Little Mrs. Twenty-Three

It’s unbelievable to me that I’m 23. Really, twenty-three? As a teenager I was surrounded mostly by friends who were older than me, most of them in their early twenties. I remember thinking that it would be such a long time before I was their age- so now that I am, it’s just interesting and strange to look back on that memory! Twenty-three has been a big year for me so far! I mean, technically I started the year out at twenty-two, but you know what I mean.

I look around our house that we had built, I refer to this man that I’ve adored and loved for years as my Husband, and we take care of each other and ourselves- and it’s just baffling to me. LOL. I guess I’m really proud of us and all the we’ve accomplished together.

My birthday was really great, by the way! Unfortunately I had to work all day, but I woke up to some very sweet notes scattered about the house! Nate had hidden notes and “coupons” (‘free back rub’ and ‘clean the house’ – both of which say that they never expire on them! hey, hey!) in various places- my purse, my wallet, the kitchen counter, the Dr. Pepper box (love that one!), and my car. =) So, so sweet. He’s going to let me pick out a gift on my own, but trust me when I say that the letter he wrote and left in the kitchen was worth more than any present he could’ve surprised me with. My co-workers took me out to lunch at Chipotle, where I indulged in my Vegetarian Burrito Bowl- basically consisting of rice, grilled onions & peppers, black beans, guacamole, and two of their special sauces. YUMYUMYUM. They have steak and chicken, but who needs it with all of that yummy stuff?

After I got off of work I came home hungry again and very excited to hit up my other favorite restaurant (Buffalo Wild Wings) with Nate. As I walked up to our front door I heard, “thud, thud, thud”, on the second floor but didn’t give it much thought. Upon entering the house I said hi to Nate, who watched me look very puzzled by a pair of white flip flops by the front door that were not mine. I recognized them but couldn’t quite.. figure.. -and then I saw Ashley’s purse sitting under our table where Nate tried to hide it, AHAHHA. I about died. Because.. it was like a direct shot of sight from where I entered the living room. Bless his heart. Ashley and Jason popped up at the top of the stairs and I was super excited to see them! I had no clue Nate had invited them! I opened my presents from Ash- two of which can be seen in the above pictures: the cameo ring and the camera necklace! She also bought me a leopard print Snuggie, which I fully intend to wear at work- shamelessly, I might add. We had a great dinner and a lovely evening! It was a perfect low-key Tuesday night kind of birthday! =)

I am excited about this age and this time in my life. I’m sure twenty-four will be here in a flash! I’ll leave you with a few things that I feel like I’ve learned over this past year of my life!

The first– be who you are and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks! I’ve spent most of my life worried about what other people think of me and of course, I can still struggle with this, but I’ve finally let it go for the most part. You’re not always going to be perfect and people will judge you based on their own views, so do what makes you happy and let go of your worry.  

Secondly,  try not to hold any grudges. This one is hard, and sometimes it seems impossible- I know. But, never say never. People will always let you down because no one is perfect. And holding in anger towards someone will literally eat you up inside- even if you find a way to get used to it. So get rid of it, work it out- even if you can’t agree, just find some common ground and move past it.

And third, don’t SETTLE. I’ve always had big dreams for myself- to break out of the small town mold I was born in, to have a nice house, a great marriage/Husband, to travel…etc, etc.  There were a lot (I mean A LOT) of times where I sold myself short and believed that literally none of it was possible for me. I spent a lot of time feeling that because I didn’t go to college like everyone else wanted me to that there was no way I’d have a nice comfortable life or a good job. And by comfortable I don’t mean cash coming out of my ears, I mean work and be able to pay the bills and afford nice things. But, here I am. And I think, I could’ve been too scared to leave my home town. I could’ve settled on a life in that town and I know exactly what I would be doing now, but it wouldn’t have been what I wanted. Would I be okay? Yeah. But something would’ve eaten at me for the rest of my life saying, “Hey… you missed out on something and you’ll never know what it was.” So, it’s really exciting to look around me and realize that I never settled and I pushed on when things were scary and people said I was ridiculous and crazy for doing them. It’s a wonderful feeling to say, “Hey- look at me now.” =)