Tag Archives: birthday

Twenty-Two

Who would have thought that turning 22 would be tough? (Well tougher than I thought it would be anyways.)  Throughout the day, I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I’m actually twenty-freaking-two. What the heck am I doing with my life?” With every “Happy Birthday” hug and text, I kept wishing I could turn back to 21. As an extremely goal oriented and competitive person, I set numerous (and sometimes lofty) goals for myself and when I don’t reach them I tend to get pretty frustrated. Seeing as I didn’t reach my goal of landing my dream job by graduation (then later postponed to my 22nd birthday), I was pretty disappointed with myself.

In retrospect, I have realized that what tends to mess me up the most in life, is the image in my head of how everything is supposed to be. In my head, I thought turning 22 meant I had my life in order (ha!) and I would be celebrating with my friends back in NY. My 22nd birthday, however, was spent with 75 new friends doing a very physically demanding stair workout at November Project, followed by a trip to Donut Bar and then later a run club with some other new acquaintances. It may not have been “perfect” by my consideration, but it did teach me that I can’t keep expecting to have everything worked out – I need to let things go and enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Now that the dust has settled and I’ve found my footing, I’m set on making 22 the best year yet. I literally have the whole world in front of me and not a single thing to tie me down, which is both daunting and incredibly exhilarating at the same time. So here’s to another year of fun, family, friends, fitness, and of course tons of Megventures.

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Hate to say it, but T-Swift had it right, “We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way.”

¡VEINTE!

I’m officially twenty – or as you’d say in España, veinte, and it feels so great. Last night we celebrated by spending the night at the local Dubliners in Sol and watching the Superbowl. Unfortunately for us, the game was five hours behind us so we were up quite awhile and once the stadium black out occurred  we all headed home. Quite honestly, I wish we had stayed because it was a great game (according my Twitter timeline the following morning), but we all saw Queen Bey perform, so we were all quite satisfied – the Chargers nor the Giants were in it so I did not have much invested in the Harbowl.

Birthday at Dubliners

Birthday at Dubliners

Despite not having any particular in either team and public affairs aside, I was happy that Ray Lewis was able to retire with a SB ring. Though I do not condone his off the field behavior, his tenacity, sheer competitiveness and resiliency is admirable as a fellow athlete. Perhaps my most favorite thing about the legendary linebacker is his notable pregame routine (see below):

We found our beds around 3:30ish (around the blackout) and had to get up early for class. I had extreme birthday luck when my first class was canceled and then my Blogging class was extremely easy. After school I went for a great run, plopped down on the couch, started some homework and fell asleep next to Alinah.

Found on my run

Found on my run

We were supposed to head to a group dinner but all of us ended up sleeping through it until 10. We headed over to Lateral (one of our new favorite restaurants) an hour later where we indulged in some delicious tapas and “salads” (if you can call them that) then walked over to San Gínes, our favorite, because who needs cake when you have churros?

Candlelit Dinner at Lateral

Candlelit Dinner at Lateral

Queso de Cabre Ensalada - complete with Champiñons, Lechuga, Tomates y Queso

Queso de Cabre Ensalada – complete with Champiñons, Lechuga, Tomates y Queso

It was a wonderful twentieth birthday, more than I could ever ask for – surrounded by new friends and girls who I consider my family. I can’t wait to see what’s in store this next year; if this first day is telling of anything, it’s going to be amazing.

Leaving My Heart in NYC

It’s day like yesterday which make me feel as if I’m standing still, and the entire world is moving a million miles a minute around me. I blink my eyes once and the world stops. I blink my eyes again and I’m surrounded by a cloud of people in Union Square. I wake up, have class, work out, work, eat dinner, do some homework, and before I know it, I collapse into my twin sized bed. The routine never fails me, except for now. The routine has me programmed to do what I know, not what I need. I need time. I need adventure. I need freedom.

Looking back, this semester has passed faster than the speed of light. Though the hands of the clock ticked by oh so slowly, and as a collective, the past few months have flown by. Soccer evaporated quicker than dew on blades of grass on a warm summer day and hours spent with friends seemed only like seconds. I’m going home in less than 13 days, and while yes I am beyond ecstatic to be back on the west coast, the thoughts of saying goodbye to New York for eight long months is devastating.

Gonna miss this crazy lifestyle

Gonna miss this crazy lifestyle

While on the topic of time, it’s crazy/weird/unimaginable to think that I’ll be TWENTY (yes, twenty Mom and Dad) in less than two months time. I’ve been told by way more than people than I can recall that my twenties will be memorable to say the least – a time to make mistakes, forge friendships, and simultaneously be reckless and responsible (is that even possible?).  That being said, I need to get down to business on my twenties list... I have less than two weeks to: visit all 5 boroughs in one day, go to Ellis Island, possibly donate blood through NYU, and see a Broadway play (If anybody has any recommendations, let me know as I am completely clueless when it comes to that sort of thing). If I do those four things by the time I get home then I’ll be nearly half way done with my list, which makes it that much more attainable.

The next week I’ll be bogged down with things to do, tests to study for, and people to see but the last three days I’m in the city are my “free day”. I can’t wait to explore the city and say my goodbyes. The past few months have been so surreal and I know that I will definitely be leaving a part of my heart in New York City when I head back home to San Diego and then off to Spain.

Stay tuned for a couple of holiday-themed posts to get in you in the mood for the season 🙂

Until next time,

Megs