Birthdays are hard. Everyone just wants you to be happy. But I find that I want to make everyone else happy, and I get anxiety when I can't.

Photo by Melissa Hook

That being said, I had a lovely birthday. Thank you to all who came out to celebrate. I am lucky to be a part of such an incredible community of friends. 23 was a great age. And I think 24 will be great as well. I am looking forward to experiencing every age as it comes and I am just going to try to enjoy as much as possible. And document the good things. I did a lot of great things when I was 23. I started this blog. I planned my wedding, and in doing so had some amazing experiences with the people I love most. I got to go to Hawaii twice; once to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday, and once to marry my favorite person. And then we got to honeymoon on Kauai. I realized that I love taking photos more than just about anything and I want to pursue photography as a career (!). I think in the last year I developed a pretty clear understanding of what I value most and what I want out of life, which feels kind of huge. And I hope this year is the year I can turn my longings into a reality. It feels close. It has taken a lot of hard work and patience, and it will take a lot more. Thank you to those of you who have been supportive. It really is amazing to think what can happen in a year.