Oh crap, I think I grew up!

  As of last Thursday, I officially entered my mid-twenties.  Scary thought!  When I was a kid, I had this timeline that I thought I was supposed to follow, and despite knowing that a life plan according to my eight-year-old former self is pretty unrealistic, it sent me into a bit of a panic right around my birthday.  I basically canceled my birthday party and kept it to just my close friends, because I was so stressed.  I didn't see the point of celebrating a year that was so crappy.  I was very overwhelmed by life and extremely underwhelmed by people.  As it turnes out, I'm still underwhelmed and disappointed in people, but I'll survive.  And once I looked at it as celebrating the END of 24, I cheered up.  My girlies were great!  They candled and tinfoiled my cake for the second year in a row, I danced to reggae music with a creepy African man (much like last year) and was asked where I got my butt.  Answer: target?  I can ask for nothing more in a birthday party!

 

However, Sarah Knight: export documentation specialist, single, sassy and 25, though it sounds very interesting on paper, goes against said plan (except for the sassy part).  I used to tell my parents that I wanted to get married around 26, ha!  With 26 just one short year away, eight-year-old me is going to be very disappointed.  Not that I would want to next year anyway.  With my dating repertoire of the past year, I'd just assume stay single forever!  Or at least for the summer ;)  Which I plan to.  Although, looking back, I wonder if all of that wedding/life/girlie crap planning wasn't just a ploy to look more girlie.  My sister, I'm convinced, was born with pom poms in her hand and was a cheerleader her whole life.  I wanted to be just like her (I even asked for glasses and braces on my Christmas list when she got them).  But while she was at cheer practice, I was playing softball, climbing trees with the neighbor boys and looking under rocks for a rolly polly bug to be my friend for the day.  Tom boy, what can I say.

Living in an African hut, waging war against evil goats and trapping giant spiders (they terrify me to this day) under tupperware for my brothers to kill was definitely not in the life plan.  Regardless, I wouldn't change that experience for the world.  But, I would have thought that volunteering for two years would have helped me to start my career upon returning and embrace my passion for human rights.  I feel almost behind other mid-twenty somethings sometimes.  And yes I know, all comes to those who wait, and I should just be patient.  But, for any of you who know me, patience is not my strong suit.  Thats putting it lightly.  In reality though, I've discovered that Chicago just does not offer the career path that I am looking for, which is okay, I will continue looking.  I did apply to a job in New York that would be absolutely amazing and embrace everything that I am passionate about.  So keep your fingers, toes, eyes, legs and whatever else crossed for me.  Hell, just make yourself a pretzel!  In the meantime though, I keep myself busy, and relatively happy, by volunteering and planning benefits for non-profits.

Anyway, I'm looking at this year as a new start (phew!) and letting go of all the BS from last year.  Wish me luck!

"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together." - Marilyn Monroe.