I stepped into my office this morning, not quite willing to, but ready to face another work day filled with meetings, e-mails and long to-do lists.  I dumped my bag onto the red chair next to the filing cabinet and turned to pick up a reminder Post-It note I had placed on the desk late yesterday afternoon.  Next to the yellow square sat a small potted plant with a white envelope leaning against it.

Puzzled, I opened the envelope and began to read the card it held.  The plant was a thank-you gift from our summer intern, T.  She said she enjoyed our "chats about random things" (movies, Bam Margera sightings in West Chester, weekend plans, etc.) and called me one of her role models.  "You recently finished college and you are already doing so many great things..."

Wow.  I've never been someone's role model before.  Or at least, nobody has ever told me.  Personally, being someone's role model is a great honor, an achievement I had hoped to reach somewhere down the line, like after I'd won the Pulitzer (haha) or published my first novel.  But not now, especially when I'm still struggling to find my place in this world and have absolutely no idea what my future has in store.

But looking back on all that I've accomplished in the last year: graduating from college in four years and earning a Bachelor's degree, landing a job in a city two hours away from home, moving out of my mother's house and into my own apartment, purchasing a new car, managing my finances and having to remember to pay my bills on time... that's a lot to be proud of.  Maybe not role-model-worthy, but definitely significant.

My new plant now sits on the windowsill, overlooking a small section of the Historic District.  I just hope I don't kill it.

I feel:  important