The last thing I created as a truly innocent, naive person was a mixtape I made on Valentine’s Day, 1997. I was about a month into my freshman year of college at The University of New Hampshire. (I’d deferred a semester while trying to work out the financial aid situation with NYU, where I had been set to attend. Didn’t work out, went to UNH for their excellent journalism program.)
I turned 18 a couple months before starting college. I had a religious upbringing and hadn’t been allowed to date in high school. I was a virgin, had never drank or anything like that. So, on Valentine’s Day weekend, I made a mix called “19 and 0, Love Songs for the Record” to commemorate 19 Valentine’s Days alive and single. I had a feeling future Valentine’s Days wouldn’t be so simple.
Original "Cover Art," circa 1997.
