Paige has lips to match her hair which matches her nails. For a while - too long - that’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge. The girlfriend of a friend, Paige always struck me from afar as very together in appearance and personality. Years later now to find out she is STILL in her 20s kind of blows my mind. Also the fact that we had never got to know each other even though she is wracking up the years with aforementioned boyfriend, needed to be rectified.

I chose a swanky hotel bar equidistant from our work places and befitting of Paige’s overall fanciness. We sat fireside and discussed a recently released list of Toronto’s Most Influential and the merits of YA. Paige writes about parties and style for an established Canadian brand but as evidenced by the Judy Bloom book in her bag, has an obsession with youth culture (even though it was the adult “dirty” JB book). It’s likely indirectly through Paige I know anything at all about Taylor Swift or Gossip Girl (spoiler alert: it was Lonely Boy). So I felt pretty damn good when I told her about what I thought was going to be the next big teen trilogy and she hadn’t heard of it yet. Good thing this internet thingy doesn’t stay around forever to prove me wrong.

Paige’s life changing moment could be coming up shortly with a move to LA. It’s an extremely popular dream currently among my friends, some of whom have already packed their bags and left. I am asked weekly if I would ever do it. My gut response is always, YA!. What’s not to love about sun, nature, warmth and opportunity? But when you have all that and still are left directionless, what do you blame then? I’m obviously not talking about Paige anymore here. She would do very well there, especially with that youth on her side. I on the other hand may well be too (un)comfortable by now with Canadian winters. The conversation always makes me feel I should have been more proactive in my 20s.