I saw Sivan Ayla shared a blog post recapping the past ten years of her life, and it inspired me to do the same. I was initially intimidated by the task—ten years ago, I was beginning my freshman year of high school. That feels like a lifetime ago, so I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to recall from the earlier years of the decade.
It took a lot of scrolling through Facebook and looking at old photos to jog my memory, and I'm sure I may still be forgetting a few things, but for the most part, below is a timeline of the most "notable" events that have taken place in my life from 2010-2019. A decade in review, if you will.
2010 | Age: 14
+ Went to St. Pete Beach, FL with my childhood best friend's family during spring break. Went to
Universal Studios while we were there for the third time ( absolutely love that place ).
+ Finished middle school, aka the most hellish years of my entire life. Preteen girls are savages.
+ Began my freshman year of high school. It's crazy because this feels like it was so long ago, but
quantifying it in the past ten years makes it seem not so long ago.
+ Made the high school volleyball team, which ended up being a horrible experience. The coaches
were very particular in who they did and didn't like, and it ultimately ruined my experience of
playing my favorite sport.
2011 | Age: 15
+ Became part of a really solid group of friends that did a lot of really fun and silly stuff together. I
never drank, did drugs, or went to a party in high school, so our version of fun was Rock Band,
bonfires, and taking funny photos.
+ Took a trip to Deep River Water Park with said group of friends.
+ Started dating my high school boyfriend.
+ Learned how to drive stick.
2012 | Age: 16
+ Started my first job at American Eagle. Quit after a few months because the people were the worst
ever.
+ Got my first ( and most favorite ) car, a 1991 manual transmission fourth generation
Honda Prelude. I so wish I still had this car.
+ Went to my first ( and most enjoyable ) prom as a sophomore because my boyfriend was a junior.
+ Was insanely lucky enough to travel to France and Monaco the summer before my junior year of
high school. I swear nothing scandalous happened ( seriously, I was as goodie-two-shoes as they
come ), but I even got to go with my boyfriend at the time. I kind of got to live the perfect YA
novel plot for ten days.
+ Started nannying two awesome kids in my neighborhood.
+ Made the cheerleadering squad for both my high school football and basketball teams. This was an
outrageous shock to everyone who knew me because I am not what comes to mind when one
thinks "cheerleader." It was a blast though, and I really enjoyed the sport. I mostly just didn't like
taking a year off from sports after playing volleyball for four years, and cheering was the only
thing that I thought I'd be good at and enjoy.
+ Got to cheer on the field of the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis when our football team went to
state ( and sadly lost ).
2013 | Age: 17
+ Decided I wanted to go to Indiana University in Bloomington, IN for college. Thought I wanted to
be a business major because $$$, but I didn't really know what I wanted. I mean, obviously. I wasan English major for god's sake lmao.
+ Went on ( I believe ) my last family vacation to Chicago before my parents split up.
+ Ended my relationship with my high school boyfriend.
+ Went on my first college visit at IU.
+ Began my senior year of high school.
+ Was a cheerleader during the football season for the last time.
+ Got accepted to IU.
+ Celebrated my 18th birthday with a big group of girlfriends.
+ Stopped nannying and started working at Logan's Roadhouse as a hostess.
2014 | Age: 18
Universal Studios for the first time since they opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter—
soOOOOooooOOoOoO freaking cool!
+ Quit Logan's and started working at Putt Putt Mini Golf & Games. Very questionable decision.
Kind of surprised I never contracted a serious disease... My co-workers were cool though.
+ Graduated from high school in the top 10% of my class.
+ Moved out of my hometown to begin my freshman year of college at IU.
+ Started writing for We Are IU, a student blog / resource.
+ Went to my first college party, which was busted by the police.
+ Experienced sexual assault for the first time at said party. Some guy who was with some of the
people I was with grabbed my ass, so I whipped around, stuck my finger in his face, and told him
to never fucking touch me, to which he of course acted like I was totally overreacting. Me too,
ladies.
+ Did my first 5K color run. Think I did more walking than running. (:
+ Began my longest-lived consistent fitness journey—it lasted about a year-and-a-half. I graduated
high school weighing around 145 pounds, and I wanted to become healthier once I started college,
so I started working out every morning before my classes. I lost ~15 pounds in that time frame.
Dabbled with Kayla Itsine's BBG for a while, ran six straight miles for the first ( and last ) time,
and learned a lot about nutrition. I even started a short-lived fitness blog.
2015 | Age: 19
professors during my second semester as a freshman in college.
+ Took a trip to Chicago during spring break.
+ Got into a relationship with my first college boyfriend.
+ Got my second car, a little green 1999 fourth gen Volkswagen Jetta.
+ Took a trip to Myrtle Beach with my mom and sister.
+ Chopped off my hair from butt-length to above my shoulders. I'm pretty sure I donated it, but I
can't recall 100%.
+ Went to my last MotoGP race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with my dad and sister
+ Started my sophomore year of college in my first apartment with three roommates.
+ Walked into one of my classes on their first day of sophomore year and found Kayleigh sitting at
one of the desks. Our friendship was meant to be!
