Routines are important

One of many lessons I must now take to heart.

In the quasi-scientific experiment I have been conducting over the past few weeks, I have found that I almost exclusively get pimples when I don't wash my face before going to bed. After one night of a skipped cleansing, one or two whiteheads will appear. After two nights of "Oh I'm too tired, I don't have to because I didn't put on any makeup" there are 2-3 more pimples. And it's always easier to keep them gone by washing up every night than it is to eliminate all the blemishes and get back to square one: the clear face.

Also, all that flossing I didn't do over the years? Totally biting me in the ass now. According to the rude dentists whose office I will never use again, one of my cavity fillings has broken and the gaping whole in that tooth is exposed, my wisdom teeth are impacted, and one of my molars should be removed because it's rotting beneath the gum line. Wonderful.

So, boys and girls, if you wish not to be ridden with pustules and hope to avoid dentures before becoming a senior citizen, do not carelessly disregard the bedtime routine.

Introduction: Marissa

I am sure, dear reader, that you realize adultification is not a word you have ever read before, and your search for the word in dictionary.com yielded no results. This is because I made it up. I dreamed it up some months ago as a possible title for something. In my mind, adultification is a process similar to adulteration, by which something pure is altered by the addition of another substance. A person begins life as an innocent child and becomes adultified by experiences both terrible and joyful, as a simple chicken stock becomes a hearty soup by the addition of other raw but wonderful ingredients.

At this point in my life, things have gotten pretty serious. Mainly, I'm not in school anymore and have to start living the life I only ever read about in books. I won't say this is the "real world" because I've always detested that phrase. The life of the mind is very real. My schooling was real; my dreams were real; everything that has happened to me up to this point is real. The only difference now is that I have more control. It is both intoxicating and overwhelming to have control over my own life. What should I do with myself? Sometimes I am confused by the various viable options and end up choosing nothing. But that's no good. I want to make awesome choices that will lead to an awesome life. So here's to 2011, a new year of potentially wonderful decision-making opportunities.