There’s been a little bit of debate out there as to whether or not the year 2020 is actually the beginning of the new decade or the end of the last one. On one hand, we call the 1990s the 90s because it started with the year 1990. Otherwise, we would call it the 91s. But, on the other hand, if we go waaaay back, there was never actually a year 0. We just jumped right in with year 1 AD. So wouldn’t the first decade then be the years 1-11? There’s your mind fuck for the day. You’re welcome! Either way, some pretty cool stuff happened in the last 10 years. And, I’m just going to say that 2010 – 2020 was the decade okay?
The decade started off with graduating from high school. Not a bad way to kick things off! Following that, I turned 18 and then started college. 2010 was quite the eventful year! I wouldn’t say that I was overly excited about any of those things really. Graduating high school maybe, because that meant the end goal of something I was working extremely hard at being the best at. But, I definitely wasn’t one of those kids who was excited to be on their own in college and be an “adult”. In fact, here we are 10 years later, and I’m still not thrilled about having to be an adult. And, as I am writing this, I am realizing this means that I will have my 10 year high school reunion this year and I just know I am not old enough for that to be possible.
2011 was a fairly uneventful year. In the spring, I officially declared my college major as Tourism and Travel, a path that felt a little “plan B” at the time, but vowed to keep a creative outlet in my life as a compromise to myself. I sort of accomplished that by teaching dance occasionally throughout that summer and helping to choreograph a very small production musical for kids while at that job. That experience made me realize I was fortunate to have the experience with dance that I did when I was young. I turned 19 that summer and shortly thereafter, went back to school, slightly more excited than the previous year. That semester I moved in with a girl who I was actually friends with when I was young but lost touch with after she moved away in the third grade. I can honestly say, it was because of her that my attitude about college changed. Shout out to you Alex if you’re reading this!
The first half of 2012 was probably the lowest point of my life to date. It began with not knowing whether or not I was going to be living with a complete stranger, once again, as my roommate would be spending the semester abroad in Germany. Thankfully, no one else ever moved in. This semester would prove to be extremely lonely as I would really realize for the first time that I actually did not have a single good friend at this point in college. I spent the majority of my time alone in my room, strategically planning when to go down to the dining hall at a time where it wouldn’t look weird for me to be eating alone. About a month or two into the semester, I got myself into, what would eventually become the most toxic relationship I have ever been in. The relationship itself only lasted about 4 months but the effects of it would stay with me for about another year and a half. Toward the end of this semester, I did start to become friends with one of my RAs because we happened to have a class together. Little did either of us know that this was the beginning of what would eventually become my second family. The second half of 2012 was drastically different than the first half. My roommate was home from Germany, and we decided to live in the same room with the same RAs as the year before. The four of us, and two other girls who lived on the floor below us became inseparable. I owe a lot to this group of people and the fall of 2012. At some point during this year, I did a little self reflection and made an important decision. I realized that being shy and unsure of myself in unfamiliar situations was no way to live and so, I decided one day that I wasn’t going to be like that anymore. Since that day, I have said yes to more opportunities and tried many things my previous self would never have dreamed of.
The spring of 2013 was much of the same as the fall of 2012 but, this would be the year our little family would split up a bit. A few graduated and the rest of us spread out around campus as we all took up positions as residence life staff members. Moving back to an all first year student resident hall, as a senior, with a group of strangers, is an example of one of those things my previous self would never have done. But, it proved to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. By this point, I had been fully loving college for awhile now but, as a person who has never dealt with change well, I was not thrilled about stepping out of the cozy little bubble I had been living in for the past year with all my new friends. Also, remember when I said the effects of the toxic 2012 relationship would linger? This is about the time where I thought my life was over because of it but in actuality, it was finally the end of a bad thing. A few days later, I moved back to school, and started a new experience as an RA. My coworkers would become yet another family in college and one person in particular would teach me a lot about myself over the course of the next year. At some point toward the end of 2013, I started to panic about the future. I was supposed to graduate the following spring and I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. Meanwhile, I was loving college so much that I was getting terribly sad about leaving it all behind. I know, drastic change from how I felt about it in the beginning.
The start of 2014 came with the decision to postpone my graduation and add on a second minor to “enhance my career opportunities” which, was really just an excuse to stay in my little college bubble for a bit longer. I regret nothing. That summer I worked as an Orientation Student Leader and really started to fall in love with working with first year college students. Shout out Group 4! Since I had such a rocky start to my college career, I really felt like I could relate to so many of these new students and I wanted to do all that I could to help them not to feel the way I felt. In the fall I started my second year as an RA, this year with a whole new staff. This group of coworkers would never be like a family but the students I looked after this year would. Those 6 boys and 40 something girls, gave me a sense of purpose and confidence that I am eternally grateful for. #FifthFloorFamily
By the time spring of 2015 rolled around, I was finally ready to graduate from college. I wasn’t sure what was next but I knew this phase of my life needed to come to a close. I wanted to do something fun to celebrate the occasion so, a friend and I took a “big girl” trip to New York City where we slept in a hotel room with bunk beds. The idea of that sentence will always make me laugh. I saw my first Broadway musical, On The Town, met Jonathan Groff and stood about 7 feet away from Lin Manuel Miranda and made the regrettable decision not to speak to him. It was an amazing trip. In the interest of saving money, I moved back home with my parents and looked for a job. I was trying to be a little bit selective and find something that would utilize the degree I had just spent the last 5 years earning and I ended up at the front desk of a local hotel. I absolutely hated this job. You know you’re really in for it when you find yourself crying in the bathroom on your first day. But, I needed the money so I figured I’d stick around until I found something better. Spoiler alert, it would be awhile. It was also around this time that I decided to embark on a friends with benefits type situation with an incredibly nice guy who deserved way better than me. Massive apologies to the guy I did that to.
