20 Things...

For the third time around on this blog, time has come for me to simplify my memories into bullet points. Since that is right, kids, what you are reading right now is my annual birthday post, that, for some reason, was kind of a struggle to write this year, and I still hate it a little bit.

But, without launching into a long-winded complaint, here it goes. These are *some of* the 20 things that defined my life at 20:

At 20, I...

1. Was a Resident Assistant for Century Apartments.
2. ...And found it so amazing that I was rehired for another year!
3. Took a charter flight to Dallas. 
4. Learned how to cook pasta (and make grilled sandwiches).
5. Had an article published on me in USC News.
6. Took a trip to the NASA JPL lab.
7. Planned an entire trip to New York City on my own.
8. And then proceeded to go on said NYC trip with my roommate.
9. Marched the Rose Parade and performed in the Rose Bowl.
10. Started going to the gym regularly.
11. Got my navel pierced.
12. Got a paid on-campus job.
13. Got an internship (well technically, I got five, but who's counting?).
14. Made my own short films.
15. Filed my own tax returns.
16. Wrote a full-length spec script for a TV show with my Screenwriting class.
17. Subleased an apartment for the summer.
18. Was an assistant director on two award-winning short films.
19. Learned how to drive a golf cart.
20. Went on a road trip to Santa Barbara.

Note: Like last year, this is an edited list that doesn't *exactly* mirror the one in my diary, so some of these 20 things might feel a little forced/out of place. As always, my private life is private and some things should just stay off the Internet. Period.

So what does it feel like to be 21? Well, after spending three riveting days as a 21-year-old, I can confidently report that it feels just like being 20. Except now I can drink champagne and make my bad decisions completely legally. Not that I've made that many bad decisions over the past few days, of course, except maybe going on California Screamin' two times in a row at California Adventure yesterday. That was stupid. But yeah, 21 is just an age and a number, and all its connotations are social constructs. You don't become an adult overnight, it's a gradual process.

Adulthood is relative and only exists in the context of a society, and we all know I don't give a 💩 about societal expectations. I might be filing tax returns, I might be looking into buying a car (yes, I want a Mini, stop hatin') and I might have a regular laundry schedule (jk I don't), but I still throw bread crumbs at my friends at fancy restaurants and have an undying love for bounce houses. And there's nothing you can do about that.

Yet at the same time, I am 21 now and even though I don't feel it, things are changing. 21 is not that big of a milestone for me -- I turned 18 in Europe, so I've been through the whole "first time being carded" and all that -- but this has been my first birthday that I spent without my family. And this is the first summer that I'm spending without my family, and on my own. So, although my birthday isn't that big of a deal, this entire summer is indeed a transition period for me, and it does mark the beginning of something.

And that's where I'll leave it for now.

Here's a Snapchat screenshot, because I have nothing else to post.

USC: Year Two!

Remember when, last year, I published a bunch of videos about my first semester at USC? It was fun, wasn't it? Yeah well I'm not doing that again. I'm also not posting another One Second a Day, because I'm a miserable failure my phone has been out of storage since June.

What I can do, however, is share a cool anecdote that will lead us all into a wonderful recollection of the adventure that this past semester has been. So here goes...

In order to end our last RA staff time of the semester on a positive note, our supervisors gave each of us a blank sheet of paper and told us to list everything we had accomplished these past few months. I, staying true to myself, stared at the empty page for a good ten minutes, then announced that I hadn't accomplished anything.

Now, as expected, this didn't elicit the best of reactions from my fellow RAs, with one of them tearing the sheet of paper out of my hands and threatening to write the damn list for me, so yeah that happened, but at the end of the day, this whole thing really made me think. Shortly afterwards, I had my RA evaluation meeting, which was essentially my supervisors glorifying me for half an hour, then telling me that the only area I'm lacking in is self-confidence. And, I mean, this is not news to me. But by now I've basically accepted it as a fact of life (which, again, points at me not having self-confidence) and I didn't think that this was something particularly worth worrying about. That is, until it led to me receiving a '2' for it on my evaluation sheet, at which point my perfectionism kicked in and I decided that I do need to do something about it.

And this whole ordeal was exacerbated with a conversation with one of my friends, which went as follows:

Me: I think I'm too negative.
My friend: Yeah, you are.
Me: Wait, really?
My friend: You just said our world is declining to shit.
Me: Oh. Right.

