10 for 10
10 Years ago,
On august 28, 2005, I arrived here in
This little coastal tourist town in north Florida
After a 3 hour ride in a large rented SUV full of my stuff.
My parents helped me set up my college dorm room
Then left me here to start the next chapter of my life.
August 28 was the eve of my 18th birthday.
I didn’t get to leave my parents and my hometown
The way some kids do,
But with their financial help I did literally start a new
life
On my 18th birthday
In a new town
As a college student.
After college I stayed here.
A lot has changed since I was just becoming “legal”.
I no longer have my innocence,
Which I lament all the time
But I did gain a large amount of wisdom
From my mistakes.
10 Facts about
18-year-old-me
1) I’d
been raised Christian but had only attended church since I was 15. I loved the
“Christian youth scene” but I didn’t really grasp what it meant to have a
personal relationship with God until after my 18th birthday.
2) I
had had a few boyfriends but nothing longer than 3 months. Marriage was still a
very distant concept not even on my radar, but so was sex.
3) I
typically wore a graphic tee from Hollister or American Eagle with ripped
jeans. The jeans were too tight.
4) I
only had one set of ear piercings and no tattoos
5) I
was still extremely socially awkward. I would inadvertently get in small
confrontations with other girls at college because I said something that got
misunderstood, I had a hard time hanging out in groups and I didn’t even say
“yes sir, no sir”. My freshman year boyfriend loathed my lack of manners
because he was a gentleman, something that would play a role in our breakup.
6) I
only knew the immediate surroundings I could reach on foot around my school and
where my new church and grocery stores were. Jacksonville was completely uncharted
territory.
7) I
had never held a job yet. That wouldn’t come until the summer after my freshman
year.
8) I
had anxiety and depression, it had become apparent when I was in high school, I
just didn’t know how to label it yet. The anxiety didn’t begin to interfere
with my daily life until the end of freshman year.
9) I
only went to one college party where there was beer. My time in the “party
scene” didn’t start until I was 20.
10) I never had a
credit card. My bank account had an average of $50 in it. When I ran out of
money or out of credits for the school café, I was simply S.O.L. until my
parents deposited more. Since I hadn’t learned about budgets very much yet,
they would only deposit an average of $50-$100 at a time. If I wanted to buy
new clothes, I had to call and ask them to deposit a little more. This is where
I learned to be bargain-savvy.
10 facts about
almost-28-year-old-me
1) I learned at 18,
19 and again at 24 the value of a personal relationship with God and also the
value of being committed to a church community.
2) I have been married for about 14 months at this point,
but have known my husband since I was 21.
3) A little time in the “party scene” between 20-24 taught
me the grass is much, much greener where God is.
4) I now have three sets of ear piercings and my cartilage
done, plus a lotus tattoo with Chinese kanji.
5) I’ve worked full time at a bank for nearly 4 years.
6) My clothing style evolved from jeans, long skirts and tee
shirts to a bit of a more “punk” look (age 20-23) to a bit of a more “hipster”
look to what is now a more “sophisticate” with some casual in it. Since I work
all day, go to church and hang out with my husband in normal settings (not
party ones) my typical outfit might be fitted slacks and a nice blouse or a
pair of cutoff shorts with a dressy top.
7) Having children is still far off in the future, but
probably not as far as marriage was for me when I was 18 (it proved to be
nearly 9 years).
8) with the help of my husband, I’ve built up some pretty
sturdy credit. So much we could survive for several months on it. It’s just
that we don’t want to owe all that money back.
9) Though my attendance was spotty and divided for a number
of years, I’ve officially been a member of the same church for nearly 10 years
and have gone regularly for 3.
10) Between 18 and 24, I moved a total of 10 times. I lived
in different dorm rooms, back at home for a few months, in a condo as the
roommate, in a house as the roommate, in an efficiency for a short time, in my
own overpriced but ghetto apartment, in a house where I was ditched by the
other person and left to find quick and cheap roommates, and now my own condo.
I moved into that condo at 24 alone, had a roommate, then later my husband
moved in when we were married. I’ve now broken that cycle of being in limbo by
staying in that same place for nearly 4 years.
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