+ Did a 5K color run and actually ran the whole thing.
+ Visited Hawaii ( specifically Honolulu / Waikiki ) and absolutely loved everything about it. Got to
hike Diamond Head, visit the Dole Plantation, go to a luau, and do so many other amazing things.
+ Broke up with aforementioned college boyfriend.
2016 | Age: 20
+ Met and started a relationship with Tyler <3
+ Started writing for Spoon University, an online food publication for Millennials.
+ Was nominated for and awarded an IU English department award for "accomplishments in my
undergrad career."
+ T & I moved into our first apartment together.
+ Began my first internship in the Acquisitions department at Indiana University Press when I
thought I wanted to go into book publishing.
+ Went to King's Island for the first time with Tyler.
+ Went on our first "big" trip together! Destination: Chicago.
+ Moved into our second apartment together.
+ Adopted my childhood cat into our home. Shout out to Catdog, our OG!
+ Became a Front End Supervisor at Kroger and subsequently became my high school boyfriend's
boss ( lol ).
+ T & I went to our first wedding together.
+ Rescued our second cat, Bubby.
+ Started my sophomore year of college.
+ Became interested in makeup as a hobby.
+ Turned 21 and spent the entire night a hot mess, convinced I was pregnant. I was not lmao, insert
discomfort emoji here asap !
+ Rescued our third cat, Little Dude.
2017 | Age: 21
+ Celebrated one year of the best kind of love with Tyler.
+ Visited Los Angeles for the first time. Saw Jake Paul and Nick Viall in person. LA is such a
wonderfully weird place.
+ Got my first three tattoos in LA by an artist who coincidentally had tattooed in my hometown for a
while. Wonderfully weird, I tell you.
+ Was nominated for and awarded an IU English department award for "excellent public writing."
+ Began my second internship at Wiley Publishing as an Acquisitions Intern. Still wanted to go into
book publishing at that time.
+ Also began a remote internship with Spoon University as an Editorial Intern.
+ Went kayaking for the first time.
+ Went to my second wedding with T.
+ Started working as a Certified Barista at Starbucks.
+ Started my senior year of college.
+ Started my YouTube channel, which kind of makes me proud and kind of makes me cringe at the
same time.
+ Transitioned into a more beauty / makeup focused Instagram account.
+ Did my first legit Halloween makeup—I'm still so proud of all four looks!
+ Began to have a closer relationship with my little sister.
2018 | Age: 22
+ Celebrated two years with Tyler.
+ Began to struggle really badly with anxiety, to the point that I was prescribed medication for a
while. I still have anxiety, but not to that level anymore.
+ Started a very short-lived lifestyle blog.
+ Graduated from Indiana University with a BA in English.
+ Moved into our first "grown up" apartment, one that feels like our first real home.
+ T & I went on our first vacation to one of my favorite places: St. Pete Beach, FL.
+ We got engaged while in Florida! Tyler proposed to me on the beach while the sun was beginning
to set.
+ Began to step up my Instagram content by creating style content.
+ Started my first "career" job as Digital Media Specialist at the Monroe County YMCA.
+ Began the torturous task of wedding planning.
+ Bought a 2010 Lincoln MKX with Tyler.
+ Shot our engagement photos with one of my previously mentioned best friends, Kayleigh Dance
( @danceka ). They turned out a m a z i n g.
+ Met one of my best friends on Halloween thanks to another best friend.
+ Went wedding dress shopping and said yes to the dress on my birthday with all of my favorite
people! Celebrated the day by having dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and going to DeBrand's
afterwards with Tyler.
+ Rescued our fourth cat, Nugget.
2019 | Age: 23
+ Began practicing financial responsibility.
+ Celebrated three years with Tyler at Ruth's Chris and DeBrand's.+ Went on my first work trip / conference.
+ Was eating a really healthy / balanced diet and was exercising 3-5 days per week. Got my body to
my most favorite place it's ever been.
+ Got paid to play Cinderella for a day.
+ Celebrated one year of working at the Y.
+ Went on my second work trip / conference, this time with two good friends who double as highly
respected female professionals.
+ Launched this blog !!
+ Began creating videos for IGTV.
+ Was thrown a surprise bridal shower by my wonderful female co-workers.
+ Became a brand ambassador for ACTA Wear and Loose Linen.
+ Stopped working out and eating right because wedding stress. Womp womp ):
+ Married the absolute love of my life!
+ Took Tyler to his first Notre Dame football game—go Irish!
+ Became an aunt <3
+ Celebrated my 24th birthday by getting a massage, grabbing sushi with one of my best friends for
lunch, and taking a short trip to Indy to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and stop at DeBrand's with
T—can you sense a tradition? (;
Tell me about some of your biggest life events in the comments below! It was really interesting to look back at what's shaped me into me in the past ten years, especially in such a defining period of my life.
Looking for more content? Check out these related posts!
+ Here's to a Year of Happiness and Growth: My Goals for 2020
+ Lessons Learned, Life Milestones & Magic Memories: Reflections on 2019
+ Short-Term Bucket List: What I Hope to Accomplish in the Next 5 Years
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