Ten Years

Where was I 10 years ago and where will I be in 10 years? I'll start with the former. Ten years ago I was 20 and starting my sophomore year in college at UMass Amherst. I'm thankful to have been blessed with a wonderful education. When I got to UMass I moved on to the 4 floor of the Mary Lyon building. The forth floor was/is the 2 in 20 Floor, a special residence program for Gay Lesbian Bi, Trans, etc etc etc. It made for a wonderful, all be it unique living experience. The floor below us was all female, put in place as a buffer. (or as one eager lesbian named it a "buffet") We never had any problems from the other residence of the building. In fact, most of the straight couples would come up and have sex in our co-ed bathroom/showers. It was a year of AOL Instant Messenger, Gay.com chat rooms, and free music and porn on Napster. That same year, I also remember walking back from my morning cooking class (a degree requirement) when my vegan lesbian neighbor stopped to tell me that a plain had just flown into the World Trade Center. Joe my roommate at the time was crying when I got back and I gave him a long hug. It was a surreal moment. The country shut down in the days following the attacks as everyone tried to figure out what to do next.

Now ten years has gone by and I'm at 30 and I can't help but look ahead at where I'll be when I turn 40. I've never been able to plan my future well, but here goes: When I turn 40 hopefully I'll own a home or condo. It was originally a goal I set for thirty, but I'm mature enough to say that I can not afford a home yet. Buying a home is all about the down payment and I need to save some serious cash first. My goal is to save roughly $10,000... which will take me at least 10 years to do. On a similar note, this will be the decade of fiscal responsibility. I'm a spender by nature and whether it's travel, cloths, shoes or food, I'll always find something to spend money on. All those purchases have done wonders for my wardrobe but not my bank account. My mantra will (hopefully) be Save More Spend Less.

Other then home and savings...my vision gets very blurry. A lot can happen in 10 years so it's hard to plan for. Obviously I want to be happy and I'd like to think a boyfriend is a big part of that. I know I don't need another person to make me happy... blah blah blah. But I'd like to have a boyfriend someday. My longest relationship was for three months and that was about 4 years ago. In fact, I sometime feel like a dating virgin because I've only dated two people total. Relationships have always been something for other people. Like a club I wasn't given the secret password for. But now that I have grown and matured, I know that my third decade will bring more success in my love life. Think positive! As the song says, '3 is the magic number.'