Therefore, in an attempt to turn things around and heighten my self-confidence a little bit, I've attempted to list all the things I've accomplished this past semester. So, in no particular order:

1) I've been an RA for an entire semester! And what a semester it was! 3 am incident reports, creepy FaceTime calls, vomit on my doorstep, programs where no one showed up, name what you want, I've done it all! And what's even better, I somehow found a way to enjoy all these things (weird?). Of course, the best parts of my job are my wonderful residents and my staff team, aka the fRAmily of the Century. Also, longer post to come on the RA life, so stay tuned.

2) I survived marching band! And I've got my sophomore jacket to prove it! The Silks also won Section of the Year and USC is going to the Rose Bowl. Oh yay! As part of band, we also took a charter flight to Dallas (so fancy) and headed back to the Bay Area to beat stanford (SUCKS). Fun fact, I also happened to quit band for a day, but that's an entirely different story (because sometimes you can't appreciate something until it's gone, or some cliche like that).

3) I took some of the best and most challenging classes possible, and got As in all of them. For more on that, click here.

4) I worked as an assistant director on two short films, which both turned out very impressive, and I'll share the links with you when I'm able to.

5) I learned how to cook pasta. Little things, everyone, little things. (I also failed to turn off the stove after my first attempt at cooking, leading to a rather passive aggressive exchange with my roommate.)

6) I got myself a turntable. Or more like, I rewarded myself with a turntable, because sometimes, you just gotta #treatyoself. Sounds a lot more appealing, right? I essentially justified this purchase by claiming that this is a gift to myself because I got the RA job. I still don't have any records, though, because I buy too many shoes they're expensive. But yeah, again, little things. I'm not really sure why this is an achievement, probably because I spent so long debating whether I really need it or not. Also, if you're curious, the exact one I bought is sold out, but this one is really similar (yes it's from Urban Outfitters, don't judge).

7) I was asked to sit with USC President Nikias during his annual Thanksgiving Dinner, gave an interview to KTLA the same night, and was the subject of an article for USC News (which, as it is, didn't turn out so bright, so I won't link it here. They misspelled my name in it, and that was just the least of issues. DISCLAIMER: my name is not Lillia, and if you call me Lillia, please don't expect any positive interaction with me ever again).

8) I went to New York City for winter break, with my roommate, and we planned everything all on our own and I put together the itinerary all on my own and we managed to survive five days there and you can read more about it here.

Aaaand I'm sure that there were other things as well, but if I can't think of them now, they're probably not that important. Also, I've got to reserve some things for the 20 Thing I Did at 20 list.

(And also, I know we're talking positivity here, but just to be fair, for every achievement there were about two failures, so there's really no need to get jealous of me lol. I'm seriously considering starting a blog titled "Fail of the Day," that's how bad it is. But then I feel like 50% of my friends stick around just to listen to my anecdotes of the times I messed up.)

18 Things...

On the evening of June 8, 2009, the day before my 13th birthday, I started a little tradition. I wrote a little overview on my past year, and entwined it with my outlook on the next year. Then, to finish it off, I wrote a list of 12 things I did at 12. This was a pretty simplistic list, including buying my first pair of heels and falling in love for the first time, but it since it reflected my 12-year-old personality so much, and - let's admit it - was a pretty good idea, I decided to continue with it.

Although I consider the little reflection of my 18th year a little too personal to post, here is the list of things I did at 18:

18 things I did at 18:

1. Go to a music festival (two actually!)
2. See the Arctic Monkeys live
3. Get a drastic haircut (5" is pretty drastic for me...)
4. Get the ear piercings I'd wanted for the past 8 years (I was a hard-core 10-year-old) and get a disapproving stare from my mom every second day
5. Take the night bus for the first time (lol)
6. Have a graduation ball (a.k.a. prom)
7. Write and give several speeches (prom/graduation)
8. Have my senior portrait taken
9. Come up with an idea for our class tableau!
10. Create a YouTube channel (no videos yet, hey, gotta leave something for next year)
11. Write my best film analysis yet, on Holy Motors
12. Apply to university
13. Get accepted to my two top choice universities! (And six others)
14. AND get a full-tuition scholarship to USC!!
15. Travel to Los Angeles
16. Take final exams
17. Graduate high school (AND get the 'Student of the Year' award!)
18. So, erm, it's not what you think, I promise, but I'd like to keep the last one private ;)

There you have it! I know this is a forced, silly and repetitive list, but it's not that easy to think of 18 things that were unique to one year of my life. I think there are some pretty big things on there, which I'm incredibly proud of, and the rest, well, life is about the little things they say...

Stay tuned for another year of craziness, everyone!

I love you all!