I don’t have any major updates to report for the first half of 2016. During the summer, I took a road trip to St. Louis with some friends to celebrate the marriage of one of our fellow RAs. We had a mini RA family reunion and it was so much fun. About a month later, my mom and I hit major bucket list goals when we saw Sir Paul McCartney in concert. We will never be the same. The end of the summer brought a tornado down our street and thankfully, all we lost were the trees in the front yard. In the fall, I started working at the dance studio I grew up in and I could not be more grateful. Being able to witness the joy that comes from being a part of something so special in all of those young dancers is something I’ll never be able to describe. I then started hanging out more with this guy that I worked with and at some point decided he was pretty cute and that I kind of liked him. We started dating on November 1st and haven’t looked back. Love you Kevin! In the beginning of December, I took my first trip as a solo traveler, again to New York. It was scary and exhilarating all at the same time. I returned home to find out I had gotten the promotion I applied for at work and moved away from the front desk and into the sales department as the Group Rooms Manager. For those of you keeping track, the hotel continued to suck, regardless of which department I worked for. My year ended with being the maid of honor in my best friend’s wedding. An experience I will cherish forever!
The beginning of 2017 was filled with early relationship bliss; although, we were trying to hide it from everyone we knew since we worked together. Eventually, the cat was let out of the bag and everything was fine. That summer the dance fam went to Indianapolis for nationals and kicked some serious ass! Being in an “adult” relationship with someone after being single for an eternity is hard. That summer consisted of a lot of learning and growing in that department. In the fall, Kevin made the choice to save money and move back home which was about an hour away. Not the end of the world, but it kind of felt like it. I told you, I don’t do well with change. However, this meant that, since we were now both living with our parents, we did not have a place to hangout alone. So what did I do? I bought a house. Naturally.
I closed on the house in January of 2018. I had some improvements I wanted to make before moving in which was really just code for not being ready to move in yet. That’s not entirely true. Sure, I WAS scared to move out of my parents house but, there was carpet in the kitchen. I repeat, carpet in the kitchen! In April I was fired from the hotel. Yep, you heard me. I was fired and it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. While I was applying for jobs, Kevin was applying for law schools. He received a full ride scholarship to a school in San Francisco and decided he was going to go. Again, my world was ending. Given that he’d need to be there in a couple of weeks and I owned a house, I made the decision to drive out there with him but then come back home. The road trip was full of memories that I will treasure forever but, the end of the trip marked the beginning of our new reality. Being an adult has never been so hard. Just days after I returned home, I started my new job as a travel advisor and I’ve never loved a job more. I love what I do and the ladies I work with look after me like I am their own child. They genuinely want to see me succeed both in the job, and in life. This type of environment is hard to find and they will never know the extent of how much their love and support means to me. I hoped this job would allow for the possibility to travel and so far, it has! In September, I headed to Minneapolis and then I was off to Los Angeles in October which, allowed for a long weekend in San Francisco to see my guy. Then, in December, I rented a car for the first time, drove it to Chicago, got on a plane and headed to the Dominican Republic for 5 days with a group of complete strangers. In the back of my mind, I knew I would be able to figure it all out and that I’d be okay on my own. I just needed to make myself do it. Well, I did do it and it was fucking awesome!
2019 started with saying goodbye to the Chrysler Town and Country that my family had since I was 10 years old. I started driving it when I was 17 and it had been a part of all of the stories I’ve mentioned thus far. Bringing it to the junkyard was a sad day but now I have a new soccer mom van and I’m ready for all the adventures I will have with him. I am grateful that I was able to make it out to San Francisco in the spring as the struggle of a long distance relationship was starting to take its toll. Like I said, being an adult has never been so hard. Since then, we made a promise not to go more than 2 months without seeing each other. We managed to keep that promise throughout the rest of 2019. I also took another road trip to St. Louis, this time for dance nationals. There were lots of laughs, lots of meat, and lots of ass kicking. I’ve never been more proud of my little studio. In September, I went on another solo international adventure. This time, I sort of knew one person. Yay! This trip was a cruise. Another thing I’ve never done! I visited Sint. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. The year, and the decade ended with spending the holidays with Kevin and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
I am such a different person now from the girl who walked across that stage to get her high school diploma back in 2010. I have done so many things that girl would never have dreamed of. There have been a lot of ups and downs but overall, I am so much more confident in myself. I was an actual child at the start of this decade and I guess I am an adult now. I can’t wait to see what the next ten years have in store. I sincerely hope you will all be a part of it. Bring on the roaring twenties baby!
