When I was younger, I took celebrations quite seriously. It was probably based off how how it made me feel - which was amazing. Anything I could celebrate, I would do so with such gusto, especially for other people. I would even wrap up things that my brothers already owned to give them to open as pre-Christmas gifts. I just seriously loved giving gifts and making people feel so special.

As birthdays rolled on, I started taking note of all the milestone birthdays: 10 is double digits, 13 you’re finally a teenager, 16 you get your driver’s license, 18 you’re finally an adult, 20 you beat teen pregnancy (such a silly joke), 21 you can legally drink alcohol, 25 you’re a full-on responsible adult. I don’t remember how I learned about it, but someone taught me what a Golden birthday was: when you turn the age of your date of birth. Unfortunately for my 11 year old self, I would have to wait until I was a whopping 27 years old to finally celebrate that.

I remember thinking that this day would never come. Time moved so seemingly slow when I was younger - always wanting to be older or get to the next milestone. Then life suddenly flew by, and now we’re here. It’s my golden birthday.

There are a lot of feelings rushing around my head about this birthday, most of them joyous so I’ll start there.

Last August, I made the decision to start paying off some of my debt by moving back home and in with my parents. I knew the transition would be difficult especially because I had lived on my own for 4+ years. Even while away at college I made most of my decisions on my own. I was worried that I would feel smothered by my parents, but excited to have a backyard and no rent to pay. Today, the adjustment is still happening I think, but my parents are freaking rock stars and have made my golden birthday the best. My mom has always heard me talk about my golden birthday, so she took it upon herself to make my month perfect. Each day, counting down to today, I have been given a small gift with a photo of me when I was younger. She decorated my work space and has really made me feel incredible about this day.

I personally decided that I was going to make sure that my birthday weekend was extremely special. With the best handful of friends and cousins, we’re traveling to Red River Gorge in Eastern Kentucky to hike and stay in a cabin all weekend.

Also, life has just been full of blessings. There are moments, like right now, that I feel like I cannot complain about the things I go through. I have been blessed with a loving family, have ventured my way to find my true friends, and have been working as a graphic designer for almost 5 years now.

I have so many joyous memories leading up to today, and I’ve listed them at the end.

But then, there’s the thought that I’m 27 years old.

I’m sitting here constantly praying about when I will find someone to date. It’s not somewhere I would have guessed I’d be at when turning this age. I’m single, and while I’ve kissed a lot of frogs, I feel like I know the things I’m looking for. All of my friends are either married or with a long-term partner and it’s something I want so badly. All the constant “encouragement” doesn’t really help. I know that my time will come. I know that God’s preparing him for me. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t still be open about what I’m looking for.

I digress. I’m 27. Twenty Seven.

Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would want to celebrate this with me. So thank you to all those who have made the large effort on celebrating me. At this rate of being single, the next time I’d have a big celebration would be when I turn 30. Which, I don’t want to think about right now.

I had all these plans for life that got turned upside down. You may take that as a regret - I take that in stride. My plan was to move to Colorado when I graduate college about 5 years ago. Instead, I moved to Kentucky and fell in love with the people and the area. I’m actually really considering calling it my home for a few more years. My plan was to be married with a dog or two. Instead, I was saved from heartbreak from some pretty crummy men and have two adorable cats. My plan was to never drink alcohol. Instead, I love going to wineries, distilleries and breweries to explore new tastes.

It’s still hard, but I’m learning that plans change and that God has other things in store for you. It doesn’t mean that life went wrong - it just means it didn’t go your way.

Here I am at 27. Helping plan my little brother’s wedding, traveling throughout the country, doing two out of the three things I graduated with (I have a BFA in Graphic Design with an emphasis in Photography and a Music Minor), living with my parents and two cats, owning and running my own business, marked with three tattoos with plans for more, super into yoga, 20lbs heavier than I’d like to be, and so excited that the weather is finally nice out.

My life is extraordinary and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Here’s to 27

The photos of me that my mom has put out each day have reminded me that while life has flown by, I have actually LIVED it and not merely existed in it. I built my own wooden lemonade stand shed; I tried to build a fort in our backyard; I would play hide and seek in the cornfields behind our home; I would wake up early on an extremely foggy day and imagine I was an explorer; my dad built us HUGE snow hills from the snow he plowed from neighbors’ driveways; would mountain bike through trails we made in empty lots; rescued a baby bunny from our bonfire pit; played freeze tag when it was way too cold out; invited friends to burn our school notes in a bonfire after the last day of school; watched hundreds of thunderstorms roll in; danced in the pouring rain; actually played opposite day with my brothers and couldn’t reverse it for a while; made up games like Monster on our trampoline; had an annual flower sale at the end of our street; went to Washington D.C. in Eighth grade; sang in NYC with my choir in high school; found an oasis to go exploring with our closest friends and called it “The Secret Place”; crashed the golf cart into a tree while trying to catch a football; hooked up gymnastics mats to the back of the golf cart and tried to “surf” the grass; went to an Oprah show in 3rd grade; traveled to England, Scotland, and Ireland by myself for 2 weeks; made short movies in the basement when the weather was bad; broke into an abandoned farmhouse that used to be where my grandfather lived when he was a child; drove to Niagara Falls and back in a weekend all by myself; played soccer, badminton, volleyball, and ran track; tubed down a creek in the Rocky Mountains; slept under the stars on Lake Powell in Utah; dug our firepit in the backyard; counted the licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop until my tongue was cut up; divulged a plan in 2nd grade to run away and live in the cornfields with my best friend.

This list is endless <3

Golden Birthday Reflection: Turning 27

I digress. I’m 27. Twenty Seven.

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