TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS BY THE NUMBERS

On June 3, 2015 at 8:30am, I turned 25 years old. I have now been alive for a quarter of a century. I believe that its natural to reflect upon all that I’ve experienced in my life at every birthday. My friend Kaitlyn also posted an awesome blog about the subject that you can find [here].  I know I still have a lot that I want to accomplish, but I am proud of what I’ve done so far.  Below I have broken down the years by numbers; some by the age I was at that time in my life and others by the quantity of something that I’ve experienced.

I have run ONE Marathon—The Nike Women’s Marathon on October 20, 2013 was such an incredible experience. By running with Team in Training I was able to find the support and encouragement I needed to reach the finish line and find a cause that I had a personal connection to. It was an event that was beneficial to my own health but also made a difference in someone else’s life. My goal was to raise $2900 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I surpassed that amount by $300 for a total of $3200. I’m excited to do another TNT event next year.

I will soon have TWO Nieces—A few short weeks after my birthday, my sister Sarah, and brother in law Greg will have their second daughter. It will be awesome to see Lily receive one of the best blessings in the world–a sibling. It is so cool to witness Sarah and Greg adding on to their family and extending our overall family. Lily has brought so much joy into the world that I am know the new baby will have an awesome effect on our family as well.

The THIRD of June…is my birthday. I love my birthday date. It’s early enough in June that the weather isn’t so horribly hot. And, although I don’t really follow horoscopes, I like the quirky personality that Gemini’s often have. I think my craziness is in good company.

I have lived in FOUR cities: Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Los Angeles, and Richmond. Each place holds a special place in my heart. One city is where I grew up and met my best friends, played with my sisters, and got my first job. Although I want to move somewhere like New York one day, I will always love Virginia Beach. Williamsburg is where I learned the most academically and personally; fell in and out of love for the first time; and redefined my political and religious beliefs. Los Angeles scared the crap out of me, but I received a first glimpse of living on my own. Richmond is where I call home now. I have made some great friends and best friends have moved closer as well. I think that it’s cool to say that I have lived on both coasts of the United States. I tested myself and went far out of my comfort zone. Plus, I can also say I’ve dipped my toes into the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. I have seen the sun rise on the East and set on the West. The world really is a beautiful place.

There are FIVE Daughters in my family: I absolutely love having a large family. Its chaotic and we’re all so busy but I love having four friends that have known me longer than anyone in the world (other than my parents).

I can play a total of SIX notes on my ukulele…right now. I really need to find the time to sit down and learn how to play my beautiful instrument.

There are SEVEN members in my family. All of my sisters have unique personalities and, combined with our parents, we have a blast together. We may fight and get frustrated with each other over our differences, but we always have each other’s backs. I can’t imagine what our dynamic would be like without one of us as a part of the whole. Everyday I feel so blessed.

My family traveled to Disney World when I was EIGHT years old. It is the last trip I can remember with all of my sisters and both of my parents in attendance. We started driving down on Christmas morning in our big blue van. I’d gotten the movie Parent Trap as one of my presents and we watched it on the ride down with the TV that my dad installed.  Once we arrived, I got to meet Disney princesses, Mickey, and Winnie the Pooh. We ate amazing food, saw cool shows, and I rode the rides that I wasn’t too scared to go on. It was a relaxing trip and I only have happy memories from that week.

When I was NINE years old, my parents separated. I distinctly remember how I was told in the office of our home. It was a single moment that shaped the rest of my childhood. From that moment on I spent the weekdays with my mom and the weekends with my dad. I was lucky though that my parents celebrated holidays and my birthday together. It was a hard and confusing time to go through, but it has definitely shaped who I am and I have come to appreciate the unique family dynamic we have.

I am lucky that so far I haven’t broken any major bones or gotten stiches. But at the age of TEN, I broke my pinky toe. I was walking between the wall near my sister’s room and the stairs of our attic. I was moving too quickly and slammed my toe into the molding around a door. It was so painful and I had to walk around in crutches for a few weeks. However, one of the benefits was that I got to sit out in gym!

When I was ELEVEN, I started playing the flute. I chose this instrument because I liked the sound, but also because my second oldest sister, Heidi, played it and I always wanted to be just like her! I am so glad I started playing the flute because the members of the band became such a close-knit community.  It was a great experience.

I met my best friend Natalie Quinn when we were TWELVE years old. She is my fifth sister and I can truly tell her anything and she will be there for me.  That’s all I’m going to write… for now.:)

This post, I am proud to say, is my THIRTEENTH blog entry. I am definitely not the most consistent with it; which I am working on. I have really enjoyed having this outlet to talk about my thoughts and experiences.

