Happy Birthday to Me!: Reflections on This Year

Today is my 27th birthday! I have a fun evening planned of dinner with SCL, homemade chocolate cake (SCL's creation), and karaoke with my Glee-watching friends (got to find something to do on those Tuesday nights now that the show is done). I though it'd be interesting to do a reflection on the past year because so much has changed.

Just about a year ago, I was living in Connecticut, finishing up my fellowship and preparing to move to DC to start my new job and move into my new apartment with SCL. We moved in together and began looking at rings. I learned to adjust to a smaller paycheck and struggled to adjust to living in a new city. And it only took a few months for me to realize I hated my job and went looking for another one. I got pretty discouraged in the process until my dream job came along.

After about six months of living together SCL and I struggled to resist falling into a pattern of living like roommates. I worried about having a lot more money than him. I began to spending a lot more time doing work-related things. We broke up. I went to therapy. I started to get over it.  I danced on a bar and took my anger out on some of SCL's things. Then he came back to me. I found my own place to live. I stood up to SCL when his behavior sucked. I'm still learning to listen to my gut and saying goodbye to our apartment.

I can't even begin to wrap my mind around how much my life and my expectations about my life have changed. If you'd asked me on my 26th birthday what I thought I'd be doing on my 27th, I would never have said moving out of my apartment with SCL (with no ring on my finger to boot). At the same time, I never thought I'd have such an amazing job with all signs looking like I'll be able to get a second year of funding, not to mention a second part-time consultant job on the horizon. The work front has exceeded any expectation I'd had while my personal life has confused the hell out of me. I'm learning I'm blessed to have the former at all.

But I've also learned again that I am strong as hell and nothing will break me, even if my heart breaks. Who knows what the next year will bring. Maybe SCL will grow up. Maybe we'll grow apart. Maybe my work will take me 6,000 miles away from DC. Whatever it is, I can handle it, especially with my blog friends here to cheer me on.