Technically a woman, but you know, not really.

Today I'm turning my blog over to Caroline from Girl Goes East. We are partners in the 20 Something Bloggers Blog Swap, so we're swapping blogs for the day (duh that's what a blog swap means). Here's Caroline's autobiography:

Caroline (girlgoeseast.com) is a 22 year old college graduate who holds a degree in journalism and a full-time job in...not journalism. She currently lives in Manhattan where she frequently locks herself out of her building and sees that guy from Gossip Girl (she doesn't know which one). She started her blog so she wouldn't forget how to write, but now she just forgets how to work.

Hopefully you will enjoy her post and if you do make sure you go show her some love at her place (while you're there, you could show me some love on the post I wrote for her... *cough*cough* just sayin') Anyway, without further ado, here's Caroline's post: 

When I first saw my name next to Patrice’s, I clicked her link.

Oh F*#^.

 

This girl is serious. She has a layout. She has a BIO. With a picture. And a background. It looks like a digital scrapbook.

 

Wait. Patrice is still in college? I’m not in college anymore! It’s been a year, and the wealth of knowledge I’ve aquired in the last 11 months is so extensive that I could trump her layout any day. In fact…

Ok wait. This isn’t a competition. My therapist would say I’m probably just jealous she’s still in college and I’m not.

My therapist would be right.

Not a girl, not yet a woman, hm? Yeah, I feel you. I totally feel you. I realize that even though in the state of New York (and in the bank account of Mom and Dad), I am legally a woman (and not a girl), sometimes I feel like I’m still in the in between phase.

With Britney Spears and her awesome thought-provoking lyrics in mind, let’s go back to 1998 when Baby One More Time debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts (also, sometimes I make facts up).

Because I didn’t get a CD Burner til 8th grade, I was left to my own devices. And by my own devices, I mean an 18lb boom box and an alarm clock radio, where I would record mix tapes externally so the sound would always be fuzzy and LAY OFF ME WHAT ELSE COULD I DO?!

I would wait until the “top 9 at 9” would come on the radio so I could record the hit songs like “Baby One More Time” and “Lady Marmalade”. Then I would choreograph stage routines to said songs pretending the most popular girls in my grade were nothing more than my back up dancers.

I mean, what? Who said that?

I look back on that and I nearly die laughing, remembering listening to Britney in my bedroom as an 11 year old girl and really “feeling” the music. I think "Email My Heart" once reduced me to tears (I mean, that song still does, but before they weren't because of the pain from my BLEEDING EARS.) 

 

How embarrassing! Who does that?

FLASH FORWARD to my 22 year old current self.

Every single time I find myself in a car alone, you know what I do? I sing songs. You know what kind of songs? The one's on the Glee soundtrack. You know who I am when I sing the songs from Glee? The lead. Obviously. Even during the stereotypical male vocal songs, I AM THE STAR.

I watch my little cousins sweat Miley Cryus and kiss Nick Jonas and Justin Bieber posters before they go to sleep, and I thank God I'm not a dorky little girl anymore.

 

But where was I last night at exactly 9:25pm? On the edge of my couch, humming along to Lionel Richie's "Hello" with the cast of Glee and Googling pictures of Mark Salling while my roommate looked at me like I was the biggest freakshow on Earth. Where was I before that? Furiously voting for Andrew Garcia on American Idol.

 

I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE, PEOPLE!

 

We’re not girls. But we’re not women either. Most of the time we’re just awkward.
 

Let’s embrace it.

The Big 2-0!

Yesterday was a big day for me... 20 years ago yesterday I came into this world!! Yesterday was my 20th birthday! I had a great day with really great friends & was so busy celebrating I didn't get this post up until now! ;)

I can't believe I'm 20... I'm so old! Although 20 sometimes gets overlooked because you're jsut waiting for the next year so you can turn 21, I think 20 is pretty significant! I am no longer a teenager anymore, and I am closer to being a woman.

I was so ready to be 20, I hated being ninteen because of that suffix on the end of the word... teen. You see, once upon a time, that suffix was something I longed for, I couldn't wait for, in fact I had to be a "pre-teen" before my age even had "teen" in it! But by the time I was nineteen I wanted nothing more than to be rid of that "teen" title and be associated with children! I feel like 20 sounds more adult, more grown up, and not child-like!

19 made my blog title, Not a girl not yet a woman, ring even more true than it already did because it was like I was so close to being a woman, but not quite there and I felt like a child every time I said I was 19! Now I'm in a whole new demographic, the 20's!

