Twenty two.

Dare I say it was my best year yet.

Twenty two. It’s a big year. It’s the year where if we’ve done everything “right” we graduate college, the year we must face the daunting task of getting our first “grown-up” job. It’s the first year where we’re first able to truly taste the freedom of adulthood, but also first recognize the true struggles of “adulting.” Of course, this everything to follow is all from my perspective, but I hope some of you can relate.

Graduating college is an accomplishment. I’m not going to deny that, but it definitely wasn’t the thing that brought me the most joy this year. I am extremely proud to have graduated from Waynesburg University with a degree in Business Management and minors in marketing and accounting. (I feel like I’ve said that last sentence about a million times in the past 9 months.) About halfway through school I realized that I wanted to be an event planner and from that point on I did everything in my power to help me achieve that goal. Since graduation I’ve had a lot of amazing experiences that I’ve been meaning to put into words. I never had a chance until now, so here goes nothing!

1. Got a full-time job. Remember how I said I want to be an event planner? Well, conveniently the job I got is helping me on that path. I am the Executive Assistant at the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce. That big name is really just code for secretary. I answer phones, reply to e-mails, greet guests, etc. Those things can get a little (okay a lot) mundane for someone who’s used to the non-stop crazy amusement park life. However, I also get to help plan events, which is the part I absolutely love. On top of our numerous community and member events throughout the year, our town does a huge 3-day festival every year that draws over 100,000 people. The planning that goes into an event of this magnitude is something I’ve never seen before and am so proud to be involved in through my first post-grad job. It may not make me the big bucks, but it’s definitely a stepping stone on my way to the big leagues. One other side note about this job is that being the first Millennial working in my office (or maybe the whole town), there’s a lot of updating to be done to the old-fashioned methods that “we’ve always used”. Resident Technology Expert is the unlisted title anyone my age in an office seem to be given without asking for it. Fair warning for anyone still in school.
2. Moved in with my grandparents. Speaking of being the Resident Technology Expert, that is exactly what I signed up for when I moved in with my grandparents. In lieu of rent, which I most definitely cannot afford without saving some serious money, my grandparents agreed to let live at their house as long as I help with computer/phone/iPad/TV stuff. This may not seem like an “accomplishment”, but to me I am living out of the house I grew up in and have more freedom than ever before, so I count that as something. I definitely want to move into my own apartment in the coming year, hopefully that’s on the list for 23. ;)

3. Gone on a cruise with one of my best friends. This one has to be my favorite. Ever since I went on a cruise with my family back in 2012, going on another one was at the top of my priority list. Shantel and I went on a 5-day Carnival Cruise to Half Moon Cay, Nassau and Freeport. I could go on forever about this, but the short version is that it was the most glorious five days of the entire year. We relaxed, swam in the crystal-clear waters of the Bahamas, ate amazing food served by a fabulous waitstaff and just had an all-around really awesome time. Neither of us can wait to go on another cruise. (I have a family one planned for March of this year!!) Plus, it was Shantel’s first time flying! It was always a goal of mine to be the first one to experience that with her, so I can check that one off my list!

4. Gone to Cedar Point (twice). The first time was as a chaperone with my sisters’ eighth grade class from Holy Trinity and the second time was with one of my good friends, Taylor. The first time around, with a bunch of 6th, 7th and 8th graders was a completely different experience than round two. However, it was fun to experience the rides with those kiddos, particularly the Valravn. That is one insane coaster. When Taylor and I went, we enjoyed our relaxed weekend away from home, did the theme park the right way (without waiting in super long lines), enjoyed the hot tub at our hotel, did some shopping and even made it home to witness something very special (see #15).

5. Attended a taping of The Bachelorette. This was SO COOL!!! ABC’s TV series, The Bachelorette, filmed for a whole week in my area, and one of the dates took place at a theater about 10 minutes from where I live. The date itself consisted of a concert by Dan & Shay that JoJo and her date, Luke, came to after their romantic dinner. They had no idea that the theater was going to be full of fans. This is one of those “pinch me” moments for sure. I was even on TV when the episode aired. On top of being my favorite guy of the season, Luke ended up being in the top 4 guys and was even slated to be the Bachelor, before a twist on Bachelor in Paradise messed everything up, making Nick the Bachelor. I definitely never thought I’d be able to say any of what I just wrote about this. National TV!!! What a life.

6. Had a Bachelorette premiere party. This one is going to sound super lame compared to the last one, but it goes hand in hand. I always wanted to be the crazy person who did a bracket for the Bachelorette and had fun, themed parties. So this time, I did. Because I could. We played Bachelorette Bingo, made Fantasy Suite & Final Rose predictions, and threw a lot of kisses (the Hershey’s variety) around.

7. Saw a preview screening of Me Before You and became a little obsessed. Somehow I was able to sign up to be on the mailing list for when a pre-screening is happening in Pittsburgh. Me Before You was one of the movies I was able to actually make it to and boy am I glad I did. Shantel and I entered the theater with every knowledge that this movie was going to make us cry…especially since they handed on boxes of Kleenex at the entrance. What I wasn’t expecting was to leave the moving angry. Super angry. Spoiler alert: The movie is about a quadriplegic who commits assisted suicide, even after he has been found by someone who truly loves him and wants to be with him, despite his handicaps. I did my homework and read the book (and the sequel). I even contemplated blogging about my feelings, but the hype passed before I had the chance, so this little blurb will have to suffice. I definitely recommend it as a really, really good story, but I don’t agree with the outcome. It’s a good conversation starter, though. A lot of people were leaving the theater deep in conversation both times I saw the movie.

