Can we ever know?
I am surprised to find myself 25 years old. Lying in the warm grass at night in the heart of the National Mall. The Capitol lies lit up at my feet and the Washington Monument serves as headboard. The smithsonian castle presides at my right. A museum of something at my left. The smell of honeysuckle, grass, summer and clover rides the air.
Headphones around my neck play French indie music. Against all odds I am alone. Beautifully alone. Not part of a tourist group. Not a couple. Not a daughter here on holiday. Not crushed into a bar or asking for a lemon slice at a restaurant. Just me with me. Pledging some sort of loyalty to my dreams.
You see, I am exactly who I thought I'd be when I was 10. It was close - I almost didn't make it. With each unlikely detail... to my hairstyle and job.... I am happy and proud of who I am. At this moment, I feel exactly in the right place at the right time.
I couldn't have known, when I was 10, why I wanted this. And I didn't know last year how I'd get here - no idea what it would take. I'd almost given up. Almost.
Almost.