19 was a good year... a lot happened in a year:

• I had my first big break up 
• I hit a bloggy milestone!
• Learned some very important lessons! 
• Finished my 1st year of college!
• Got an amazing internship with College Lifestyles!
• Said goodbye to my first car. 
• Returned for my second year of college and got to work on my 1st rush!

Overall, I'd say it was a pretty big year. Lots of change, but lots of goodness! I can't wait to see what 20 has to hold!

Last year, for my birthday, I asked to break my comment record, and you guys made it happen! Jen E @ Momma Blogs A Lot even made me my own virtual birthday card! So this year what do I want?! Well, a happy birthday from each one of my followers would be nice! And that would break my record from last year! ;)

The Big 1-0-0!!

It's that time, people!! It's almost here! Are you excited? GET EXCITED!!! It is almost my 100th post!! I can't believe i've written almost 100 posts... that's crazy! Anyway, I want to do something BIG & exciting!! So I need your ideas... I could do a giveaway, but I don't even know how to go about that... I don't really want to do that 100 things about me thing that some people do, I want it to be more exciting! So, what did you do? Did you see someone else do something you liked? Help! Let me know what you think :) Thanks in advance, friends!

You like me, you really like me!

I feel so... important! I have not 1, but 2 awards now!! Thank you Chelle and Mrs. Newlywed, 2 of my bbfs (best bloggy friends). So, 1st award for the day is The Diamond Award from Chelle! Seriously, I can not thank you enough for my 1st ever bloggy award! It has been a long time (like over a month) since she gave me this award, but I have not forgotten! The rules of this blog award are mention the award (check) and give it to 7 of you! This is gonna be tough since we have a lot of bloggy friends in common, and she gave the award to them already!

1. Jen @ Momma Blogs Alot- My 1st bloggy friend. I feel I have been neglecting her lately, but I still heart her, I just have less blog time! Seriously, this girl has some of the best advice, and she will offer it up no matter what. Even if the comment could be a post in itself! lol
2. Dawn @ Dawn's Daily Life- Dawn was 1 of my swap partners, for Wendi's swap! Her package was so special, she sent home made things, which is so cool! I wish I had the creativity to actually make something to put in my package! I love her blog style, because its mostly memes, but you learn so much about her and still get the daily life stories, just in a different, more fun format!
3. Dana @ Supernanny, Where Are You?- 1st of all, how funny is her blog title? I love it! Dana is so funny, and she has the most unique stories about being a post office worker. Plus, she came up with Top 5 Tuesday and does it every week, which is so much fun!
4. Heidi @ Mommy Doesn't Live Here Anymore- This girl cracks me up! She is so funny and so smart! She's one of my newest bloggy friends, but as soon as I clicked over to her blog I was hooked!
5. Susan @ Life in the Psych Award- I am new to her blog as well, but this girl is freaking funny! And she even had a celebrity comment on her blog, how cool is that!? And no, not Doocee or whatever her name is!
6. Megan @ Wandering DC- She was my swap partner for Pink Potpurri's swap, and this girl is awesome! She has awesome stories and she's just an over all great blog friend!
7. Laural @ Mamasphere- I was a lurker on her site for a long time until one day I finally commented & then she commented me, and bam! A Friendship was born! lol well at least in my mind. Anyway, she cracks me up everyday with hilarious stories about her life. She's also in the market for a new name, so if your creative like that you could win big!

My next award comes from the hilarious and super sweet Mrs. Newlywed.

Characteristics for the Smile Award:

1. Must display a cheerful attitude. I do try to remain positive on my blog!

2. Must love one another. Check Check check check

3. Must make mistakes.Oh yes, I definitely make mistakes

4. Must learn from others. I learn new things everyday from my bloggy friends

5. Must be a positive contributor to blog world. Well, I try...

6. Must love life. Yes, definitely.

7. Must love kids. What? This is random, but I definitely love kids!

These are the rules for The Smile Award:

1. The recipient must link back the the award’s creator

2. You must post these rules if you receive the award.

3. You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself

4. You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere

5. You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6. You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7. You must thank your giver. So, now it's your turn:

