So here's the beginning.

Do I introduce myself? To whom? Who the hell would even find this blog, let alone read it? Oh well, I'll introduce myself to myself. My name is V and I was born in 1983 ...when Pluto was still a planet, Reagan was president, and people were obsessed with the color brown. Lists of three are so satisfying. My mother was (and is) a hard-working, ambitious woman with a complete inability to relate normally to people. Though she has a PhD in psychology. Huh. My father was (and is) an intelligent, quirky man who values integrity above all. He also has a PhD in psychology. Yes, that means I'm crazy. I have an older brother, Dan. He is a good person in pretty much every way possible, though he makes me feel inadequate. As a kid, I was smarter and more talented than he, but he has always worked hard, done what is right, and succeeded. I am, by comparison, a willful, lazy child.

I grew up without many friends, so I spent much of my time alone. I don't think I ever really noticed just how strange that was, until now. I loved elementary school. I remember thinking every August that I would literally explode because I wouldn't be able to wait for school to start. Shopping for new school supplies was euphoric. I was angsty in Junior High, thinking I was troubled, special, and beyond help. I spent a lot of time filling my sketchbooks, worrying about how weird I was, and desperately hoping that someone would see me and pull me out of my angst. I also spent a lot of time in church, trying to figure out how to force myself to believe in God. I had a blast in High School. I was in Choir and Theater, got good grades, everyone liked me, and my life was ahead of me. I hated college. I was stuck in a small town, studying things I didn't care about, with people I didn't relate to, and feeling generally trapped. I graduated and am now free, working in the city, and living in the suburbs with my two cats. I had a boyfriend for 3 years but we split up in August. I tell people it was a mutual break-up, but I don't think he would have ever pulled the trigger if I hadn't brought it up. He wasn't happy (neither was I), but he's too comfortable being lazy. So I did it for the both of us. And I am very happy right now. He and I are still really good friends, enjoying our new-less complicated-relationship. It's scary being single, especially with everyone around me pairing off. But for the time being, I'm enjoying it. We'll see how long it lasts.