On the last day of my twenties...

On the last day of my twenties, I woke up at 5:30 AM to 50's degree temperatures and went on a 3.5 mile run...

On the last day of my twenties, I wore a purple dress..

On the last day of my twenties, I played with kittens at work...

On the last day of my twenties, I went to my summer class from 4-6:40 and talked about the different views of educational research...

On the last day of my twenties, I went to my former high school's graduation...

On the last day of my twenties, I talked to good friends and laughed with coworkers...

On the last day of my twenties, I sang Broadway in my car...

On the last day of my twenties, I watched an episode of Gilmore Girls...

On the last day of my twenties, I went to bed grateful for my twenties but ready to have them behind me...

On the last day of my twenties, I thought about all the amazing places I have been in my 29 years...

On the last day of my twenties, despite having a rough week, I felt blessed.

Here is to turning 30 and the best decade yet!

Not the Best

I'm gonna be honest, 29 was not my best birthday.

I came home on Tuesday night to this- a broken AC unit and my condo at 81 degrees.

The delights of home ownership

I called Michael & Sons, a local company, and talked to a very nice technician who told me they would be out at my house between 12 and 4 pm on Wednesday. I prepared to sleep in the heat!

This bedside set-up reminded me of my dorm in college that didn't have AC...I don't know how I survived!

Of course I tossed and turned all night, so I woke up on my birthday exhausted. I planned on a long run, but I was not feeling it for numerous reasons, so I did a short run and went to work. My coworker brought me fruit and sunflower seed butter and another brought me cupcakes! All food is good food:)

Happiness on my desk

We had our 8th grade "graduation" ceremony, so work was fun, but I left early when I got a call from the HVAC technician. It turns out that it was my capacitor, which was a cheaper fix (couple hundred versus couple thousand). However, my compressor overheated while the capacitor was being fixed, so my AC had to be kept off all afternoon and we didn't know 100% if it was fixed.

I am not gonna lie, those few hours were not great. My mind kept going to "what will I do if I have to get a new AC unit? How will I pay for it? WHY DO PEOPLE OWN THINGS? Home ownership is a waste! I'm gonna sell my place and rent forever-> at least you can plan financially even if it is more expensive each month! Ahhh but I love my condo- what if my rental place has crazy neighbors?!" 

I went on a walk to clear my head but I only made it worse because my mind kept wandering. It's amazing how repairs can really set you financially back, especially if they pile up back to back! It's hard to always have enough...

I turned my AC back on right before I went to my stats class. I *thought* it was working, but wouldn't know for sure until I got back later in the night. So I had a thrilling stats class (I really love math but the class is boring and the professor goes pretty slow because a lot of people haven't had the material before) and then met friends for Thai food!

I had a big birthday dinner last year, so I wanted something smaller this year where I could talk to everyone. I met with three friends at a place in Carytown. Look at the sign I saw on my way to the restaurant! Haha.

Throwback to the 90's, and I appreciate it.

After a delicious dinner, we went to sweet frog for some fro yo goodness. 

We don't mess with Sweet Frog!

We ended our evening around 9 PM-> out late on a work night! And when I got home my AC was officially working! So the day ended well, but I could have done without the first parts of it:) I went to bed before 10 PM because I did a group run Thursday morning at 5:45 AM.

I honestly do not put a lot of pressure on myself to have "amazing" birthdays, because it can leave you feeling disappointed. I distinctly remember on my 16th birthday, crying after my parents had gone to bed because it wasn't as amazing as I thought it was supposed to be. It wasn't bad by any means, but just not that INCREDIBLE day that everyone expects. From then on I have taken a much more low-key approach to birthdays, and I like that better. I am happy to be turning a year older and celebrating, but don't like the expectations of the day. So even though this year was not my best, that is ok. It can always be worse. And, hey, I feel like it can only go up from here!

Anyone else have a particularly good or bad birthday experience? I had a surprise party on my 15th which was awesome (thanks to my amazing friend, Sarah!) and totally unexpected and my 21st was very fun, too!

