My whole life I had never been one to tell anyone it was my birthday. I was never that little girl (or adult for that matter) that said, "Hey, my birthday's coming up, what are you gonna get me?"; I was always extremely shy to bring any attention to myself, so the idea of all these people showing me an overwhelming amount of affection all at once terrified me. (Of course this doesn't include my birthday parties thrown by my family.) Then as I got older I hated the idea that I "wasn't young" anymore, so I kept my birthday and age private for that reason, too. This year I've had a total change of heart and perception. A month or so ago I thought to myself how depressing it was going to be turning 28, and how ancient it made me feel. But immediately the optimistic part of me jumped in, and I thought about how much life I've had. All the experiences. All the love. All the friendships I've built. The beautiful things I've seen and places I've been. The stories I've gathered, through happiness and heartache alike, to share with my future kids. All these wonderful blessings that I've been alive to be apart of. And when I thought of it like that, I realized that is the way I want to always receive the notion of getting older. Through every mistake I've made, and boy have I made a ton, I can honestly say that I just keep getting better as the years go by, and I'm very happy with who I am. That's the most important thing, I think, to be happy with ourselves. To accept ourselves. So never again will I let myself fall into pessimistic mode when February rolls around. I shouldn't huff and pout, I should be happy and thankful that I've still got a life to live! So in sharing with y'all that my birthday is coming up, I'm not looking for a buttload of "Happy Birthday" comments [that day] and please don't feel obligated; this is simply my way of celebrating my life, finally being free of my awkward birthday blues! And no one should feel awkward or shy about celebrating the gift of life. Can I get an Amen? ;)
Now, 10 years ago, in 2002, I was 18 years old. Couldn't break 100 pounds to save my life, and the only reason I was able to get into the military being underweight was because some of the instructors had me drink an entire jug of water before weigh-ins! I was also put into a group that was allowed more time to eat during chow (we were normally given about 5 minutes) and I was given cakes when we were sooo NOT ALLOWED sweets, all in the name of putting weight on this little trainee.
My ex's mom (who is amazing) threw me a surprise Barbie party for my 18th birthday
3 significant events from my 18th year:
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| Here I am lookin' awkward b/c I didn't expect this. lol |
High School Graduation; joining the Air Force; graduating bootcamp
This little feature will also serve as a means of y'all getting to know more about me. Things will get personal in the next couple days when I go back to the next couple years, and I'm feeling a little nervous about sharing something that I haven't talked about, but what little skepticism I do have is overshadowed by the fact that I know none of y'all are ones to judge. From everything I've seen thus far, y'all are incredibly open-minded, accepting and encouraging. And I love that about every one of you.
Coming back to do an outfit post along with sharing an amazing thing that happened today!
Love,
Roni
