The other night, while my friend Heather and I were swinging on
the swings at Nordstrom Park, we both decided we would use the
Snapple bottles in our hands to make a message in a bottle. The
hard part? Deciding what I wanted my message to be.
The other night, while my friend Heather and I were swinging on the swings at Nordstrom Park, we both decided we would use the Snapple bottles in our hands to make a message in a bottle. The hard part? Deciding what I wanted my message to be.
The summer before my first year of college hasn’t exactly been what I’d hoped. From the very beginning it was off to a rough start. In one month, I lost sight of myself, my importance, my happiness, and I had the painful realization that someone I believed to be a close and important friend was actually never one in the first place.
But, after gaining more perspective from it all, I can see that it was an important lesson in life. It sparked something inside of me and made me crave change. A change in myself, and my life. And it gave me an even more powerful determination for my life goals. I was suddenly aware of the precious time I’d wasted when I could’ve been doing so much more.
I started writing my message that night and it turned into a list of personal goals. Things that I will accomplish within the next five years, while I’m in college and also during my lifetime. A list of all the changes I suddenly want and need.
When I finished it, I felt like it would be a shame if it never washed ashore and the little fishies in the ocean were the only ones who would ever read it. So … instead, it has washed up onto your front porch, or depending on your paperboy’s aim, underneath your car, in your rose garden or on your neighbor’s lawn.
My Message in A Bottle
I will graduate from college with a master’s degree in journalism, if not from Columbia University, then from SJSU. I always pictured myself graduating from Columbia, living in a studio apartment and writing a column for the New York Times, but, at the same time, I picture myself staying in California, living in a beach house and writing for the Mercury News. Partly because I’m way too much of a flip-flop person and I look funny in turtlenecks.
I will be happy. I will smile more. I will always remember where I came from. I will love my body. I will love my soul. I will put others before myself. I will follow my spiritual path instead of running away from it.
I will cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner for my family. I always help my mom, but I want to know the feeling of cooking the entire meal without any help. Plus, I’m sure mom would like a break after being responsible for it for 20 years.
I will fall in love with someone who loves me just as much. I will not settle for less than I deserve. I will be brave. I will do more community service. I will own a puppy, even though I am allergic.
I will be more selective about whom I give my cell phone number to. I will try not to text message during my classes. I will play my flute every week. I will always keep in touch with the handful of important friends who have meant so much in my life. I will make someone else feel special. I will cry less.
I will buy clothes from second-hand stores. My best friend Katie always finds the coolest clothes at garage sales and stores like Goodwill and I always thought she was crazy to buy clothes worn by other people she didn’t know. But after experiencing the sheer joy of shopping in her closet this entire summer, I realized she might be onto something. We plan to go on a giant, used-clothes, shopping spree together before we start college.
I will be kinder to my mom. I will be stronger. I will have a closer relationship with my dad. I will have a bigger heart. I will eat more tofu. I will still worry about others. I will take more bubble baths. I will write poetry. I will always take time to smell the roses. I will never be too old for Disneyland. I will make sure everyone knows how important they are to me. I will make a difference.
I will go skinny dipping in Anderson Lake. I know, I know. But honestly, everyone has to do it at least once in their life, right?
I will play my guitar instead of letting it collect more dust. In ninth grade, I insisted that I had to have a guitar for Christmas. I think it’s been sitting in the same spot since that Christmas morning.
I will run more. I will learn to surf. I will look up at the stars. I will be wiser. I will always love movies with Meg Ryan. I will learn to dance. I will no longer be ashamed that I secretly listen to country music. I will visit Italy and ride in a gondola. I will continue to discover how amazing my grandma is and learn from her.
I will see the penguins at the zoo. I love penguins, and apparently a penguin searches its whole life for that one special penguin and once a penguin finds its penguin mate, it stays with it forever. And when one of them dies, the other one just waddles around alone instead of finding another penguin to hook up with. I don’t know if it’s true but it sounds adorable.
I will buy fewer clothes and shoes. Even I will admit that my closet is a little ridiculous. I’ve already had to replace two closet rods because they broke from being overloaded and the floor is an avalanche of shoes, many of which I have no intention of wearing.
I will laugh more. I will sing in the rain. I will eat octopus. I will learn self-defense. I will go to San Francisco more. I will see and hear the ocean once a week. I will recycle. I will always remember the important things. I will be even closer to my brother.
I will dance the tango in a red, frilly dress with high heels. Yeah, I know. That only happens in movies and I’m going to look really funny doing it in my living room. But I can’t resist the urge.
I will be more outgoing. I will go back to Paris. I didn’t get to see the Louvre when I was there last time. I will realize that letting go takes courage but it is not closing a door, it is opening one. I will no longer be afraid to let go. I will strive to make my writing meaningful. I will be blonde forever. I will cherish the memories I have. I will make more wonderful memories. I will live every moment like it’s my last. I will have fun. I will be a better person.
