today i plunge, head first, into my thirty-eighth orbit around the sun; an overly freckled nose and two melanoma pock-marks on my forearm and shin as evidence.

my birthday outfit looks a bit different from what i had planned on wearing this year.

but i picked a dress which, too, billows when i twirl, and there is still plenty of twirling around here.

one thing i know for sure, in this thirty eighth rotation, is that life is messy and random.

no matter how much you follow the rules, color within the lines, or stay in your own lane, cars crash, hearts are broken, and life will not always go according to your iphone calendar.

 i’ve learned it’s what you do with these moments and circumstances that make them so necessary, teachable, and, in the end, beneficial…and if you’re lucky, they become your best moments.

i also know for sure that sometimes a plate of french fries is the best remedy when you’re sick of talking it out.

my designs for the upcoming twelve months are to listen a little less to that voice who judges when i do eat that plate of french fries, who withholds sleep in order to cover a class, who tells me i can’t because i’m not in my twenties anymore, that i’m not enough just sitting here pouncing away at these keys, or that i’m too much at a size ____ .

i will try my best to muzzle that voice, or at least put her in temporary time-outs.

in the next twelve months i want more sparkle in my already disco-ball decorated world. i have new heights to experience in my career, relationships, and spirit.

i also want more stillness.

a lap of more nothing; less pressure to-do, less pressure to-see, less pressure to-be; rather a cycle where the objective is to feel more, think less.

thanks for coming with m’loves.