Every year on my birthday I do a recap of the year before. It’s amazing what all can happen between the beginning and end of a year. I’ve been doing these since I was 21, but alas, they can’t be found on the internet anymore. If you’d like to read about my 24th year, you can go here.
When I turned 25 I was still living with Kamel’s sister in her living room on a blow up bed on the floor. A month letter I was engaged! And then in July I moved in with Kamel, the very first boyfriend I had ever lived with, and we started building our very own family.
In September I started interning for Meg at A Practical Wedding and that quickly changed the path of my career, showing me that I have the potential to build something for myself entirely dependent on the world of words.
In October I crossed the first thing off my Life List – I took surfing lessons. Surfing was an amazing challenge and something I never really want to do again. Ha. The biggest challenge of crossing this off was coming up with the guts to actually commit to it. But once I started crossing things off, it became a priority to finish my next goal. The challenge of getting to that point, of finishing something major (or small, but maybe major to me), is incredibly fulfilling.
This Christmas was the best Christmas I can remember. I have been living Christmas as an only child for… forever. And this year I got to have a buddy! Finally! A play mate! And having Kamel there also made me feel like our family was complete, he filled a hole that I hadn’t even realized had grown during my adult life.
In January I crossed another thing off my life list by going to Alt Summit as a part of the Practical Wedding Team. That was another transformative experience for my career and for my inside self, I finally realized I had to choose a path, and couldn’t do it all, all at once. It felt scary, but also freeing, to choose a focus and throw myself into making that focus successful.
And all spring has been focused on wedding planning, and all of the final touches.
A year ago I was working in a trailer in Colma, getting ready to go out to Amber (A yum, yum, fancy pants Indian restaurant downtown SF), and very frustrated with where I was headed creatively (hint: nowhere). Today, I’m sitting in the 4 Seasons in Santa Barbara with the remnants of breakfast sitting on a wooden tray next to my computer, while Kamel is out on the patio laying in the chaise lounge. I’m getting paid to edit, and I have a bunch of fabulous readers who make writing meaningful for me. Today I turn the age I will be when I get married, the age I will be when I take new risks, and new career leaps. I can’t wait.
Happy Birthday Lauren!
And we are very proud of you!
“…he filled a hole that I hadn’t even realized had grown during my adult life.” Yes! Brilliant writing, as always! Happy Birthday, Lauren!
HAPPYYYY BIRTHDAYYYY!!
This time last year I didn’t know you existed. So glad I do now!
Sounds like 24 was a great year – and 25 is going to knock your socks off, in the best way possible, I just know it.
durrrr I mean 25 was great but 26 is gonna be way mo betta!! sorry I can’t read.
Oh, boring, cold trailer in Colma! It sucked in a lot of ways, but I loved chatting on the commute and hearing you laugh through the wall when I said something funny on gchat (and trying to stifle my own giggles when you did).
Also among the things I’ll remember from The Year Lauren was 25 was getting into your car that Friday morning when you totally unexpectedly exclaimed, “I’m engaged!” And how after Vanessa arrived in SF and we went out to happy hour all I heard for days was, “Lauren is so fun! I loved her!” (while I said, “I know, I know.”)
Happy Birthday! x26!
Happy birthday! 🙂
Happy Birthday Lauren! You have accomplished so much and I can’t wait to read about your future endevours.
PS- Your boobs look amazing in your birthday picture.
ha! why thank you. 🙂
I was just about to comment on the boobs too! Hehe!
Happy Birthday! (again!)
What a fabulous year. Besides getting engaged and moving and career (not job) advancement, you did a TON of soul searching and really defining who and what you want to be. Which is AH-MAZING. Yep, with the extra h and hyphen. =)
26 lets you take all that work and go where it leads you. How exciting!
And getting married, of course. 26 is how old I was, too … I THINK you’ll enjoy it. ::winks::
Hello Lauren ! Have a very happy birthday, I am very glad to have “met” you, greetings from Holland, enjoy your day and have some ice cream 🙂
Uh, you also made friends with me which makes your year even more AWESOME, right??
🙂
Happy Birthday lady!
Hells. Yes.
what a beautiful tradition, lady. sounds like you had a helluva year and this one’ll be even better!
No that this little recap is published, of course I’m like… SHIT I forgot this, and this, and this. But over all this year had me feeling like I was finally moving FORWARD with a new chapter of my life where 25 felt a lot like treading water.
happy birthday! plus- congratulations on all your accomplishments of the past year…hope this year is the best yet!
So glad this has been a year of moving forward for you! You’re doing great, and I know that 26 will be even better than 25! Happy birthday!
Yay! Happy birthday. 25 was a great year for me, looks like that was the case for you too. Hoping 26 is just as good, if not better. 🙂
happy birthday, lady!
“Today, I’m sitting in the 4 Seasons in Santa Barbara with the remnants of breakfast sitting on a wooden tray next to my computer, while Kamel is out on the patio laying in the chaise lounge. I’m getting paid to edit, and I have a bunch of fabulous readers who make writing meaningful for me.”
😀 Love it.
Happy Birthday!!
(And it’s that orange shrug again! LOVE.)
This is an awesome post; it sounds like you’ve had a great and very eventful year! Happy Birthday, Lauren! 🙂
Congrats on an amazing year. So excited where the next one takes you!
Happy belated birthday Lauren! I wished you a happy one over on twitter yesterday though, so I’m not totally delinquent. You’ve been growing by leaps and bounds and I hope it continues. Onward and upward!
It truly is all about….. That ORANGE ANTHROPOLOGIE SHRUG!!!