Over the hill.

Yesterday we went up in arms and into the battlefield when it came time to choose our wedding vows. I wanted Option 5, with a romantic flowery schpeel that was the stuff of teenage girls' dreams. The kind of stuff Edward Cullen would say to Bella. But Darren wanted Option 2, which was simple.

"It's too cheesy," he complained about my Option 5.
"It's too ordinary," I complained about his Option 2.
"I'm never going to be able to say the Option 5 vows," he said. "'When you need to know the depth of my love for you, look not to the ring, but into my heart?' That's so cheesy!"

Finally we decided to combine the parts from Options 2 and 5 that we both liked, and came up with a customized vow. It isn't cheesy anymore, and not boring either, because I got to jazz Option 2 up with the cool parts of Option 5.

Later, he sent me a picture he found that said:

"I know we've been together for kind of a while now and life isn't all hot dates and romance all the time anymore but I want you to know that there is nobody I would rather do it with than you. Also: you make me so happy. It's kind of embarrassing."

I told him he was cheesy after all. And he threw his hands up in the air, pretending to give up. But I thought to myself, he's the sweetest person I've ever had the privilege of having in my life. And I wouldn't trade him for anyone -- not even Edward Cullen. (And that's saying a lot!)

The most important lesson I learned when I was 25, I think, is the importance of compromise in a relationship.

Now that I'm 26, I wonder what this year will bring for me. It's my last five days in LA before winter break. It's hard to believe that when I return next year, I'll be a married woman. I don't think I'll feel any different, other than having a different ring on my finger, and probably being worried all the time of that one falling off.

I got rehired as a Social Media Associate for the Strategic Communication & Public Relations Center, so I'll still be working for USC next year. I'll still be interning at LMJPR in addition to my job and classes. In fact, things will be pretty much the same as this semester - with one big difference.

Soon I will be retiring as co-president of TriSight, which will be a huge load off of my shoulders. Our successors take over in January. I can't wait! Even though being co-president has been the most rewarding extracurricular experience I've ever had, it has been a black hole of time and energy. This semester it's felt like I have three part-time jobs in addition to overloading on classes in grad school, wedding planning and green card paperwork. I know lots of people have it harder, but I felt hopelessly overwhelmed sometimes and got sick more times this semester than ever in my life.

I just think I bit off more than I could chew, but I've survived the semester so maybe I could handle it after all. :)

However... that doesn't mean I want to take on that much again. With my chapter closed in TriSight, I can focus on completing my thesis, tending to green card matters, my job and internship, as well as Directed Research class with Dr. Kjerstin Thorson come springtime. Because I overloaded on classes at every opportunity this year, next semester I only have my thesis and Directed Research to do. I did this so I wouldn't miss classes while I'm flying to Texas for green card interviews and stuff.

I'm a big believer in planning ahead. :)

Other than that, I guess Darren and I will be working on getting my green card. Then I'll start applying for jobs. When I was younger I always dreamed that I would get job offers before I even graduated, but now that I'm 26 I'm starting to see how unrealistic that dream is. I actually had a few job offers before I completed my Bachelor's degree - largely because I was the founder of YourShoppingKaki and a fair few people wanted me in their companies, but since I turned all of them down to pursue a new life in America... I'm back to the drawing board in a huge country where nobody knows my name.

The hardest part is that I don't know where I want to go to work either, whether in a public relations agency or in-house, or in a government or financial sector. Nonprofit or start-up? Established big leagues or go boutique? The possibilities seem endless, but how employable am I? I wonder who my competitors are, as May unleashes a storm of graduates to snap up job vacancies and internships in Austin.