Tag Archives: twenty

¡VEINTE!

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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.

Lessons Learned

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I still can’t come to terms with the fact that I will be entering into my twenties in a mere ten hours.

Twenty.

It’s not the number that scares me, rather the implications that come with entering into this new decade.

July 1999 - December 2011

July 1999 – December 2011

Legally buying my favorite bottle of wine, playing my last collegiate soccer game, graduating NYU, applying to grad school, getting a real job, and falling in and out of love are just some of the bittersweet things that await me this next decade. Yes I’m scared, but it’s an adventure I’m finally ready to take on.

I know I wouldn’t be at this point in my life without falling down, scraping my knees and getting back up again, so this post is dedicated to the 10 things I’ve learned that have helped me get to this point in my life.

  1. Smiling is key to getting through anything. Learn to smile. And if you don’t know how, fake it till you make it. The flash of my pearly whites have gotten me through numerous awkward situations, a handful of Spanish conversations where I am completely lost in translation, and have helped me forge more friendships than I can remember.
  2. Take lots of pictures. Though I’ve been criticized and told I take way too many pictures, I find solace in the fact that I am constantly getting asked to “upload this” or to “send me that pic”. I’m not just snapping away people and places, I’m capturing memories – bottling them up for years to come.
  3. Laugh at yourself. A lot. They say laughter is the best medicine and I’d have to agree. I probably wouldn’t have made it out alive of my teenage years if I wasn’t able to laugh at my gawky self and my less than flattering outfit choices.
  4. Admit defeat, but never accept it. This life lesson stems partly from my athletic career. Like I’ve said numerous times, I hate to lose, but defeat is the only way to learn our weaknesses.
  5. Don’t be afraid to try new things. After embarking on my “Twenties” list I began to find who I truly am and the things I really like. Though I wasn’t able to cross everything off my list, I feel it brought out my adventurous spirit which is truly what is important.
  6. You don’t have to defend your actions and thoughts to anybody but yourself. ‘Nuff said.
  7. Traveling gives you more than good stories and a newfound sense of global awareness. After living overseas as a child, and now studying in Spain, I see things through a completely new perspective. I’ve caught the traveling bug, symptoms include increased sense of adventure, empty bank accounts, new friends, and countless memories. If you get too close you might catch it too!
  8. Procrastination will never get you anywhere, except to a diner at 4 in the morning with a bad cup of joe. I promise I’ll tell you about this one later.
  9. Take care of your body because it’s the only one you have. I’ve been trying to find balance for a long time and I will never admit it’s easy. On top of nutrition, I’ve pushed my body to extremes, caught myself overtraining and doing things that were in the end detrimental to my body. It’s all about moderation in everything you do, especially for your body.
  10. Priorities are everything. Family is everything to me and without them, I’d be nothing. It’s important to keep in mind the people who you got you to where you are today and say thanks every once in awhile.

Hope you find these lessons helpful and they get you through a tough day or week!

Oh! And a huge shout out to my family for putting up with me the past 20 years!IMG_3689

Health and Happiness

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It’s been awhile. It’s been a really long time actually. My fingers lost their place under the covers the last couple of weeks and today I am finally returning back to the computer and the neglected blogosphere. I hope everybody had a FANTASTIC holiday, I know I loved coming home and seeing friends and family! Christmas was very simple – I was surrounded by friends and family, which brought me down from my “New-York-skyscraper-high”. After Christmas, my Dad and sister headed out to Florida for a soccer tournament (in typical Patten fashion), which left my Mom and I to bond over our love for seafood, the beach, and being social. Unfortunately for her, I came down with the crud which turned out to be a nasty kidney infection and we wound up in the ER on New Year’s Eve. Twas quite the eventful end to the year, but it made for great blogspiration. As I bent over to receive a very much dreaded and painful antibiotic shot in the left butt cheek, the only thought in my mind was “Thank God I’m not sick enough to stay here. Thank God I’m healthy.”

Looking forward, this year (for me) is about health and happiness. I head out to Madrid in a few days and turn twenty (yikes!) in less than a month. It’s a little frightening to think that I’m embarking on a new stage of my life, but hey it’ll be another adventure in the making. As I “Eat, Pray, and Love” my way through España over the next few months, I’ll be focusing on finding myself and carving my own path. Over the holidays I was asked multiple times by friends and family, “What are you doing with your life” – I hope that this jaunt abroad will help me find purpose in life (though I’m not ready to settle down on anything yet).


I’m looking forward to my adventures overseas and I hope you are too! To follow me abroad check out this blog I made specifically for my time spent in Madrid:

http://megenmadrid.blogspot.com


If anybody is in Spain or Europe for that matter, please do not hesitate to contact me – I’d love to meet up.

For more updates, check out my twitter @megpatten and my instagram @mpatten1

Leaving My Heart in NYC

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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