Today I turned 20 years old.
I'm sitting here in a coffee shop alternately journaling, sipping a gingerbread latte (my first, can I say scrumptious??), listening to Christmas music, typing and feeling so very loved and blessed.
Downright happy actually (incandescently so).
Birthday's are such marvelous things for making you feel loved.
It's such an odd feeling. Being 20. Of course I've had all of 7 hours for it to sink in but still. Going from 19 to 20 seems like a much bigger difference than going from 18 to 19.
I suppose it has something to do with having a whole new number in front of my age.
That big 2 is intimidating.
For a whole decade I got used to nice, simple, little old 1.
In retrospect you'd think ages 3-9 would have been equally, if not more so, intimidating. Being significantly more than both 1 and 2. But they were always alone. They never had a little friend to accompany them.
And then of course just being altogether done with my "teens" is kind of scary. Not to mention I can now say I'm "in my 20's" (which, even though I'm in the first year of them, I can still accurately say).
Every year I feel like I'll never get used to my new age. Not feeling quite at home in it at first. But within a short amount of time, usually only a few days, it becomes comfortable and I can't imagine being anything else other than that age.
Isn't that funny?
How quickly the unnatural feels natural?
It's already starting to feel not so weird. The more I talk about it.
I suppose that's how age works though.
I'm sitting here feeling all insightful and brilliant, (which tends to happen when I write more than a paragraph, and is almost always a sign that I am in fact not being insightful or brilliant. However I'm going to go on thinking that just the same if you don't mind. This is all for my own amusement anyway) thinking about all these things. Life and what not. I've lived a pretty good one so far. I am very blessed in so many ways and it's really quite overwhelming sometimes knowing how much I have and alternately how little others have sometimes. Which is God's way of reminding me not to take things for granted and to be more giving, selfless and loving I think.
(And also not to thrift so much... because, really, how many dresses does one girl need?)
But regardless, I do have my downs. My terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. But it's because of all my blessings, and loved ones that make those days not so very terrible. And for that I'm thankful.
And so in honor of this day I have a list of 20 things I intend to do this upcoming year of my life. I have seen some other bloggers do this and I love the idea. So here they are. In no particular order, of no particular importance other than to resolve to do some fun and enjoyable things while I'm 20.
20 Things To Do While I'm 20
1. Travel to another country (I've only been to the Caribbean)
2. Watch all of Audrey Hepburn's movies
3. Be more purposeful about my time with God
4. Ride on a train
5. Visit at least 5 new states
6. Read Judy Garland's biography
7. Go to ten new Richmond restaurants
8. Go dancing at a club (Can you believe I've never done this?)
9. Learn spanish
10. Take a segway tour of Richmond
11. Read 20 books
12. Learn how to cook (Anything whatsoever would be an improvement from what I can do now. Which is nothing)
13. Be a part of RVA Fashion Week
14. Get something published in a newspaper or magazine
15. Make mexican white sauce (successfully)
16. Donate a minimum of $500 to The A21 Campaign
17. Get a new camera
18. Update Etsy at least twice a month
19. Make a pin hole camera
20. See Justin Bieber in concert
And now I'm off to continue the rest of the days celebrations! Thanks so much to everyone so far who has made my day special and making my 20th the best Birthday so far. The kind words, cards, texts, voicemails, presents, wall posts and emails mean more than you know. <3
I'm sitting here in a coffee shop alternately journaling, sipping a gingerbread latte (my first, can I say scrumptious??), listening to Christmas music, typing and feeling so very loved and blessed.
Downright happy actually (incandescently so).
Birthday's are such marvelous things for making you feel loved.
It's such an odd feeling. Being 20. Of course I've had all of 7 hours for it to sink in but still. Going from 19 to 20 seems like a much bigger difference than going from 18 to 19.
I suppose it has something to do with having a whole new number in front of my age.
That big 2 is intimidating.
For a whole decade I got used to nice, simple, little old 1.
In retrospect you'd think ages 3-9 would have been equally, if not more so, intimidating. Being significantly more than both 1 and 2. But they were always alone. They never had a little friend to accompany them.
And then of course just being altogether done with my "teens" is kind of scary. Not to mention I can now say I'm "in my 20's" (which, even though I'm in the first year of them, I can still accurately say).
Every year I feel like I'll never get used to my new age. Not feeling quite at home in it at first. But within a short amount of time, usually only a few days, it becomes comfortable and I can't imagine being anything else other than that age.
Isn't that funny?
How quickly the unnatural feels natural?
It's already starting to feel not so weird. The more I talk about it.
I suppose that's how age works though.
I'm sitting here feeling all insightful and brilliant, (which tends to happen when I write more than a paragraph, and is almost always a sign that I am in fact not being insightful or brilliant. However I'm going to go on thinking that just the same if you don't mind. This is all for my own amusement anyway) thinking about all these things. Life and what not. I've lived a pretty good one so far. I am very blessed in so many ways and it's really quite overwhelming sometimes knowing how much I have and alternately how little others have sometimes. Which is God's way of reminding me not to take things for granted and to be more giving, selfless and loving I think.
(And also not to thrift so much... because, really, how many dresses does one girl need?)
But regardless, I do have my downs. My terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days. But it's because of all my blessings, and loved ones that make those days not so very terrible. And for that I'm thankful.
And so in honor of this day I have a list of 20 things I intend to do this upcoming year of my life. I have seen some other bloggers do this and I love the idea. So here they are. In no particular order, of no particular importance other than to resolve to do some fun and enjoyable things while I'm 20.
20 Things To Do While I'm 20
1. Travel to another country (I've only been to the Caribbean)
2. Watch all of Audrey Hepburn's movies
3. Be more purposeful about my time with God
4. Ride on a train
5. Visit at least 5 new states
6. Read Judy Garland's biography
7. Go to ten new Richmond restaurants
8. Go dancing at a club (Can you believe I've never done this?)
9. Learn spanish
10. Take a segway tour of Richmond
11. Read 20 books
12. Learn how to cook (Anything whatsoever would be an improvement from what I can do now. Which is nothing)
13. Be a part of RVA Fashion Week
14. Get something published in a newspaper or magazine
15. Make mexican white sauce (successfully)
16. Donate a minimum of $500 to The A21 Campaign
17. Get a new camera
18. Update Etsy at least twice a month
19. Make a pin hole camera
20. See Justin Bieber in concert
And now I'm off to continue the rest of the days celebrations! Thanks so much to everyone so far who has made my day special and making my 20th the best Birthday so far. The kind words, cards, texts, voicemails, presents, wall posts and emails mean more than you know. <3