After watching Netflix's Hillbilly Elegy I was struck by the similarities of the characters' lives and my own; only Dear Diary isn't an elegy, it is a toast. A toast to car air freshener birthday gifts, watching apartment neighbors fight, preteen pregnancy rumors, and cheating in school...when I decided to show up.
This episode, while definitely another serious reflection of my growing up, is not a lament for the dead, although the little girl in this diary has definitely moved on; it is a celebration for the survivor she is today.