Today I turn 22, at 11:31pm to be exact. I like to think of birthdays as the beginning of a New Year of sorts. My 21st year was a year that at times tested my strength and resolve, but I learned invaluable lessons, and there were many happy times too.

~Last April I began my current job. I was finishing up finals when I started working full-time, and began to realize just how much school was sucking the life out of me. I see this as the time when I really began to have a clearer picture of the life I wanted.

John and I on my 21st Birthday.

~I found my love for craft beer, and became a full-fledged beer snob. I also found my dream of owning a brewery with John someday.

~The summer was just…hard. I said goodbye to my Grandpa Jack, endured long, exhausting hours at work, and the summer whizzed by too quickly.

~In August I went to San Francisco!

~The fall was filled with more work, my cousin getting married!, and it was around this time when John and I began to seriously talk about the future.

I caught the bouquet!

~Christmas came and went, and along with it the busy season at work. I finally had a chance to breathe, and then had to say goodbye to my other Grandpa.

~As the beginning of 2012 went along, I started to have more time to do things I didn’t have time to last year, like read, paint, and rest.

Overall, I am happy to be leaving my 21st year behind me. I am excited for all the good things that are coming my way in my 22nd year. It just feels like time.