It seems like everything always changes on my birthday.
In my first year of college my birthday was the day that really solidified my friendship with the naughty princesses and made Seattle seem like home. On my birthday the year after I decided to apply for a spring study abroad in Greece and by my birthday junior year I was registering for journalism classes to get my double major. After we graduated my birthday was the day that Cindy’s prince proposed and we all started our paths to go our separate ways, I even got a high school basketball coaching job around then. A year after that I had just moved back to Utah when I was offered an engineering job on my birthday and started living and working with my father. A year after that I was buying a plan ticket to Europe on my birthday, taking steps to travel for 5 months and do something I’d always wanted.
So it makes sense that on my birthday this year things are changing again. I turned twenty six on Friday and as of that minute I am now unemployed, uninsured and paying rent.
I’m definitely equal parts freaked out and totally not worried, seeing as so many other things in my life are so great and every year I go through a time of unknown like this right around my birthday. I’m so grateful to have great friends and family that I know will help me out if something really ends up going wrong, but I’m confident things will work out as long as I don’t completely hide my head in the sand these next few weeks.
I have until November 15th to pick an insurance provider on the health.gov website and then I’ll have health insurance. So that is something I have control of and I’ve given myself a Thanksgiving deadline to find a ‘grownup job’ before I just take any easy job I can get to pay rent while I keep looking for the right career. And after working an easy job this summer I know I can handle it, so there is really nothing to worry about. I can do this unknown thing, because so many of the best things in my life came from moments like this, when I had no idea what to expect and just said yes to whatever felt right.
I think twenty six is going to be my best year yet. And believe me, it will be hard to top traveling Europe at 25, rafting the Grand Canyon at 24, coaching basketball, teaching science and taking care of my grandfather at 23, getting math and journalism degrees at 22, moving out of the dorms into a house with friends at 21, studying abroad at 20, meeting the naughty princesses at 19, and growing up with a family I am so proud of and grateful for.
With so many highlights and so many other millions of magical moments in between, a little unknown is something I can totally deal with.