm sure I probably missed some of you. I'm sorry if I did, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You all made today even better.

So I've been thinking. I'm 25 now. And part of me feels all responsible and adult-y, but part of me still feels like an immature 18 year old. So, I thought, why not make this a fun exercise for everyone! I mean, people make these lists when they hit milestones like 30 or so. 25 is old enough for a quarter-life crisis (if I'm lucky). Mine's more "things I learned every year", though. I hope you enjoy it.

And yes, there are stories behind some of the things.

25 Things I've Learned By 25

1. If you scream loud enough, people will do things for you!

2. When all else fails, kick. (I once kicked my grandmother in the head while wearing a pair of those hard-toed toddler shoes. I was going through a touchy "needs to warm up to you" phase and she insisted on picking me up)

3. We do not bite the baby. (my brother was born when I was two and a half. first spanking I ever got)

4. A box angel has an X on its stomach. Like a train car! (I don't know either. I was FOUR.)

5. Santa can't be my daddy. There is no way my daddy would buy me all of those presents. (actually told to a classmate when I was informed in kindergarten that Santa Claus was my parents)

6. Books can take you ANYWHERE.

7. Our plates are in the swimming pool. (it's the safest place for fine china when there's a hurricane)

8. My grandmother's right -- that sink really can't hold my weight. (first stitches. 10 in my middle finger on my left hand)

9. ... Santa really is my Dad.

10. Chris Noth is apparently hot. (fact. also known as "I start to realize that Law and Order is a good show, and my mother's actually right about something!")

11. Dad doesn't know best. Breaker rocks aren't there to play on. (second set of stitches. left ankle.)

12. ... Okay, sometimes he does know what he's talking about. (he took me and my brother down to the coast about a day before a hurricane hit in the gulf. waves 6 feet tall. best bodysurfing waves ever!)

13. When you break a door frame, it's time to stop taking karate.

14. Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words cut deeper than anything. (I think children turn into monsters when they become teenagers. I was a totally different person then)

15. Sometimes not being able to do something is as important as wanting to do something.

16. These are the times that try men's souls. (9/11. Second hour English)

17. Love surprises you by coming out of nowhere to mug you. But it leaves a phone number behind.

18. Never. Ever. Having. Children. (I knew someone who would regale us with tales of her horrid experience with childbirth whenever we went drinking. best birth control EVER)

19. Ask for help when you need it.

20. Your first love is not always your last.

21. You're always the last to know! (when I came out to all my friends, they all answered with, "Yeah, we know.")

22. Audentes fortuna iuvat -- fortune favors the bold.

23. Life isn't fair sometimes. For everyone, not just you. Pain is, well, painful, but necessary for evolution. (see also: Life is Pain)

24. Forgiveness takes a long time, but you feel better when you do.

25. Be brave in little ways, be kind in big ways, be grateful for what you have, and be generous to those that don't.