i am not bossy, i am the boss.

So after studying for over four months, today I took and passed the second LCSW exam, officially making me a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I can't even explain how relieved I feel. Before you take these exams, you hear all of these horror stories, of people studying for 2+ hours a night, and 10+ hours on the weekend for months on end, only to fail the exam and have to wait six months to take it again. I honestly only know a handful of people who have passed both exams on the first time, so I was scared as shit. Thankfully, it was recommended to me to use the Therapist Development Center's study program and it was IN.CRED.IBLE. And now I am one of those handful of people that I know.

I think I'm also in a little bit of shock. Like, I have so much time for activities! I don't know what to do first (and I'm little nervous I'll wake up tomorrow and that this will have all been a dream). There are so many things I want to do - take another writing class, learn calligraphy, take a water-coloring class, go on more LA adventures, visit my friends and family more.... the list goes on and on. But first things first, the boyf and I are headed to Maui for Thanksgiving! I've never been (only to Kauai and Hawaii years ago),  and Andrew grew up in Maui so I'm looking forward to meeting his family and having a local tour guide to show me around :) We are going to be there for 12 days! I can't wait. Longest vacation I've had in ages. I want to eat lots of Thanksgiving food and do a lot of snorkeling. Also, speaking of those two things, I should probably invest in a one piece bathing suit...

The holidays last year were rough. Yes, I was in my new apartment and loving all of that, but they were my first holidays I spent single. Which wasn't so bad except the holidays are when you see all of your friends and family and EVERYONE looked at me with sadness and spoke softly to me, like "How are you doing? Are you okay?" Which again, very nice of them, but only the first three people. Then I wanted to throw vases at everyone else.

One highlight from last year: My mom sends a Christmas letter to friends and family every year, and obviously in the recent past years she wrote about K and I... getting married, buying a condo, adopting Nala, etc etc. So she asked me what she should say in this letter. We decided to just say something like "Adriana and Nala have moved into a new apartment...." and then talk about my work, or whatever. It wasn't like we were trying to hide anything (everyone already knew anyway) but it just seemed more tasteful and appropriate somehow. I don't know. Anyway, she wrote that and sent the letter. On Christmas morning, we were all opening our cards and stockings, which included a card from my Grandma with HER yearly letter in it. First line of the first paragraph of her Christmas letter read:

"Dear Loved Ones,

This has been a year of many changes. Adriana is single again."

That's honestly all I remember because I stopped reading I was laughing so hard. Gotta love her, my Grandma. Always straight to the point, and then moving on.

I hung that letter on my refrigerator until just a few weeks ago. I went to go grab it to take a picture of it just now and then remembered that I finally threw it out. I'm kicking myself now. That should have been framed.

My sweet Grandma has had a rough year this past year. I'm looking forward to seeing her for Christmas this year in Oregon, and reading her highly-anticipated Christmas letter for 2014.

Now, what am I going to be able to write about in MY 2015 Christmas letter? Gotta get to doing all these activities that I now have the time to do.... You know, because I'm an LCSW. Which I will be obnoxiously writing on EVERYTHING I sign from now on.

xoxo Adriana, LCSW