10 Years of Blogging!

I started my blog on this day in 2010! I just went back and read my first post (and kinda rolled my eyes, but those life ponderings felt SO important at the time:)) Here it is with some parts removed:

Welcome to my very first post!! I hope to have an ‘About Me’ page soon, but in the meantime, I’ll give you the rundown…. [After graduation], I was very very sad to have to leave the college community and enter the real world. But despite the sadness, part of me was excited to graduate from college because I would finally have my own apartment (I’m obsessed with real estate) and because I would be living in a vibrant new city and beginning a degree in school psychology….Going straight to grad school was definitely the right choice for me as it has been a wonderful experience and I’ve made some fantastic friends along the way (Hi Lauren!). However, during my second year of grad school, when I began the fieldwork component of my school psychology program, I starting missing college even more. Although I still had some free time during the week, everyone around me had to go to work each day and I was always exhausted from my inconsistent schedule. In addition, I had to quit my part-time job and I never wanted to do much during the week because I was trying so hard to save money. I tended to wish away the work week (and the Boston winter), and before I knew it, another year had passed, and I felt old and boring.

I could go on and on about the frustrations of entering adulthood, but I have mostly been dissatisfied with daily life and the lack of balance in the real world. I’ll admit that my lifestyle in college was very unbalanced, as I partied and drank a lot and never really worried about health or finances. However, I’m not quite ready for the other extreme, the responsible and disciplined lifestyle that characterizes ‘real’ grownups (ME NOW, HAHA). Since I will be beginning my first full-time job this fall (actually its an internship, but its still my first time working full-time), I’ve started this blog to chronicle my quarter life quest to find a twenties-appropriate balance in everyday life. I hope that finding the right work-life-fun balance will stop me from wishing away the stressful weeks and help me take back my twenties before they are over. I look forward to sharing some of my adventures with you and I promise to include plenty of travel, food, fashion, financial struggles, and fun along the way. Thanks for reading!

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How things have changed!  As fun as those years were, I don’t envy that young grad student!  There’s a comfort and satisfaction that comes with being in your thirties. I don’t care as much about what other people think; I certainly don’t care about things like partying; and I’m much more satisfied in my daily life (although the days are LONG). It’s also wonderful to have financial security (knock on wood), as I remember constantly stressing about money in those days. And I have my girls!! The downside is there are so many more things to worry about these days (umm, the current state of our country), but at least those fears help to put things in perspective! I think I successfully took back my twenties and then embraced my thirties by not feeling like there was something I needed to reclaim.

My blog has changed a lot since those early days (remember fashion Friday, lol), and I have loved documenting life and connecting with you guys. Even though it’s hard to find the time to post, I enjoy writing and hope I can continue to pop on periodically. Let me know if there are things you’d like to hear about. And thank you, thank you for continuing to visit my little corner of the internet for 10 years!

To say thank you, I’m giving away some Beautycounter goodies to TWO lucky ladies (or gents?!).  Just leave a comment about your favorite post that I’ve ever written.  Enter by Thursday at 11:59 PM EST, so I can draw a winner by Friday!

Congrats to Nicole F. and Mitra S!!

xoxo