My Golden Birthday|22 on 22!

Hi Daizies!
This is my first blog post since turning 22 years old. I’m typing different, I’m breathing different lol. November has brought so much good news and I celebrated my golden birthday to celebrate the new blessings. A golden birthday happens when you turn the same age as the day of your birthday, so I turned 22 on November 22nd.
The weeks leading up to my birthday were very active and led into some amazing news.I entered fall recruiting season ambitious and organized, with the goal of landing an amazing job. From mid-October to mid-November, I interviewed with 4 companies and there was a week where I had 2 final interviews and 3 midterms in the same week!  I didn’t know how I was going to do it sometimes, because I was literally preparing for 3 different classes while trying to prep for different company interviews. But after juggling all of these demands, I received two job offers for very competitive positions and one being my dream job in marketing!!! I did great on my midterms too. It feels so surreal that all of this is really happening. I truly spoke this into existence.

What I Did for my Birthday

I rang in my 22nd birthday i style of course. It was a girls night out with hours left until my big day. We shut the karaoke bar down and I turned 22 as I performed Formation with the crowd going wild (dramatization). Afterwards, we went to a 90s night at a nightclub we hadn’t yet been to. On my actual birthday, I slept in and started my day with yoga like I always do. I took a while redoing a portion of my faux locs and then quickly went to get a pedicure. The night began with a mini photoshoot and then we headed downtown for dinner at a grill house. I ended the night dancing and surrounded by good vibes.

Reflecting

Looking back on my 21st year on earth, I would say I experienced a lot and learned that I am such a strong person. It definitely wasn’t my easiest year. It was the year of unexpected shifts with the dynamics of basically all of the important relationships with the people in my life. I couldn’t control the actions or lives of others. The only thing I could control, was myself and what I wanted. I continued to travel, had my best academic quarter in school, an internship in advertising, and actually found counseling really helpful. I am proud of myself for still valuing my priorities and doing things that I really wanted to do, no matter what was happening with other people.
Being 21 really pushed me to my limits. The highs were really good but the lows were really really low. There were so many times I wished my life was easier. In April, I really just wanted to be done with school. I thought about dropping Information Systems and getting up out of school as fast as I could. But I stuck it out. I wouldn’t have been able to interview for the position I just got if I had’ve just stopped before really seeing everything through. The past year, I really wanted things and people to stop changing and moving around. I had to relearn a different life to adjust to the things I couldn’t control. And I’m still here. I survived. I learned that no matter what’s going on with everyone else, I still have to deal with me and it’s important to take care of myself first.
At 22, I feel on top of the world. I worked so hard to get to where I am now and it’s time to celebrate the grind.  I am hoping for more laughs, happiness, and smiles than the bad times. Being worried is tiresome. Trying to change and make people do what you want them to do, is just so tiring and stressful. I deserve to be happy. At 22, I want to let go of things that do not concern me. I am not going to exert any more energy into concerns that aren’t benefiting my life at all, I think I did that enough the past year. I know what I’m capable of now. I’m even more independent as ever and I know that I can’t really control change but that I will be okay. I’m ready to keep on evolving and growing.
I thank God for another year. I made it.