29 Awesome Things from my 29 Years

Hey! It's my birthday! Today I celebrate my last year as a 20-something. In honor of the beginning of the end (ha), here is what I am thankful for/proud of/liked the most/random facts from my 29 years (in no particular order). They have been pretty awesome.

1. I graduated with my B.A. and M.Ed. and started my Ph.D.! I think I love school:)
2. I lived in 9 different homes in 3 different cities (2 different states)
3. I bought my first car
4. I bought my first HOME!
5. I worked 10 different jobs (2 of which are career related)
6. I got 1 career promotion
7. I went to Europe FIVE times (France/Italy, UK, Italy again, Spain and Greece)
8. I explored parts of the U.S.A. and surrounding territories-> Puerto Rico, Bahamas, California, Nevada, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Illinois, D.C., Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Vermont, New Hampshire, Michigan...
9. I attended 32 weddings (and was in 4 of them)!
10. I opened a Roth IRA and 457 (b)
11. I played soccer and swam for about 12 years each!
12. I ran 4 half marathons 
13. I ran 1 marathon
14. I overcame an eating disorder
15. I got 2 cats (only 1 lives with me!) 
16. I was vegan, vegetarian...and then stuck with being a "lazy vegetarian":) I promise I can make up my mind.
17. I went on a million dates (felt like it at least!)
18. I joined a sorority (Alpha Chi Omega)
19. I had a total of 43 housemates/roommates (not including family)
20. I made the all-girls and mixed show choirs in my high school
21. I was in a choir in college and an acapella group after college
22. I was in 2 plays
23. I had 2 solos
24. I learned the importance of a good book
25. I had my first celebrity crushes (Johnathan Taylor Thomas and Leonardo Dicaprio)
26. I had 4 hamsters (Chip, Whiskers, Squeaky and Jack-> yup, from Titanic)
27. I met a lot of awesome friends who make my life so amazing and teach me to be a better person (gonna get sappy here)
28. I learned to let go of friends who weren't good for me and stand up for myself
29. I chose to be happy:)

I am excited for 29!!!

What are some of your big life milestones/accomplishments? Anyone else with a June 10th birthday? We're pretty awesome:)

10 years ago

Today is 10 years to the day when I graduated high school on June 14, 2004!

It’s funny- people say that time goes by fast, and it does, but it also feels like that was a lifetime ago. I was in such a different place as an 18 year old as I am as a 28(!) year old.

April 2004 celebrating Emily's Birthday

I remember the day semi-clearly. My whole family was in town, including my grandmother, and I had the early graduation that day at 10 AM. I sat on the right side of the seating in the Siegel Center at VCU (all high school graduations in the area are held there) and my family was in the stands beside me. They cheered when my name was called across the stage and after obligatory pictures following the ceremony, we went home to have lunch and a Cold Stone Creamery cake (obviously, since I was working there at the time)! I don’t remember much afterward, but it was a nice day and the weeks leading up to it had been a lot of fun due to all my friends’ graduation parties! It is weird I still remember what I wore to those parties?! J

High school was a hard time for me. I did very well academically and had many good friends, but I put a lot of pressure on myself. I didn’t accept anything but the best in terms of my grades and extracurriculars and that kind of pressure can have negative effects. I was so caught up in being “perfect” that I remember so clearly simply wanting to be happy. I didn’t have a career or college goal at the time except to let go of my perfectionistic personality. To show you how aware I was of my faults at this point, I even wrote in my senior year scrap book (which I still have and looked through the other week- I am so glad I made one!) that my dream job was: To do anything and live anywhere that makes me happy. That is probably a little different than your average high school goal, right?

Humanities Senior Banquet  in June 2004

My life has only improved in the last 10 years. I went to two great colleges and met so many amazing people from undergrad and grad school and even more amazing people through my work. I cannot imagine how my life would have been had I not met all these people. They have definitely invigorated my life and helped me grow into who I am today! I am also lucky to still be friends with many people from my youth and to get to experience the highs and lows in their lives- all across the country. Friends are definitely the family you pick for yourself.

