Jen Rizzo

1. That I entered all my students’ grades, and even though they were a little delayed, the main professor of the class still likes me and is hiring me again for next quarter.
2. That my husband and I have now been regularly going to the gym for a month. (I know this because our membership needs to be paid today!)
3. That I bought my husband a set of tools for Christmas a year and a half ago before we even thought of buying a house, so that I was able to hang new curtains in our bedroom.
4. That so many of my friends have emailed or called to ask me what we’re doing for my birthday on Friday.
5. That I don’t have to drive as much as so many people, so gas prices aren’t hitting me quite as hard as those who have to work far away from their homes.

Today, I went down to the Halal street vendor and bought my chicken with rice. It cost $4 and I paid with a five dollar bill. Instead of buying a dollar soda like I normally do, I decided to get a glass of water when I got back to the office, and put the remaining $1 in the Salvation Army bucket when I walked past it. It’s not much, but I like to think every little bit helps.

I’ll come out and admit it: I love Aaron Sorkin. I really, really do. I will also admit that I love Aaron Sorkin and never watched The West Wing.

This is possible because of one simple fact: I was 14 when it started. At 14, an hour-long drama about politics just didn’t do it for me. Unfortunate, perhaps, and I’m sure that I’ll go back at some point in my life and watch all the DVDs over a few months and fall in love, but I just never got into it.

What I did love was Sports Night. I have never met a bigger Sports Night fan than myself. I watched it when it was really on TV, I watched it when Comedy Central picked up the rights and showed it for an hour every night, I bought the full series on DVD as soon as it was released and forced my boyfriend at the time to watch every single episode. I still go through phases once a year or so where I watch the entire series from start to finish. This is the type of fanatic that I am.

Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue has been called pretentious and upper-class, and maybe there’s truth to that. All I know is that I’m a 21-year-old college student with a mountain of debt that could hardly be considered anything above lower middle class, and I couldn’t be more in love with the show.

I sincerely hope it stays on the air past the first season. It’s witty, it’s entertaining, it’s just good television. Here’s to you, Aaron Sorkin – I’ve got my fingers crossed for you!