Oh hi! There’s a few more people here today. Thanks Karen for including this ol’ newsletter in your newsletter round-up, I’m basically the rosy check smiley emoji right now. I mean, I usually am in real life, but that’s like, rosacea.
So, I came across this photo I took a few years ago of a list I made back when I was 13. I don’t have the full list right now, but I thought I’d add some context to what’s available.
“My name is Andrea Laurion. This Year I Am 13.”: An Annotated List
"My name is Andrea Laurion. This year I am 13.” / “Some Important Events That Happened This Year to me.”
Yep, still Andrea Laurion after all these years. This particular “Some Important Events” list was inspired by a scene in the book Anastasia Krupnik. Do you know Anastasia? She’s an underrated favorite of mine. Lois Lowry wrote the Anastasia books, The Giver, AND Number the Stars, a real YA hat trick.“I won Civic Orantions.”
Civic Orantions, or Civic Orations, is a yearly speech contest for middle schoolers. I got first place in seventh grade, near the end of the school year. I never won anything ever, so that’s why it’s numero uno.
My uncle died in an accident only a month before the contest. He lived out of state, I didn’t see him often, but he was always very nice and fun. It was my first time experiencing the sudden death of young person. The theme that year was “a memorable event” and writing about it helped me process the shock.
I remember looking up halfway through the speech and noticing some of the adults in the room with tears in their eyes. Making them cry, these authority figures who supervised my recess and sold me milk in the cafeteria, is something that still stays with me. I never had that ability before, not like this. I couldn’t put it into words at the time that I was understanding the power of words.“I’m making a webpage.”
True story: I used to write down HTML code in a little notebook and type it out, line by line. No one showed me how to copy and paste!!! So you know what would have impressed me at 13? Owning the domain andrealaurion.com, which I do.“I have many cousins.”
Incredible, what an important event, those many cousins.
“I wrote a fabulous poem.”
A mystery! I wish I could recall the poem or what inspired its fabulousness.
“I have beatiful teeth.”
Clearly, a recent dentist visit had gone very well. Good job!
“I hurt my eye.”
There are vague memories floating around my brain of falling out of bed and bumping my head on the bedpost.
“I went camping.”/ “I went repelling.” / “I went caving.”
All three things happened at a Girl Scout camp, so I’m grouping them together. Adult Andrea’s number one and two fears are small spaces and heights, respectively, so respectfully, I would decline in participating ever again.
“I started 8th grade.”
And acquired a pen! Wowee.
To be honest, eighth grade was a hard year. Another local Catholic grade school shut down the summer before and most of their class ended up in ours. They didn’t want to be there, we didn’t want them there. Bad, bad energy, on top of all the stuff which make that particular school year stressful (you know, puberty). I swear the Bo Burnham movie Eighth Grade is a beautiful, poignant horror film, up there with Requiem for a Dream as ones I never want to see again.“I went to Myrtle Beach.”
For decades, my grandfather had a Myrtle Beach timeshare for one week each in October and April. These were the times of the year when he was driving down and back from Florida and he spent the entire week playing golf, which is basically all you can do in Myrtle those times of year. After he passed away, just to take advantage of it, my family took an October vacation to Myrtle. It was pretty uneventful, too chilly to spend much time in the water. What I remember the most is that one-hit-wonder “Lullaby” by Shawn Mullins was everywhere on the radio and the melancholic vibe fit right in with all the restaurants and gift shops shuttered for the season.
This timeshare has become a headache and a half because absolutely no one wants it. My dad cannot give it away. I don’t really get it, my generation can’t even afford to cross the street much less a timeshare, all I know is it’s a whole thing. Someday, as it has been foretold in some legally binding agreement signed in blood many moons ago, like my ancestors before me (i.e. my parents), I shall inherit this multigenerational pain in the ass. Gotta love tradition.BONUS: A playlist of my favorite songs (no order).
12. A few quick confirmations: Yes, Brandy’s second CD, Never Say Never, was a birthday gift that year. Yes, that song is from The Rugrats Movie soundtrack. Yes, Ma$e really was everywhere in 1998.
“How to Triumph Like a Girl”
I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy,
like running 40 miles per hour
is as fun as taking a nap, or grass.
I like their lady horse swagger,
after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!
But mainly, let's be honest, I like
that they're ladies. As if this big
dangerous animal is also a part of me,
that somewhere inside the delicate
skin of my body, there pumps
an 8-pound female horse heart,
giant with power, heavy with blood.
Don't you want to believe it?
Don't you want to lift my shirt and see
the huge beating genius machine
that thinks, no, it knows,
it's going to come in first.
— Ada Limón
If you liked this and think I should do more of these, let me know! Please excuse the dust aka any spelling or grammar mistakes. Links to my website and social media can be found below. You can buy me a cup of coffee here or here and I would be very grateful. xoxo
YKWIM #94: How to Triumph Like a Girl