I was FOURTEEN when I started wearing jeans again. I had a strange bit of OCD during middle school in which I thought jeans, especially the buttons on them, were dirty (I felt the same way about earrings so that’s why I never got my ears pierced). I only wore stretchy pants because they were more comfortable to me. My sense of style before high school was pretty weird. In 9^th grade,  I started to put a little more effort into how I presented myself to the world. I also gained more confidence as I started to take better care of myself; which now leads me to number…

…FIFTEEN— the age that I became aware of healthier choices. I started running with my sister Sarah at Mount Trashmore. I remember the first time I ran half a mile and how crazy my legs felt since they wouldn’t stop shaking. I felt so proud of my progress because when I started I could only go a quarter of a mile. I definitely would not have believed back then that I would finish 26.2 whole miles one day! I also started eating better and reduced sugar and some carbs in my diet. Having my sister be my buddy during the runs and diets really helped me be more successful. Since then, I have remained aware of the consequences of poor workout regimens and bad dieting.  I try my best (although its difficult sometimes) to follow a good routine.

At SIXTEEN, I was allowed to date and wear makeup…I’m glad my mom gave me these rules. Although it was hard to always follow and I did briefly “date” someone in 6^th grade, I think having me wait until I had gone through puberty and was a little more mature was a good idea. It gave me a little extra time to focus on myself and who I was becoming before worrying about how another person affects how I feel. I definitely found this rule frustrating at times but I can definitely understand why my mom made it for us.

When I was SEVENTEEN,  I was in my first play, Seussical the Musical.  I had always wanted to be in plays and love performing.  I took dance for six years when I was younger and I can often be found singing wherever I am.  It wasn’t until my senior year of high school that I got the courage to audition.  I was just in the chorus but I loved every part of being in the play.  There were some people complaining about the long days, but I never wanted to leave. I was enjoying myself so much.  I hope to be in more plays in the future when I have a little more time.

I was EIGHTEEN when I graduated high school and started at my dream school. The day I received my college acceptance letter I cried almost immediately. I had worked since 4^th grade to get into William and Mary. I set up an informational interview over the summer before my senior year and applied early decision as well. Orientation for William and Mary was so much fun and reaffirmed why I wanted to go to this particular college. I felt like I belonged. Several of the friends I made the first week I am still best friends with now.

When I was NINETEEN, I got a passport and visited a country outside the U.S for the first time. I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with my boyfriend at the time and his family. It was the first time that I was on vacation and could really just go with the flow. We didn’t have too many plans, the views were gorgeous, and we went over our winter break which was perfect  since we had no obligations we had to stress over. I felt like I was in paradise.

My family and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise when I was TWENTY  to Nassau and CoCo Cay. It was also a cool trip because it was the first time my sisters and mom all went out of the country together. We all agreed that it was one of the most relaxing trips that we’ve been on.  We didn’t have to cook or clean up.  The only thing we had to do was enjoy all that the ship had to offer for food, drinks and entertainment. I would definitely go on another cruise again.

I graduated college when I was TWENTY ONE.  It’s interesting to think about my mindset now and how it has definitely matured since leaving William and Mary.  I was a little naive about how the real world and job market works.  Things have been more difficult and complicated than I expected but I just hope that my choices will lead me somewhere great one day! 🙂

At TWENTY-TWO years old, I got my first film/tv job at WAVY TV 10 as a part time news editor. I graduated in May of 2012 from college and it took me a full six months to find a job within my major. I had interned for WAVY TV 10/FOX 43 during the summer between my junior and senior years of college.   It was an awesome experience. I had the opportunity to work in all of their departments and see all the stages of how a newscast was put together.  It was very rewarding to receive the editing job because it meant I was part of the news making process and using what I had learned from college. I met some amazing people who greatly changed my life that I still keep in close contact with.

I was TWENTY-THREE years old when I moved to CA. It was quite a major, scary step for me. However, it was also rewarding because it meant I had met one of my big goals from college. The fall after I graduated college, I went to the W&M Arts and Entertainment Conference.  Several of the speakers described the benefits of being in NYC or LA. When I started at WAVY, I gave myself one year to save up money and then move.  I reached that goal. Although I lived there for only 6 months, I am really proud of my achievement because I pushed myself way out of my comfort zone and gained some clarity that I needed.

There are TWENTY-FOUR hours in a day. I try to make each one of them count.

At TWENTY-FIVE, I’m now a quarter of a century old and I’m going to make sure this year is as amazing as my past 24.

Thank you for taking the time to read this long post. I hope it was pretty interesting and taught you a little bit about me that you didn’t know already. If you have any funny moments from your life so far that you want to share, please comment below!