Top Life Events from My 28th Year, in no particular order

Benson. My friend from high school, Erin, summed it up when she sent me a message stating “Life is different after you’ve truly loved an animal.” Touche, Erin. Tou.che.

Running changed for me. I proved I could do “it” time and time again. I trained for and completed my first 15K.  I ran 10 miles. I ran 3.5 miles without stopping. I set a 3 minute 5K PR. Never again will I doubt the power of my own determination.

Having a new emotional definition to the idea of family.  I call it the “Denton Backyard Shift.” After spending the most amazing vacation of my life at the Manor with a bunch of my extended family, ending each day with several hours of long discussions with various family members in the backyard.  I cherish the memories from this trip in a very special way – it was one of the first time I felt like an adult member of the family.  And it paved the way for an amazing trip to Chicago in September, too.

Having a new group of people who feel a bit like the generic ideal of family. I love having a friend base who I feel I can completely be myself with, never holding anything back.  It’s been quite a few years since I’ve had that kind of relationship with the friends I see every day, and I hope I never take it for granted again.  I am so lucky to know so many GOOD people.

Travel adventures a-plenty. Philly. Denton. Chicago. Gettysburg. Utica.
Lots of hours spent in the air and on the road.  Lots of tastes of delicious local speciality foods. Lots of time spent with family and blends and blends turned friends.  Lots of memory making and a lots of fun.

I embraced my inner hippie. And many other personalities.  Up until this past year, there were parts of my personality that I believed didn’t “fit” into my life.  Characteristics that I would hide from people who knew me but didn’t “know me” because I didn’t think they’d get it.  My care free, love makes the world go wrong, kindness for president attitude is just one example.  Now, I adore all the parts of my soul and share them without a second thought.  In doing so, I’m living more genuinely as myself and for myself.

Spiritual breakthrough – it didn’t happen volcano style, but I know that I’m starting to get somewhere.  I’d liken it to the first few cracks in the ice when the melting starts each spring.  I feel much more confident in the fact that I don’t know all the answers.  And even more importantly, I feel much more comfortable being able to say that I may have believed things before that I don’t believe now.

Knowing what it is like to be in a healthy adult relationship full of honesty, respect, compromise, and no secrets. I’ve now realized that I had never experienced this before.  I had two serious relationships as an adult before my current relationship.  Both of those relationships were built on distrust with every move looking for selfish gain. Both were full of secrets and disrespect.  In hindsight, my heart breaks for the girl I was when I was with those guys; but in present, I choose to be gratefully aware of how wonderful what I have now truly is.

Then Heather Said had two major changes. First, when I started to make a little bit of money from blogging. And then, when I re-evaluated making money from blogging, and went “public” with my thoughts on Disclaimer Necessary Posts. [This is something I think most of us bloggers go through in some sort of blog-growth-cycle.]  I think that I would be remiss not to mention that the popularity of GOMI and reading comments about my own life, blog, appearance, relationships, and choices didn’t have something to do with these changes as well.

My time at the office has changed significantly this year. My understanding of certain things [products, the industry, how certain processes work] has grown MAJORLY.  And things are on the rise for us as a division, and for me as an employee.  The days aren’t always stress free and full of happiness and cheer – but I truly love where I work, who I work with, and what I get to do with my days.  I’m at a good place.

I chose for me alone, a lot of the time. I said no to negative relationships with friends, collages, and general “people” in my day to day.  I also dialed it back on feeling obligated to people all the time.  I definitely became more selfish in a way – choosing to take care of my own needs and desires first, refusing to participate in certain events because it’s not what I wanted to do, or I felt that it would be harmful for me in some way.  In turn, I think it’s made me a better PERSON.  I am able to give kindness, cheerful joy, and love to every soul I meet, rather than reserve it for only the people whom I felt obligated to shower with it. Although the process was not always easy, it has also been so liberating.

 

My love for HLB [the site] and this blogging community has never stopped growing over the past three years, that’s for sure.  Something that did change this past year of my life, however, is how I am using my passion for the community.   I love working with HLB just as much [if not more!] than I love sharing my own life on THS.  I could talk about all things bloggy for hours on end.  I love attending meet-ups and conferences and meeting people who share similiar passions. I love helping newbie bloggers get plugged into such an amazing group.  I love promoting the very best content I find that I think other bloggers and health minded folk will find valuable.  I love planning for growth and change.  And I love that I have an entire 29th year of encouraging, educating, analyzing, questioning, supporting, and world-wide-web-changing ahead of me.