My change and growth has been gradual over time. I am still a perfectionist by nature, but I am much more relaxed about success and work. I have a good job and a stable income that enables me to do all the things I want to (for the most partJ), so I am very content and grateful (besides my usual "itch" for change). I think stability in and of itself has brought happiness to my life, because I have full control and am not relying on parents, teachers or admission offices to determine where my life will head. It is all up to me now (and the mercy of employers)! I also do not let work rule my life like school did. I still aim to do my best and do a good job, but I work so I can live my life and not the other way around. Most of my life goals now are not related to work but are more for my own personal fulfillment. This has helped me achieve balance, and I also think running and wellness/health has helped me overcome health barriers that were once struggles. I am, as always, a work in progress.

Posing in 2002 with my Algebra 2 class

So on this 10 year anniversary, I would say I am very glad to have high school behind me and would not trade where I am now for any other point in my life. It probably helps that I now work in high schools- I get enough of my school fix on a daily basisJ. My life keeps getting better and better, and I like it that way. No need to live in the past.

27

Today, at 10:52 PM, I officially turn 27!

It has been a great birthday. I spent the weekend in Charlottesville at my UVA 5 year reunion with WONDERFUL friends from college. It was almost perfect (besides not being the nicest/most coherent person at 2 AM), and I got my fair share of UVA and Charlottesville-ness in terms of food, drinks, bars, friends and sites! I am already looking forward to my 10 year reunion! I think this will easily top any of my high school reunions- UVA knows how to do it right and it is much more fun to re-live college than re-live high school. I certainly felt like no time had passed and was back in my element.

To cap off a great weekend, I also got to spend today, not only celebrating myself with coworkers, friends, family and even MORE food, but the MBK class of 2013! It is always nice to see my seniors graduate, and this class was special since it was my FIRST group of students on my caseload when I started three years ago.

I figured it would be nice to document my feelings about turning 27, but the truth is that I am not feeling much of anything this birthday in terms of "oh my god I am getting old" or "this year will absolutely rock!" (a la turning 21). I am very content in my life currently and am excited for a lot of things that are coming up, so I think 27 will be a good year for me. Age is all about how you feel and not the actual age you are. I probably feel better at 27 than I did at 22 or 24...and definitely better than I ever did in my teens (those just weren't my best years).

So on this day, June 10, 2013, I wish myself another year of growth, fun, happiness, letting loose, and overcoming some challenges! I also hope to cross a few more items off my bucket list (I exed off 7 of 53 this year)! I guess I am not in my upper-twenties anymore, so I gotta make the last few years of the decade even better than the first!

Love to all my amazing friends and family! You all make going through this crazy life worth it!:)

To Me on My 26th Birthday

Dear Robyn,

Happy 26th! Congrats! You are another year older, wiser and more beautiful (you can at least think so)!

Remember when you thought the world was going to end at the Millenium in 2000 (thanks for that, Brian) and you thought 14 was old? Guess what?! The world didn't end, 14 is actually very young and now you are really getting old.

 (Don't look up my dress, you perv)

What, you wanted more? Sorry, dude. This isn’t a milestone. You can already smoke (didn’t want to anyway), can already drink (and do it less because you would rather eat your calories than drink 'em), can already rent a car without paying a premium, and already had your insurance rates reduced (25 = lame). No new perks, plus now you’re closer to 30 than 20. Scary, huh?

Here’s the thing: You had a big year! You moved to the fan, traveled all over the east coast last summer, got more involved in your job and, oh, BOUGHT YOUR FIRST HOME! That's a great accomplishment for someone your age. Sure, you had many freak outs along the way and you still have slight OCD behaviors and are way too much of a planner, but you can only move forward! Life is about always trying to better yourself, right?

My wish to you is that you make your 26th year even better; let loose; stop worrying as much; take a risk; be impulsive; buy something ridiculous that you don't need; stop laying out as much (wrinkles are gonna pop up soon...I see those mouth lines); stop saying you never will have children and/or don't like them (you know you actually do); get lost; run a half marathon; fall in love; sing; laugh.

If there’s anything I want you to learn from this, your 26th year, it’s to throw your plans out the window. Don’t try to predict what will happen, or put your life on a schedule. Just work hard, have fun, and be kind. If you do that, everything will follow in its own way and its own time.

Love,
You

Peace out