Month three ran away so quickly :(

well it's another week down, and apparantly the start of a new month....

I forgot to post my last LP story - seems strange not to have any pressure on me today to think of something to write about.

I have 2 1/2 weeks left of school, and only 3 weeks til holidays!! Wiiii.... cant wait (except for the fact that we are camping :( i dont mind for the festival, but seeing as were taking camping gear and all - hopefully i wont whinge and bitch too much?????

Not really much else to say, the Swede has gone off on a shopping trip with his Momma and I'm hanging out at home wishing i was at the beach - well maybe wishing i had the energy to go to the beach on my own... it's finally nice weather again (and if i can remember how to get to the beach, i just might go in an hour or so......)

anyhoo... hope all is well with everyone else.....

THE FINAL ONE!!!!

While sitting in a quiet spot of my favourite café, enjoying the bright sunlight streaming through the window, my tranquil moment was broken with the sound of whistling, singing and teenage laughter as a large group of beautifully tanned girls entered. I was intrigued by their white dresses and sailor like hats, to which my friend informed me were due to the girls had graduated from school today and were celebrating in true Swedish tradition. Tonight together with their peers, the girls would be driven through the town centre on float like vehicles and on to several parties which are equivalent in size to most weddings.

Hundreds of guests, endless amounts of food and presents would be shared while the students celebrate their new found freedom. To help me understand this tradition I was invited along to a “studenten” or student party. I arrived that evening to discover my friend had not exaggerated the size of this celebration.

Guests were joyously sipping on champagne and beer while toasting the sweet and slender blonde haired girl, who seemed to be appropriately called Anna. It seemed every person she had ever known was celebrating this occasion with her with gifts and flowers overflowing on the table behind her. As I watched the celebration unfold, I couldn’t help but to compare this with the simplicity of my experience of graduation, a simple class assembly and dinner with my fellow classmates.

With such emphasis placed on graduating, I wondered how this would affect the expectations placed on Anna and her friends in the coming years. I sought out our blonde hair guest of honour what she expected from the near future. Looking at me through her rather glassy yet still piercing blues eyes Anna was honest and direct in her manner as she told me of her plans to spend the summer travelling with a friend and would return in September to commence university, hopefully to study psychology.

There appeared no doubt in Anna’s mind that her choices would lead her to bigger and better things. I was surprised by the self assurance and self belief of someone so young and I couldn’t help but feeling a tinge of jealousy. When I finished school I distinctly remember the feeling of relief combined with the anxiety of not knowing how I should turn out. A feeling I have long held on to and something I feel has been the driving force of my rebellious streak long past the acceptable age of rebellion. I doubted that any form of rebellion existed in Anna, and from the strength of her personality I believe she will do most of the things in life she sets out to do.

I watched Anna rejoin her friends and family to much of the same laughing and shrieking that had disturbed me this morning. She appeared blissfully unaware that these next few years would be so difficult, although possibly some of her best she will ever experience. Finding our way in the world is never as simple as what we would hope it will be, and knowing which ones are the right choices is something I still haven’t mastered. Although maybe with such a display of support and encouragement Anna has a good head start on the rest of us who are still trying to find that comfort in our own skin.