I'm a big kid now.

This week has been INSANE! More has happened this week, then in most normal months. I am going to split this week into two posts. One will be for the responsible, grown-up life decisions I've made. The other will be the irresponsible, crazy party moments. It's a bit scary how much they overlap. I have started living the life of a university student already. I am practicing, I don't want to be behind the rest of the class.

So let's start with the responsible moments first, so you can't judge me solely on the crazy parts
In one week I have: legally changed my name, and registered for university.

I have been going by the name Avery for about a year and a half. Everyone calls me by it, except my parents. Avery fits me better then my birth name, I hate being called my birth name.
I have been talking about changing my name legally for a few months. I've been taking it slow for my parents’ sake. They really don't understand it. In fact when I told my mom her exact words were "I didn't give birth to an Avery. I gave birth to an Amber." Yikes. That sounds awfully close to "I didn't give birth to a boy, I gave birth to a girl." Which may be the next thing she says.
My parents kept making up excuses as to why I should wait to change my name. Money, all the paper work, losing their benefits, what if I changed my mind, waiting til I was older. Every time I would convince them that the excuse they had wasn't actually a problem, they would come up with a new one. So I knew I couldn't wait around on them anymore.
What really kicked me into sending the paper work was deciding to go to University. I don't want my degree, or any of my adult life in my birth name. My parents can't really argue with that. They want me to go to school, and I don't want to go to school til I change my name. So I am just waiting on the paper work to be sent back to me. Then I am legally Avery Eros Finley ___.

I'll explain why I picked the names I did. It's a weird thing being able to choose whatever names you want later in life.
I picked Avery two years ago, for a few reasons.
I felt it was a nice unisex name, if not a little more masculine, and that was something necessary for my new name. Now two years after picking the name it is number 24 on the most popular baby girls’ lists. Which sucks, but I guess this is how the Lindsay', and Stacey' felt when girls started to take over their name.
It also starts with the letter 'A', which was important to me too. All the kids in my family have names that start with 'A'. It was always a little extra something that bonded us together, and I didn't want to lose that.
The meaning of the name didn't really matter to me. It means ‘Elf Leader’, which is kinda funny because I am told quite often that I am Elf like.

I had a hard time settling on a middle name that was another reason I waited to change my name. I wanted my middle name to really represent a characteristic or quality about myself. I went through so many name before I discovered Eros.
You don't even know how close I was to picking Kal-El. Yes, that is Superman's name on his home planet. To make up for not picking that name, I think I have to get the superman crest tattooed on my chest. Please, don't anyone leave me alone near a tattoo shop. If you are my friend and care about me, don't let that happen.
The moment I saw the name Eros, I knew it was the right choice. I loved everything about it.
Eros means Love. Eros was the Greek God of sex, desire, and love. He was slight, muscular and beautiful. Basically me, or everything I want to be, in a name. Love is what matters most to me in life, so having a name that represents that is perfect. Seriously, how good of a pick up line is that? Being able to say that I am named after a Greek God, and not just any Greek God, the God of Sex. Oh yeah, as soon as the papers get in I am going to try it out.

I almost used Finley as my first name originally. I felt it suited me. I look like a Finley. When I was called Finley, I felt a connection with it, and responded to it. I still almost like it more then Avery, but in the end having a name that started with 'A' was more important. It meant keeping my initials, and signature the same. The connection with my siblings was really important too. I love the name so much that I decided to have it was my second middle name. That way people can still call me it, and it will make sense. The meaning of Finley is 'Fair Warrior', which I felt was fitting. Seeing how I feel like I am a warrior in a few aspects of my life, especially the area concerning the reason for the name change, and I am fair.
Mirror, Mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of them all?

Deciding to go to university came completely out of no where. I just randomly decided it is time for me to go to school. So now I am rushing to get registered, and into classes before deadlines. I hope I still can. Otherwise, I will have to wait til next fall.
Am I gonna have to blow someone, or slip them some money to get? That is how university work, right? Or is that just the professors?
I have missed all the deadlines for scholarships, and things like that. I know I would have gotten some money. Probably not a lot, but something, my grades were really good in high school.
I am going to take Arts & Science, test the waters a bit before I pick a major. I know I am going to take some Women's & Gender classes. My life is that class. I might as well get credit for it. But I was fed some insider information that the program is being cut next year. The classes are going to be dispersed into other areas. So I'm not sure if that means I can't major in it. Or what it means for the people who are already a year or two into it as their major.

I am proud of myself for making such huge decisions. I feel exuberant about my choices. I am excited for these new changes in my life. I really feel like I am finally taking steps in the right directions. I do well in school. I enjoy learning and growing. I have been feeling lately like I have been standing in one spot, or moving in the wrong direct. I think university is where I will hit my stride.
I will keep you updated with my progress with classes and registration. I really have no idea how to pick classes, or what I need to do. So if you have any tips, I would really appreciate them.

Now for a recap of my reckless crazy moments of the week.