• Jenny @ Happenings of a Little Bubba- She writes from her perspective, and then sometimes as Will, her adorable son! It's too cute! She always has something good to say, and it's so much fun to keep up with what her and Will are doing!
• Heather @ A Big Boy, A Girl, and A Pug- Ok, I can't even believe she hasn't gotten one of these before (or if she has it's not on her sidebar yet, like me). She was recently diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma cancer, and since then has been determined to kick it's @$$! She always has something positive to say, even when she's sick and feeling awful she keeps a positive attitude. It never fails to amaze me, and I'm continuing to cheer her on as she kicks cancers @$$!
• Honey Mommy- She has the greatest stories about her 2 little boys, and she is an amazing writer. She's so sweet, and she always has something positive to say.
• Chelle @ Creative Momma- I just can't say enough good things about this girl! She's so amazing, she writes the sweetest posts about her and her adorable daughter Bella! She always leaves great advice on my comments, which I love! And she even stayed positive when her daughter ate dog poop. Yeah, how hard would that be?
• Brittany @ 4 Little Men & Twins- If you haven't checked out her blog, do it now. She is one of the most perfect recipients of this award I could think of. She has been through so much lately, with a traumatic car accident that forced her to give birth to her twin girls early and left her in a ton of pain. She has never complained or felt sorry for herself once and it amazes me how she has every right to complain, but doesn't. And she obviously loves children, since she has 6! :)

Wow, that took a long time, but it was worth it. I'm off to clean my room, so I can post the before & After pics! Plus, I'm going to hang out with that new guy later, so I need to look cute!!

I have officially crossed over...

Lately I've come across a lot of bloggers who say that either their immediate family or extended family (like mother's in laws) don't know they blog or don't read their blog. And there are just as many (maybe more) who are on the opposite side of things, and have to be careful what they post because their husband/mother/mother-in-law, etc. reads their blog. So it got me thinking.. how many of you are "undercover bloggers"? I first started this blog with the intention of keeping family up to date when I leave for school. However, my plans quickly changed. I found it to be very therapeutic and personal and I didn't want people that actually know me to read what I was writing. I really don't know why! It's ironic that I will let total strangers in on what's happening, but not my family. The irony is not lost on me, don't worry. However, it's not a secret that I blog. Many of you keep it a secret, and I don't know how! My family knows, and a lot of my friends know, but they don't get it. My friends tell me I have "no life" because I blog, and my family has requested the link to my blog a few times, but I have denied them... However, I have officially crossed over. I am no longer an "undercover blogger." I am about to leave for school as many of you know, and I am lucky to have a very caring family who wants t0 know what's happening. Honestly, it would just be impossible to e-mail everyone individually, and since I am so addicted to this blog, I will definitely be keeping it up to date as best I can. So I figure it's the best way for everyone to know what's happening. Therefore, I crossed over. I gave the first family member a link to my blog! I have no idea if she even read it or passed it on, but I did it. And it wasn't my mom! ha Don't tell her! It's funny because it makes me think about what I post, and while I won't censor myself because, after all, this blog is still for me just as much as anyone else, I am more likely to be anonymous about things dealing with friendships, and such. It's funny, though, what I am learning is that if you don't blog you really don't understand the bloggy world. I let some of my co-workers read my blog the other day while I took a break and they covered for me. They read my Top 5 Tuesday post, and they got confused because I linked to Dana's blog, so they went to her's, then got confused because they thought it was Supernanny's blog and they kept asking "Who is this person". That's what I get most when people who don't blog see me blogging - "Who is that?" "Do you know that person?" or my favorite "What is this?" Me: "uhh... a blog.. duhh!" haha It's a great world, our bloggy world, and it was particularly clear to me how great this bloggy world is for support last week when I most needed it. I know I already thanked you all, but really, I can't say it enough, that without the support of bloggy friends out there, I don't know what I would do! This post didn't turn out quite like I envisioned, but hopefully you can follow my randomness.. I'm off today, it's a Monday, can you blame me ?!?

Book Swap!

My new bloggy friend Chelle is hosting this brilliant idea- a book swap! How cool is that?! I love a good book, and I love to hear what everyone else is reading! I had a really hard time deciding what book I wanted to post, because there are so many great ones that I've read! I am a huge Jodi Picoult fan, and of all the books of hers I've read, I had a really hard time choosing a favorite. However, this was my 1st 2nd Jodi Picoult book, and I couldn't get it off my mind for weeks. I really wanted someone, like one of my friends, to have read it as well because I was just dieing to talk about it! Plus, the movie is coming out in 2009, featuring really big stars like Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin. So, without further ado... I present to you My Sister's Keeper! I promise you will love it! Thanks, Chelle, for this awesome idea! If you wanna join in (and you know you do!) go here and join up with Mr. Linky! Unfortunately, this week I will not be participating as far as choosing someone else's book to read because I must finish (a.k.a. start) my summer reading book before I leave next week).