Day by Day Ruminations

What a very strange week: Yesterday, I finished my thesis. By that I mean that I revised all of the poems in it to the point where I can still read them without cringing. You might even say I like them. I'm proud of the work I've done while I've been at Hollins and hopeful of what might happen to this manuscript as it continues to change and develop. I think I'm going to send another wave of submissions out in the next few weeks. Someone also gave me a copy of the current issue of the Atlantic, which has my name in it for the student writing contest. This brightened my day.


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Tomorrow, I have to take my comprehensive exam. This is the test you have to pass to graduate. It covers all of the literature courses you took as a student at Hollins. Lots of essays. Not looking forward to it. Tomorrow is also the seven year anniversary of my mother's death. Every year it gets a little bit stranger. I find myself wondering if she would recognize me if she saw me on the street. It's startling to me that most of the important people in my life (speaking non-family) never met my mother. Lots I'd like to ask her, though her advice on relationships might not be the best, but it's certainly a void I've been much more aware of in the last few weeks. My dad's not exactly what you call compassionate, though he's certainly pragmatic. I've become more aware that I'm probably more like my mom in how I deal with adverse circumstances, probably overly emotional and underly (not a word, yes) practical. The thesis is dedicated to her, though there are also individual poems dedicated to my dad, Shelley, and my brother. After comps, we're going to see the Salem Red Sox play the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. This, I am excited about.


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And Saturday is my 24th birthday. It's been awhile since I could really get excited for it, probably since it's so closely associated in my mind with the day before it. A year of my life I'll certainly remember. Lots of good things happened, some bad things too, all necessary things. But we're young and that's life (at least that's what the rock and roll songs tell me).

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Sorry for the pity parade, folks. It probably doesn't make for great reading. How about the last sonnet of the Aerials sequence?:

*plish*

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Spring is springing.