Celebration #1: Raquel

Today on with-an-i, patient readers, I inaugurate a new type of post. I have considered doing this for a while about one of my near-and-dears who is doing something neat or tough or ballsy, but then I was torn, thinking how do you choose whom to celebrate, is it like picking one of your children to love more, and everyone is doing such neat stuff, argh...?

Realistically, I could (and just might, watch out) write the same sort of post for all of my near and dears. You are all fabulous and praise-worthy. But no matter - she deserves it. As do you all, but she is taking the GRE this week. And I remember what that was like.

And so, today, I celebrate Raquel, because:

She once wrote a poem in college rhyming "chili mac" with "Billy Jack."

Also in college, she adorned her notes and any spare pieces of paper which crossed her path with the most helpful, interesting, thoughtful ink sketches, of which I have saved several for the eventuality of the demand for obscure snippets of her art rising to a fever pitch in 20 years.

She has a knack for righteousness and unending patience for phone conversation. And when I was freaking out in Tanzania, she condensed both into a priceless email.

She has fabulous hair, and everyone tells her, but she is rarely seriously annoyed with they "boing" her curls.

She is goddamned funny. Like, I can't even tell you. It would get me in trouble. SO funny. You know.

She can sing harmony on anything, and has an unabashed appreciation for both dirty hip-hop and trashy country music, as well as all of the pretty, nice stuff in between. (N.B.: she is from Texas, and she makes that cool.)

She is addicted to the New York Times crossword puzzle and she is good at it.

She pulls through the interesting and challenging parts of twentysomething life with overall aplomb (sometimes accompanied by panic, too, because she is mortal, after all).

She is the only person I know who has ever found (in Williamsburg, no less), purchased, and pulled off wearing a fabulous vintage dress from the 60s.

She is ballsy, having ruthlessly but gently given notice at her job last week to concentrate on less soul-frying, but still lucrative, freelance work. And also to work on her illustration/other awesomeness portfolio for an MFA...

...which brings me to my last point -- I celebrate Raquel because she is doing her art thing. For real. Which is commendable in and of itself, but all the more so considering what god-given talent she has and has been cultivating forever. It may not be the be-all, end-all and she may decide to, I don't know, become a brain surgeon in her next-next career, but it is awesome, and I salute her.

Join me in sending her your best wishes (even though you don't know her, whatever, it's good karma) for the MFA application process. It's an exciting time! Kick some GRE ass this week, baby!