teaching myself a lesson

Isn't it funny how hate turns so quietly to love?
As part of 2010, I am going to figure out what Future Me will tell Present Me ten years down the road. Part of this quest is reaching back into the depths of my past, to figure out my mistakes and learn from them. I *really* hate to admit this, but maybe my constant badmouthing of Baton Rouge and LSU was one of them. Qualification: I don't feel like I missed out on (too many) opportunities, I just think I created a sort of mental roadblock in myself to squeezing every tiny bit of life out of that experience. So, in summary, no regrets, just a newfound and determined appreciation. And a lesson learned.
My penance:
-Cafe ECA, from the ridiculous furnishing (thanks for putting up with us, Shanelle and LeeAnn) to the even more ridiculous parties (sock hops and sit-ins I'm pretty sure hadn't happened in BR for several decades)
-the sidewalks lining Highland from campus to downtown, including that extra large bump by that mental institution type place
-Sunday mornings at Capitol Grocery
-that feeling that we alone were discovering the town, because a) we were literally the only people around and b) we clocked a lot of miles driving out to a bunch of crazy places
-extreme studying
-that neighborhood of magic right off campus
-the spanish architecture and spanish moss that retained their original charm when everything else about LSU had worn off
-Chelsea's hummus and artichoke dip and general awesomeness
-Allen Hall, the most beautiful, most English student building around
-beautiful muggy sunsets around the lakes
-late night drives to Laurel and NOLA
-dorm beds in all their various incarnations
-gingerbread tea in St. Francisville
-the loophole in the system that allowed me to purchase wine with my scholarship money
-sitting on the back roof of the Pi Phi house
-Hotel Lexia
-Mardi Gras mansions filled with people, alcohol, and gumbo
-nights before deadline in the Reveille basement with some of the coolest folks around
-playing piano in the Herget lobby
-misty mornings in Cajun country
-that freakin' fieldgoal to win the Kentucky game freshman year
-blue drinks and bar sofas in Lafayette
-living for four years in what is basically a foreign country with foreign peoples (and only a 6 hour drive from home)