Well, so now I'm a quarter of a century old (as of the 21st of April). And today was my last day as an undergrad student. I now have a bachelor's in English, emphasis Creative Writing. My first nephew is on the way, my boyfriend and I are about to celebrate our first anniversary (and even though we've had our share of trials, we're stronger than ever now) and it seems like life just keeps changing, and surging forth, and giving me lots of challenges, and little miracles, and gifts, and surprises good and bad.

My parents got me a guitar for my birthday, which was a wonderful surprise because my dad was very thoughtful to pick that old dream of mine out of a conversation he and I had about music. Maybe someday, you guys can see a YouTube rendition of me playing and singing a song that I wrote. I hope so. Before she died, I promised my little sis Kori that I would put all my songs on a CD for her. She loved to hear me sing. She used to drag her friends up to my room and say "sing so-and-so that song you wrote about the girl with anorexia." That one was her favorite... I found out later she helped a friend of hers cope with her anorexia and eventually overcome it. I'm touched that my song struck such a deep chord in Kori's very real emotional experience.

Someday, I will have a CD made of all my songs. And I am going to name the album for Kori.

Life changes, but some things always stay the same. You grow out of some dreams, and others help you grow. Loved ones die, but love doesn't.

Oh, life! Whatever is in store next? I guess we'll just wait and see.