8. Taken my sisters and cousin to Hersheypark for a long-weekend and concert. This was a super sweet weekend that I will never forget. Conveniently, with three of my sisters still working at Idlewild & SoakZone, they get into Hersheypark for free along with a guest. Thanks to this, Caitlyn, Maria, our cousin Brianna and I got to spend a lovely long weekend before the Fourth of July holiday enjoying the park and a 5 Seconds of Summer concert (their choice, not mine). We arrived on a Friday night around dinnertime and went into the park for the last few hours it was open. This was the best idea of the entire trip because we literally got to walk on to some of the coasters and ride them by ourselves. We took care of every big coaster in the park within a few hours then crashed at the hotel. It was super awesome and saved us so much time on Saturday. Plus, how many people can say they’ve had private roller coaster rides? We were able to take our time exploring the whole park and do everything we wanted to do on Saturday. We even took breaks to ride the train, monorail, etc. The day was topped of with the 5SOS concert and *perfect* concert weather. The whole weekend wasn’t too hot, no humidity and the perfect amount of chill in the air to keep us from being super sweaty during the concert. For the record, 5SOS is actually quite good live and their songs are catchy. I’m a sucker for a fun concert, though. The other part of Hersheypark, in addition to the concert stadium and amusement park is ZooAmerica, which is where we went on Sunday before heading home. The whole weekend was one of my favorites of the year and we will definitely be going back next summer….or maybe for their Christmas event.

9. Gone to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens with Pappy’s family. This was another super-fun weekend (until the end). It involved an 8ish hour drive to Williamsburg from home with Grandma and her friend Marilyn. If you know me, you know I love a good road trip, so I enjoyed every second of it (other than the sitting in traffic part, thanks Virginia). Upon arrival we realized we were staying in a beautiful timeshare condo, owned by Pappy’s sister, Suzie. The other people on the trip were all people on my Pappy’s side of the family (my “fake” cousins, as we put it.) My favorite part might have been the giant jetted tub in the biggest bathroom I have ever seen. The weekend was spent going to outlets, hanging out, swimming and just enjoying a relaxed time together. We went to Busch Gardens on a day where it was 100 degrees outside. “The cousins” and I lasted all day in the heat, while our parents/grandparents bailed halfway through the day, but I have to say that Busch Gardens was an awesome park and theme park #3 on my unintentional grand theme park tour this summer. I would definitely like to go back one day when I’m not soaked to the bone with sweat.

10. Got in my first serious car accident. This could be considered part of #9 because it happened on the way home, but it’s part of the experience of this summer. The accident happened on I-95 in Virginia, only about 40 minutes into our trip home. Apparently a car stopped in the middle of the highway and caused 3 cars to be involved in a chain-reaction crash. We were in the back, so we only had front-end damage, but our car couldn’t be driven home. This led to a tow truck expedition, sitting in a car rental agency for hours on end, trying to find a hotel to stay in for the night and ultimately, being rescued by Pappy. I won’t dwell on it because everyone was okay, but I thought it was important to include for posterity’s sake.

11. Driven 3.5 hours to see my best friend from college at her big girl apartment in Ohio. (She came to see me too.) I love my relationship with my freshman-year roommate, Luisa. She is definitely my best friend to come out of college and I’m so happy we still make it a point to hang out even though we live nearly 4 hours apart right now. When I went to see her we did a lot of shopping, ate at Olive Garden and saw Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates. #Stanglife. Later in the summer, Luisa came to see me and she finally got to visit Ligonier for her grand tour. We even went to Idlewild. What an experience for her after hearing about these places for nearly 5 years. In addition to her touristy fun, we binge watched an entire season of The Bachelorette (for research on the new Bachelor, Nick VILAL). *BLAGHHH* The trip ended in *Squidward voice* “playing with a reef blower.” (You have to know us to understand… sorry.

12. Got free tickets to sit on the third base line at a Pirates game. This was super fun and unexpected. One of the sweet gentlemen I deal with at work called the office to see if anyone wanted 4 tickets for free to the Pirates game that same evening since he couldn’t go. I gladly accepted and went to the game with Shantel and my grandparents. Little did we know that the tickets he had given us were for seats about 10 rows back from the third base line. SO COOL! It was like being in the front row for a concert in the sense that the players have never looked so real. Definitely a fun night at the ballpark and a great addition to my perfect summer!

13. Witnessed the closing of my childhood school and blogged my thoughts about it. See the blog here. All of my thoughts on this subject are thoughtfully spelled out there.

14. Went to the midnight release party of the eighth Harry Potter story. What. a. time. to. be. alive. Since 2007 I’ve thought I would never get to witness the magic of a midnight book release ever again. However, J.K. Rowling decided to bestow upon us the gift(?) of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the script of a play that’s running on the West End in London. The story was a little mediocre if you ask me (not Rowling’s fault), but nothing compares to the pure joy that reading a new Harry Potter story until 2 a.m. gives me. It also helped that I had some awesome friends at the release party with me!

15. Witnessed the proposal of one of my best friends. Now, I’m her maid of honor/wedding planner and I couldn’t be more excited. In less than a month, we’ve picked a date of September 9, 2017, a ceremony space and a venue. Next up, the dress. I’m so excited to be on this journey (that I can’t even dream up for myself) with one of my best friends. I even get to use my passion for event planning! :)

So that’s my story of 22. Sadly, my days of being happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time are past…at least that’s what Taylor Swift would say. I’m so excited to see what 23 brings! …I wonder if it could top this year? ❤

P.S. 23 could use a fun song, too.