A Look Back at 23

Another year around the sun for me! Last year, I decided to do "A Look Back at 22" and recounted many highlights from my 22nd year. It only seemed right that as my 23rd year is winding down and I'm about to turn 24, that I would look back on the last year of my life and share more highlights!

2017 brought me my first Western Washington University event as an alum! Shortly after my birthday, I went up to Bellingham to participate in Back2Bellingham. It was a little weird going back to campus not as a student, but running into so many familiar faces, especially ones that I worked with at the Alumni Association, was really special.

The 4th of July was a fun time for me. My parents were out of town so my girlfriends and I planned a little BBQ, finishing up the evening with some sparklers. Tanner even got involved in the festivities.

At the very end of July, I paid off my student loan completely! No more debt for me! I was beyond excited to make my last payment and move forward without this weight on my shoulders. I worked really hard to budget wisely so when I finally completed this, it was such a relief.

I spent a lot of the summer of 2017 at Safeco Field watching baseball games. And with a view like this, can you blame me?

An exciting part of 2017 was witnessing the eclipse. Thankfully the Smith Tower, where I worked, had the perfect set-up for tenants to enjoy it and my team ordered these glasses so we could all see the eclipse. 

As a Seattleite, I have known about Bumbershoot for most of my life. The three day music festival always brings in big names and this was the first year I was actually able to go! Fanny pack and all! I have to say, there's nothing quite like bouncing from stage to stage to watch artists, while sneaking in some silent disco time too.

I am lucky enough to be blessed with some pretty fantastic girlfriends and for last Halloween, we decided to dress up as the Spice Girls. Obviously I went as Ginger Spice.

A look back at my year wouldn't be complete without a trip to Disneyland. My parents and I escaped the Washington winter for a few days to enjoy ourselves in sunny California. Disneyland is one of my favorite places to go to and turning another year older has not changed that.

Towards the end of my 23rd year, I started doing more adventuring with this guy. At the start of 2018, we took a little weekend trip to Whidbey Island and did some exploring around Fort Casey. It's nice escaping for a few days and going to new places with somebody I care about.

I cannot even fully put into words how excited I was when I found out Hamilton was coming to Seattle, then when I eventually got tickets for me and my parents. Being able to see this masterpiece in person was absolutely fantastic and such a fun experience for the three of us.

For the past year, I was lucky enough to have a job that constantly challenged me, inspired me, and made me excited to walk into work everyday. I was surrounded by fantastic coworkers and learned so much about myself. Having a job that I loved going in to was such a blessing.

Last weekend, my girlfriends and I went to Los Angeles for a little girls weekend to start my birthday week off right. We escaped the Seattle rain (thank goodness) and hung out in the California sun for a couple days. We wandered around Griffith Observatory, shined under Urban Lights at LACMA, bought too expensive smoothies, and danced our butts off at Flaming Saddles in West Hollywood.

My birthday is tomorrow and I'm very much looking forward to what 24 has to offer me. 23 was pretty great and I can't wait to see what will come next!