I’ve lived through two full decades… the first one not as important as I was two at the beginning of it. This is the decade of my youth, the next one, I will be writing to you as a 31 year-old lady. OLD lady. So here it goes:

2000 - I was still getting used to my new school. I entered seventh grade and started junior high in the fall. It wasn’t that scary.

2001 - My family went to Europe. I saw the Netherlands, Paris, and Venice. I loved the pistachio ice cream in Italy. Eighth grade began in the fall. I started liking real music.

2002 - My family moved into a big house in Happy Valley. Sarah and I got to adopt Tigger and Monty, respectively. I started high school. It was a huge transfer from the small private Christian schools that I attended for all of elementary and junior high.

2003 - The beginning of the year was rough, as I was a moody high school freshman listening to Bright Eyes and Elliott Smith. In the spring I started attending a small youth group called Refuge, which I was not fond of at first, but eventually got hooked and found my charismatic Christian faith, and a lot of friends.

2004 - Jake and I became friends this year. He invited me to his graduation, we went to concerts in Portland and drank chai tea. I gave him a little heart I had sewn together that said “Love you” for Christmas. He held my hand.

2005 - I told Jake off. Sad, I know. The year was and ebb and flow of our relationship and “feelings”. I began to try and figure out life. I read Catcher in the Rye. I got rejected from my high school’s humanities program. I got accepted into honor’s English, which I think was ultimately where I was supposed to be. I stopped going to Refuge, my charismatic faith begins to crack. I started my senior year of high school. I told Jake I sill liked him.

2006 - I had my first kiss in January. and my first boyfriend. My charismatic Christian faith shatters as I study existentialism and Life of Pi in my senior honors English class. