THE BIG 25

On January 27 2011 I turned 25….  I had been dreading this day for a very very VERY long time. Everyone I knew always said that when you turn 21 everything goes downhill from there. I never believed it until I had my 22 birthday.  People would say that at least when you turn 25 your car insurance goes down, i don’t mind paying if I can keep my youth.

If you would have asked me 10 years ago, “Where do you see your self in 10 years?” Never would I have said still in school, just moved back in with my parents (temporary because I will be studying in Rome this summer) and still wondering what I am going to do when I graduate. When I entered school the first time, I  thought it would take me 4 maybe 5 years to complete my degree and I would graduate with my teaching degree.  I was planning on teaching somewhere close by because I would obviously start thinking about  planning a family.

But that is not my life, and I wouldn’t change it for the world even though some days I think I might.  25 is a big milestone and I think I am handling it just fine. It has totally had its ups and downs but any age does.  At the beginning of the year I told myself I was not going to be a Debbie Downer about turning 25 and it is working out perfectly.  I vowed that this summer was going to be the best summer of my life and it will be.  I have saved to take the summer off of work. While I am not working I plan on studying in Rome for 5 weeks and traveling through Europe on the weekends. When I get back home I plan on taking a road trip up the east coast.

25 you creeped up on me way too fast , but that doesn’t scare me.  I will handle you with grace. Bring it

What’s your secret?

Unfortunately reading is not my favorite pastime, so when I received a full series of books for my birthday you can imagine my excitement.  But these books were different. I had just been given the PostSecrect series. These books are like no other. People send in a homemade postcard with their deepest secret that haven’t been shared with anyone. Once these postcards are received they are put on the website and others are published in the a book.

PostSecret started as an art project. Frank Warren is the author of this series.  He was in Paris, France, for the first time when the beginning of this project came to him.  He had a very detail dream about these three postcards he had just purchased that evening. So when he woke up from his dream he took full advantage and created exactly what he saw in his dream.  Those three postcards became “reluctant oracle,” an art project that would change his live. In 2004, every Sunday he created a new work to be released.  And that is how it began.

Every now and again I will get one of these books out and read them.  Although it is a quick read it definitely isn’t the easiest read. Some of these secrets are stupid and I do not know how they get published and others will make you cry. It is also interesting if you read the book with someone else because sometimes the secrets aren’t clear so you interpret them differently.

PostSecret.com is now a website that posts a new set of secrets every Sunday.  You can also follow the PostSecret society on Twitter.

If you are interested in sending in a secret you can totally do so.

Send it to:  13345 Copper Ridge Rd

Germantown, Maryland 20874

Music is my mood ring!

Moods change; for some people they change daily, for others they can change hourly, for others even more frequently.  Lately, I have noticed that depending on the mood I am in is a factor in what I am going to list to on my ipod or radio.  I know that it seems like this is common sense and it very well may be, but I have found it to be quite interesting.

This past weekend I got to spend my leisure time packing.  Oh the excitement of packing your first boxes knowing you are about to make an exhilarating move.  I hope you can read the sarcasm.  But honestly music played an important role while I was packing up my first big girl apartment.  In the beginning, I started to rock out to Ke$ha, but as the days and nights went on my music became a little more mellow.  The music started to change because my feelings about moving started to change.  Many memories were brought up and packed away(for the time being).

I do not know if this goes for boys as much as it is true about my girlfriends but I do feel as though you can read our mood by the music we listen to. Comparable to “wearing your heart on your sleeve.”

I am not one of those people who have had a passion for music their whole lives. I am also not one of those people who could tell you who sang what number one hit from what album. However, as I have gotten older I have noticed that music has been very involved in my life.  I can associate many many memories with particular songs or bands.  There are some songs that whole very special meanings to me that no one else knows about.

Do the small decision make big impacts on our lives?

After reading a friends blog Love and College: Does it Exist? I started to think, does it?  I have never been one to put my life on hold for anything. I can remember talking to my friends who are engaged and wondering why do they have to wait until they graduate to get married? I never understood it. They have already committed themselves to each other why does it matter if they are in college or have a full-time career?

I have had two serious relationships while I have been in school and I have also casually dated.  Whether I am in school, traveling, or working none of these has any relevance whether I am going to get serious with someone or not.  I strongly believe in things happen for a reason and you cross peoples paths for a reason as well. Love should not be controlled by the “right” timing.  No matter how far you have planned your life ahead, small decision can change those plans much quicker than you think.

I recently had this conversation with someone about the decisions that we make daily influence the rest of our lives, even the smallest routine decisions.  I know that it seems like a stretch but deciding between walking or driving to work,  taking a sick day and playing hookie or going into work,  making your coffee at home or stopping by your usual coffee shop, etc.  It might not make a difference to you at that exact moment but who knows who you may run into that morning, afternoon, and/or night.

It is like the old saying, “A smile is contagious.” When walking to work or the coffee shop maybe someone noticed you that day because of the way you may have been glowing or just because you are a happy go lucky type of person. That person saw you and chose to take control of their day so they put a smile on their face and stayed in a great mood the rest of the day. Or just the opposite, maybe someone wasn’t having the greatest day and a stranger noticed, so they took the opportunity to complement your hair, shoes, outfit, whatever it was it put a smile on your face. This cycle can repeat itself many times just in one afternoon.  I know this seems extreme but I do believe it happens.

Back to the Love and College. To me love is one of the greatest feelings that a person can ever imagine that is why I believe sacrifices can be made to accommodate the person you are in love with.  I believe that the majority of people do not intentionally fall in love, I believe it just happens and we don’t always have control over it. So maybe there are two different types of people out there; ones that believe in love and all the other people, lol. No but seriously for those people who believe in love, its not that they are changing their plans for some boy or girl. it is just that somethings don’t seem as important as they once did.

Again, I am not saying that you should give up your hopes, dreams, and lifetime goals for the person who you are in love with, however,  I am just trying to say do not pass up the chance to fall in love because you are afraid it might prevent you with from living your so-called perfect preplanned life. Love will not always be easy but it won’t always be hard. Love has a mind of its own and has a funny way of working itself out.