Dear Emma,

Your prom fantasy, specifically, the end of your prom fantasy, made me swoon. She goes alone, but in the end, Duckie is there, and he is wearing a blue suit, and he tells her that he is now, and will forever be, a Duckman, and he is wearing those killer white shoes that he wore the entire movie. I watched a documentary about it and they said the could only find those phenomenal shoes in a size too big and a size too small for him.

Those are great shoes.

I am glad you are going to prom, because if nothing else, the food should be pretty great, and besides the food and the bad music, and the more-than-likely godawful dresses, you, I'm sure, will look magnificent. You don't give yourself enough credit. I have seen the things you have made, and you're great. That being said, please take at least one picture.

I hope to see you at Too Much Light afterwards, you and perhaps some gang in your prom best.

You're almost out, you're almost a real person in the eyes of society.

<3

(this is where the letter to Emma concludes)

That being said, I feel like many people I know are facing turning points. Or maybe just three. Emma is graduating from High School, and going away to college, I am leaving behind my teens, for the official and way older sounding 20's, and a girl I met recently is graduating from college. Oh, the beginnings of endings are upon us, and there is no turning back. I have been so excited to turn twenty, if anything, just for John's sake, like, truly, I feel bad for having a teen at the end of my age; I just feel like it makes me sound so much younger. But TWENTY. That is a good, solid age, and has the fewest letters spelled out since TWELVE.

I love words. I love words and letters, and tattoos and writing, and fish.

I went to the Aquarium, and then a motherfuck of a walk yesterday, with a girl, a pretty cool girl. I am making a list of adventures. I will post it when I am done. Perhaps I will even start a blog about our adventures. Chicago will be ours this summer.

Like Alex G gave this city to me, I will pass it on, or something really cheeseball and corny like that, because she's a hell of a girl.