[Liss]

You know, Mike, I hate to say it but...she maybe doing you a little bit of a favor...or maybe trying to anyway. Imagine if you had to see her everyday, to hear about her life and watch her failures and successes and not be able to support or comfort her, to hear about all the going-ons in her life that don't necessarily include you. I imagine she's trying to remove the band aid quickly to ease the pain. Do you know what I mean? I'm sure it's hurting her, too, to put you through it, but after five years she must really care about you and I'm sure she wants the best for you. That just maybe her way of showing it.

Of course I don't know; I am only speculating. Also, I can't imagine being on either side of that situation as I've never been in a relationship for even close to that long, so don't listen to me.

My small update: new apartment (all by my lonesome!), month 10 of long distance relationship and situation getting more difficult by the day, once again in marathon training, though this time without the team (and I don't think I have the willpower to see it through), school, work, "friends" that I have zero in common with, and a general air of homesickness in my California bedroom.

On liberal arts, etc: I can only agree wholeheartedly that the pursuit of what makes you happiest is the way to go. Potential income, comfort, and judgment aside, joy is the most important aspect of a career. And I can say with experience that college is much more user-friendly when you enjoy it. I am a 5th year senior now (I finally get to graduate in March if all goes well). And pursuing a degree in creative writing is the scariest, most brave thing I think I have ever done. I have already suffered so much criticism ("what are you going to do with THAT degree?") from my peers and my poor technology-based father that I have become immune and have finally earned respect...because I am GOOD at what I do. (And for the general population wondering, I plan to write with my writing degree. With any luck I will be enrolled in a creative writing MFA program next fall, which provides me the option of teaching at the college level in between publications.) I've given up the hope of being rich, but I figure that if I get the chance to live my passion, it will be enough.