Looking back, I never could have imagined so much could happen in ten years. It sounds like forever, but it happened in a blink of the eye. I lost and gained friends and family, reached personal milestones, knocked off an item or two from the bucket list and so much more. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and look back over the decade.
2010: Happy New Decade!
The year was 2010, I was still seeing my ex boyfriend at the time (oh, young, stupid love). I had just started my second semester of grad school. Had a few worries, but nothing I couldn’t over come. Well, in a blink of an eye, August taught me a life lesson as I lost two of my best friends, my dog and my grandfather, within three weeks of each other.
I remember both of those days like it was yesterday. I was at the Brooks and Dunn concert with my ex and his mom, when I got back to their house there was a voicemail from my mom saying they had to put my dog down. That was August 1st. August 19th, my grandfather was being released from the hospital, I forget what it was, but it was nothing serious. Dropped him off at home, went to dinner with the parents and got a call from my uncle saying Poppy collapsed and they were waiting for the ambulance. As the paramedics wheeled him out, I remember telling Grandmom he couldn’t die because he still had to see me get married and graduate with my Master’s degree. He died the next morning. To this day, I truly hate the month of August.
2011: Time to Celebrate
My goal for 2011 was to survive grad school, which I did. It was nerve wrecking, having to take calculus twice and trying to determine if I would graduate, needing to pass my finance class. Final grades posted during practice and I learned I would graduate with my M.B.A. with a concentration in Marketing. I proudly walked across the stage with friends and family in the stands cheering me on.
After graduation, a dear friend helped me land my first marketing job, working fora digital marketing agency. I learned many lessons working this job, but I gained a best friend, who I now consider a sister.
2012: Time to Start Fresh
As the new year started, I found myself single again, and that was okay. Looking back, I realize how much of toxic relationship I was in. Sweatpants were a no-go, I had to pay when we went out (even if I was unemployed and he wasn’t). Even wanting to go somewhere specific for my birthday led to tears and going where he wanted. If it wasn’t for being single (and my mom needing a ride, I wouldn’t have started bowling again or reconnected with A.
2013: Are We or Aren’t We?
By the time summer rolled around, A needed another person for his team for bowling. If you’re thinking he asked me, you’re right. I agreed, since I really didn’t have anything else going go. Ironically, at this time, a close friend, who I consider an older brother, left for boot camp and his wife came up to the bowling alley. She knew I liked someone else at the time, but decided A and I would end up together. Mind you, A and I were just friends at this point. I didn’t like him, plus he had dated one of my friends previously, so it was just a hard no from me.
As the summer season went on, A asked if I wanted to go to the diner with him after bowling. I was hungry so I said why not. I guess the way to a women’s heart is through her stomach as well because this became a weekly thing. As time went on, A and I began spending more time together and everyone started to question whether or not we were actually a couple.
A says he knew from the first time we went to the diner that he was going to marry me. I needed more time due to our pasts. I knew the first time A kissed me he was the one. It was after a ghost tour in Philly and we just got back to the Patco station in Collingswood. Remember my new best friend from work? Well, she went with us on the tour and was the first person I texted as we drove home. A officially asked me to be his girlfriend a few days later. And by asked, I mean, he took me to Applebee’s and to see Don Jon (look it up, not you kids). As he dropped me off, he said “Well, I guess we should make this official.” Pretty romantic.
I also got to road trip with some of my closest friends to Gettysburg and York. No trip out that way is complete unless you stop at Shady Maple for breakfast. Although we went for a ghost tour with Spooky, it wasn’t very spooky due to the government shutdown. Two ghost tours, no ghosts.
2014: Half Way Through the Decade
As we reached the halfway point in the decade, I finally got my college graduation present from my parents…a return trip to Hawaii! If you have never been, go! There is nothing better than a week and a half in paradise.
This time around we stayed on Maui and experienced the Road to Hana (with Junior), sunrise over Haleakala, and island hopped to Oahu. For those who don’t know, I love learning about World War II. I visited Pearl Harbor the first time we went to Hawaii when I was 7 years old. Even then, I knew the significance. I was lucky enough on this trip to revisit Pearl Harbor, go to Punch Bowl Cemetery, and cross off hiking up Diamond Head from my bucket list.
The first part of the decade certainly had it’s ups and downs. Stay tuned to see what the second half of the decade had in store.
