27

Another year older, and for the first time, slightly wiser (at least I think/hope so).

I used to hate my birthday. It's July 3 so it's always a holiday weekend when your friends are out of town at the beach, or visiting relatives in random states and in school, I never got to have the classroom cupcakes as a kid.

But this year was different.

This year my friends at work baked cupcakes (which I can't eat so they got me a soy latte) and a card. My friends made plans to be in town to celebrate with me and let me get silly drunk without holding it against me the next day.

But this year, my birthday felt just right. It wasn't about presents, or big parties. It was about spending it with the people I adore and who are important to me. It was perfect.

Plus, I got fireworks on my birthday, and you just can't argue with that!

I feel like 27 is going to be a good year.

26 was pretty great. I learned a lot.

Between the years of 24 to 26 I moved about three times, had four or five different jobs, dated a bunch of people, slept with a lot of people, drank a lot, ran a lot, did several diets, grew closer with my mom, rediscovered my love for theater, my love for art, and my love for writing, mended my fractured relationship with my dad, got a new car, ran two half marathons ...

I started several new manuscripts, started a couple websites, had a couple art shows, and healed from the biggest heartache of my life.

And at 26 when I moved back to the beach, I had come full circle. I'd grown as a person, learned form my mistakes, admitted my faults, come to terms with my "issues" and had started living my life for me, no one else.

And at 27 I'm so happy with the person I've become and am becoming. I am definitely still a work in progress.

I can't believe my 10 year high school anniversary is just 9 months away (because I have a shit ton to do before that happens including running a marathon and getting a freakin' book published - I WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN), and I am getting slightly closer to 30 (gasp) but I'm thrilled that I'm putting me first for a change.

I'm jumping head first into work, to love, to life, and not looking back.

I know mistakes will be made, I know hearts will be broken, jobs will be quit and moves will happen ... and I'm ready to embrace it all because at 27 I now know I can handle it.

Everything in life is a gamble, and when I was 6.5 my mom took the biggest gamble of her life by leaving my Turkish father and moving my brother and I to the states so I could grow up an American girl and get the most out of life — and I'll be damned if I'm not going to do just that!