Measure Your Life in Love

Year 20 was a great one. It brought so many highs and some lows…but it was truly one of the most beautiful years that I have gotten to experience and I am so thankful I could burst. So, to try and put those thankful thoughts into words I have come up with 20 extra sparkly moments from year 20. (all thanks to Miss Sarah J Darling for the inspo.)

Also some of these will be short and sweet and some will be longer, some will have pictures and some won’t, it’s vaguely in chronological order but not totally…I’m sure you can keep up.

1. Started the year being in two places at once, which you know, is only every girl that has seen A Walk to Remember’s dream. Thanks Louisville for having a bridge that goes between Indiana and Kentucky. 
   
2. I had my first grown up all school year internship at the Artemis Center in Dayton and loved each moment.
3. I made The Village and watched it grow and evolve with some of the greatest people I’ll ever know.
   
4. A small one, but still an accomplishment, I drove 7 hours all alone to school and didn’t die from lack of conversation, which was a serious concern.
5. My wonderful friend Heather that I’ve mentioned before turned 21 during finals week and we had the most wonderful dance party and just acted like fools but it was so happy and my heart smiled so big.
6. Liv, Caleb, Dane and I went exploring at the waterfall in Cedarville and took pictures and it is just a day that I look back on and feel happy and thankful, its also the day that Project Confetti was born…so it could be a significant part of my life in the future.
   
7. My social work bestie Ashtyn got married and I went to her wedding with Liv and Caleb and we road tripped and had a sleepover and I met and danced with Cole, so it was just a weekend full of love and joy.
8. I rode a plane all by myself. I feel like a little kid reading that sentence, but it was kinda scary and kinda awesome and it got me to England so I’m thankful for it.
9. I went to England and saw the Tower Bridge and Big Ben and explored Birmingham and rode on the Thames and ate fish and chips and saw Wicked on the West End and just lived so deep and filled my heart to the top.
   
10. I saw the actual studio and sets where they made the Harry Potter films and if you know me you know that was a big deal.
11. I went to Wales and stood at the top of a mountain and looked over some of the biggest and greenest valleys I’ve ever seen and then felt the salt from the sea on my face.
    
12. I saw Panic! At the Disco and my middle school heart just soared and I fan-girled so hard I think I may have passed out for a second or two.
13. I GOT ENGAGED! To the greatest man that I could ever love or be loved by.
    
14. On a little bit of a deeper side, I learned so so much about love and self-care and hope and how to treat myself with love.
15. Tim and I went to a Katy Perry concert together and she sang By the Grace of God and I cried and it was a wonderful night to be alive.
    
16. I had the best week ever when Olivia came to visit me for a whole week, which is the longest section of time we’ve had together since sophomore year and we adventured around Northern Michigan and talked about every inch of life.
    
17. I went on vacation to Washington DC and Philly with my family and laughed so much with my sassy siblings and walked absurd amounts of miles in absurd amounts of heat. But there isn’t much better than talking to your little sister about why you love Martin Luther King Jr so much and how important freedom and justice are.
    
18. I got an apartment with some the most amazing friends ever found and now we have a jank little apartment that leans but it’s home and I love them and it so much sometimes all I can do is cry about it.
19. I closed year 20 and sprung into year 21 dancing, screaming and singing at a Paramore and Fall Out Boy concert.
    
    
20. I had a birthday party and watched fireworks beside people that I love so deeply I can’t find the words to tell you all because you just have to feel that kind of love.

Time is crazy and life is fast, but taking time to think and love this past year has made me so thankful. This little list of 20 things doesn’t even begin to share all the blessings and love that I have found. Thank you friends, for loving me and supporting me through year 20, I will need you just as much in year 21.

My prayer is that whatever year you are in and whatever moments you are looking at, that you find love so deep it demands to only be felt. Here is to a new year…may we measure our lives in love.