31 ’til 25

There’s one month left until I turn 25. Thirty-one days separate me from being a mid-twenty year old. I know that age is just a number, but it still presses on my mind. Is there anything I still want to accomplish in this era of my life? Are there any last wild oats I should focus on sewing? The past six months or so have brought a lot of changes into my life. A number of my good friends have made huge life decisions (engagements, moving away from NYC, starting families, etc.); what should the next year or five or ten of my life bring?

To be frank, I don’t know. And in a large sense, I don’t care. In the past few months, since I’ve started my new job (side note: I have a new job!), I’ve been focusing a lot less on what others are doing, and a lot more on controlling the things I can control – what I should have started doing a long, long time ago. I can only control my actions, my reactions, my timeline — comparing myself to others is never going to get me ahead, or even further in my own path. Only by challenging myself every single day, will I see growth. Accompanying this new job has been a much more grateful attitude towards life – almost YOLO-like, if you will, and I’m much happier and more thankful as a result.

I think plan to live the next 31 days of my life in a similar fashion to my past 31 days: laughing a lot, learning a ton, and saying YOLO more times per day than a 19-year-old. After all, age IS just a number.

 

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Beers, Birthdays and Blurbs on Feminism

Happy Friday to all, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my dearest friends, Jorge! May the next quarter of a century present as many adventurous and prosperous fortunes to you as your first!

Jorge HoustonJorge and I (along with a few other friends) stumbled into this fantastic West Village beer garden called Houston Hall last Sunday, and needless to say it was a very pleasant surprise. The restaurant/pub opened earlier this year, and apparently the location was converted from a functional parking garage. Their beers were hoppy, their grilled cheese menu was one of the best I’ve seen, and their atmosphere and ambiance was truly unique. Having so many options of restaurants and bars in the city, I often don’t frequent the same place twice, but I can honestly say I can’t wait to head back here.

Houston Hall collageP.S. I didn’t forget Feminist Friday! My intentions are not to always take the easy way outs, but for this week, here’s a great interview with Anna Holmes, the founding editor of jezebel.com, who strongly believes that this f-word doesn’t deserve the negative connotations it often carries.

Enjoy the last few days of summer this weekend!

August/All I Want for My Birthday is Laser Armpit Hair Removal

Welcome, August. The eighth month of the year houses many celebrations: National Back-to-School month for the US, Black Business Month, World Breastfeeding Week, and most importantly my birthday! On a more serious note than I usually like to get on here, August typically brings about many endings (to summer, tan lines, days at the pool) as well as what accompanies them, beginnings (homework, boots and fall weather). Last year, August was probably the most important month of my year: I officially turned down a job in Los Angeles, lost my brother, said goodbye to my life in Ohio and bought a one-way plane ticket to New York with no clue what was going to come of it. This August, I will be celebrating my one year anniversary with NYC by beginning a new job, living in my second apartment in the city and holding a new appreciation for life and the many lessons I’ve learned through truly living on my own. Even though I’m no longer in school, the end of summer/beginning of fall is a bittersweet time (especially as a fairly recent graduate), and it feels refreshing and exciting to be starting new things with the change of the season.

Less seriously (but still very serious!), I’ve recently received some inquires as to what a city-dwelling young professional might be interested in receiving for her rapidly approaching birthday. I usually just politely tell my fans family, “Ohhh, I don’t need anything– just your kind thoughts on my special day are enough to get me through the year!” Well, not this time. I’ve been surviving on a retail budget, have student loan payments out the butthole and need I remind you I live in the most expensive city in the country? I have a list. And it’s a damn good one at that. Get excited.

Things that I Wouldn’t Return if/when Opened on my Birthday:

  • Laser armpit hair removal
  • Wine of the month club
  • Beer of the month club
  • Whiskey of the month club
  • Wine
  • Beer
  • Whiskey
  • Brita water filters
  • Tickets to the closing ceremony of the Olympics
  • For someone to get the Spice Girls to go on tour again
  • Tickets to ^that^
  • Fruit of the Loom white v-neck t-shirts, size small
  • Cockroach poison, non-flammable
  • One of those blow up couches from the ’90s, lime green
  • Peter Cetera’s Greatest Hits vinyl
  • “If I Did It” by OJ Simpson
  • Lucky Charms
  • A lion
  • A really nice knife set
  • Seth Meyers
  • AA Batteries

I’ll frequently check my Target registry, so when you guys get all of this stuff covered, I can add more as needed. But really though, I’m pretty excited to never have to shave my pits EVER AGAIN! Yay, birthday month! Anything else you guys think would be a good addition to my birthday wish list?