Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me! If you know me at all, you know that my birthday is my favorite day of the year (although Christmas Eve is a close second). My birthday is full of obnoxious crowns and the perfect excuse to demand attention from everyone I know. Although, this year feels a bit different.

Recently, I’ve been thinking, Wow, I can’t wait to turn 26. 25 was an awful, awful year. That’s been my initial reaction to this “entering into my late twenties (eek!) birthday.” But this week I thought about it at length, and really, 25 wasn’t so bad. It started off with a tough period of time, but looking back… It was a year to remember.

At 25, I had my heart broken. But I picked up the pieces and lucky for me, had the most incredible family and friends to help. And because of this, I learned a lot. I learned that I have the absolute greatest friends and family in the world. I learned that sometimes it’s okay to be incredibly selfish. Sometimes it really is all about you. And this year, it was all about me. This year was about doing what I love, pursuing things that I wanted to pursue, and realizing that I never want to be anyone, but me.

This year…

I moved home with my Mom and Stepdad, which has been a time that I’ll forever be grateful for.

I got involved with fundraising for three different charities and felt like I was really making a difference.

I cruised the Caribbean with some of my closest friends.

I watched three of my closest friends marry the loves of their lives.

I found out that two of my other closest friends were engaged to the loves of their lives.

I went on the most fun ski-trip of all time.

I had the most relaxing vacation of all time in the Florida Keys.

I spent quality time with my Dad, exploring Atlantic City and learning the in’s and out’s of gambling.

I decided to spend my summer at the Jersey Shore with six people who I didn’t know at all. And now I have six new, awesome friends. The Jersey Shore has also helped me reunite with a friend that I now know, I don’t want to lose touch with again.

I realized that moving to New York City was something I needed to, and am moving there before September 1st.

And with that, made a really difficult decision to leave my job in New Jersey for an incredible opportunity in the Big Apple.

I decided to take blogging to another level – upgrading my website, taking my humor and inappropriate-ness to a new level, and as a result, have been mentioned by some incredible outlets like The Huffington Post and Wetpaint.com.

I’ve taken some crazy risks and went on a secret adventure that helped me realize what I want in life.

I’ve dated. And I learned that dating is fun, frustrating, weird, exciting, and anything else you could think of. I met some great guys and some terrible ones. But I had a lot of laughs along the way.

Looking back, this year wasn’t so bad. It was a year filled with big decisions, learning and growing. Sure, I hope 26 will be better, but 25, you weren’t so bad after all.

Happy Birthday to me. And yes, I’m still the Birthday Princess.