Tonight, I went out to eat thai (holy yum!) with a huge group of people - some I'm good friends with and some I used to be good friends with and have simply drifted from. Anyway that was interesting and I'll get to that in a moment.

But the crux of this story is that in the car ride back, one of the girls said: "Can you believe tomorrow we're going to Proclamation Night as seniors??"

To which I said something to the effect of "Oh my goodness I don't want to think about it."

For those who don't know, Proclamation Night is a tradition for both the freshmen and senior girls. As freshmen, you go, wear white sundresses, write a letter to yourself, sign the honor code, yada yada. Seniors wear their graduation robes (!) and read the letters they wrote to themselves. And everyone sits through a ceremony where the dean speaks, one girl reads her letter, yada yada. Our full is just full of traditions, ain't it?

Anyway, whenever things like this are brought up, I feel like the automatic response is - "Wow, it seems like just yesterday."

But, like Carrie Bradshaw, I got to thinking ... and it really doesn't. Proclamation Night the first time around was THREE years ago. Sure, sophomore year doesn't seem that crazy long ago (probably because I broke up my college years with a semester abroad) but freshmen year, the days of living in first-floor Moore and going to Core class, is long gone. Seems like a lifetime ago.

And I have changed so so much since then. I mean, don't even get me started on my improved fashion sense, I mean c'mon. (I must learn some more modesty, eh?) But I feel like I have. Sometimes, in all honesty, I wonder if I've changed for the better. I feel like 9th grade me would dislike the senior-year-of-college me. I mean, 9th grade Elizabeth would probably see the sorority letters, and the "Richmond" accessories (yes the Jack Rogers and the Longchamps - I truly love them yet could I be a bigger sell-out, eh?) Also, 9th grade me would start lecturing current me on the dangers of binge-drinking ... jeez who is right here?!?

But although I have FINALLY perfected the art of flatironing my hair and actually started talking to boys, I think on the inside I am pretty much the same. Well, maybe this is getting too deep for a blog post, so I may come back to this later. But ya know, I still crack up laughing (when I'm sitting by myself in the library - how sad) about a Scrubs reference or the like. On the inside, I'm still somewhat of a loser so past Elizabeth, take heart.

OK well maybe this post will turn into a two-fer. Because unlike cardigans, well actually like cardigans, this is serious and one most devote serious time to it. But let me leave you with some pics:

OK, check out the hottieeeee. I kid. Look at me, I'm 18 and so proud of my straight hair.

And this is me now (OK, well end of summer but most recent solo picture of moi). I'm dressed as a cavewoman. What. The hell. Yes that is a dog bone in my hair and yes I was on my way to drunksville.

I'm not quite ready to read my letter tomorrow. We'll see how this goes. I will probably cry.

As if I needed further proof...

... that my life is clothes. Yep, that's pretty much it. I mean, minus thinking about what I'm going to eat next, I pretty much just think about clothes.

Last night I anxiously thought of the perfect dress-to-pin outfit that would work for today's forecast, which I of course consulted on weather.com.

And today I was bummed about wandering around X-Lot looking for a truck with Alaskan plates (there was a purpose to that, I swear) and having made the executive decision not to go to the new International Cafe on the off-chance that the rumors are false and that it is not open, and so I would have trudged quite aways for nothing ... when some woman who was probably in her mid-to-late 40s (but I cannot judge age for anything so for all I know she was 12) pointed at me and said, "That's a cute outfit!"

And then I danced happily because well, someone liked the outfit I had put so much thought into, so I have a purpose in life.

And then I went to the post office and my new J.Crew skirt had arrived and I was embarassed so I folded over the package so no one could see the logo.

And yes, I have already picked out my tentative outfit for tomorrow. Whadyagonnadoboutit?!