I am typing this out right now & thinking, “wow, am I really 23?” I feel like I was just turning 16 & 21.. now I am 23.. I tell so many people that as I get older I feel like time passes by quicker. Sometimes I just wish it would slow down. ya, feel me?

On another note 22 has been one of the best, but also toughest years of my life thus far. Yes, I got engaged & graduated, but with those things comes more responsibility. It means I am growing up, experiencing the real world, making life changing decisions, and figuring out who I really am.

So, here’s some things I learned, some things I need to work on, and some things I discovered about myself:

• C told me the other day, “seriously.. just be yourself! stop caring what other people think” & he is so right.. I built this blog on what I believe in most, “being YOUrself!” I need to remember that! It’s easy to get caught up in what others are doing or how we look.. God made us all different for a reason.
• Plans Can Change!!! gosh I am such a planner & if something goes South, I panic.. I can’t help it though. It’s who I am and how I function.
• My best friends and I can do anything and everything, or nothing at all, and still have the best time! It’s the little moments that count and the big ones we remember! This year I have really discovered my true friends and the ones that will be around forever.
• Turn to God in the good times.. It’s easy to pray when things are wrong or bad news erupts, but it’s what we say in the good times that really counts! I remember praying to God so much last year, asking him for all my wishes. Then once they happened I slowly stopped thanking him. let me honest, I am a Christian and I sin, it’s part of what makes me human. But this year I learned that his plan is greater than mine and I should start turning to him everyday of my life. All glory be to him and where I am today!
• Stop & love on your dog more. This year I was soooo, sooo busy! I was constantly running around with school, work, and travels that when I got home I was still going a mile a minute. I would throw down my bag, start cooking, get out my laptop, send some snaps.. all while never loving on Oslo enough. I started thinking, I am Oslo’s whole world and his whole entire life… One day he won’t be around for me to love on him, so I need to cherish him jumping on me when I walk through the door!
• Take better care of your skin… In my 22’s I kid you not, I started noticing my first wrinkles and texted my mom about it! Now, I am telling myself to stop getting so much sun, wash my face every night, exfoliate often, use masks, and properly hydrate it… My young self never really took care of my skin, but in my 23’s that is one thing I am changing!
• Cooking is fun! these past couple months (especially after graduation) I have really found joy in whipping up dinner in the kitchen! In college I would live off JIF Whips, goldfish, bananas, and cereal.. now I know how much I enjoy actually making what I call ‘real’ food!
• It can take years to build someone’s trust… and seconds for one to destroy it…
• Either you control your attitude, or it controls you! I’ve learned my outlook on situations is the exact way I feel towards them. If I’m negative, the situation is probably going to be negative. If I’m positive, the situation is probably going to be positive. It’s 110% what you make of it!
• Perfection isn’t fun… nobody is perfect & why do we try to be… It’s okay to screw up.. but I need to say sorry more. (definitely one thing I am going to work on)
• My background influences where and who I am… but I’m beyond responsible for who I become!

It’s taken me a long time to be the person I’ve wanted to be! However, there’s always flaws I can work on, challenges I can set for myself, and new goals I want to achieve. My mom got me a ‘Bucket List’ notebook for Valentine’s Day & I am going to fill out today! When I turn 24 I am going to reflect on everything I wrote and what I have checked off! Although I have a lot of years ahead of me, the more I age, the more I learn, appreciate, and love!

22 was good. 23 is going to be great!

xoxo, T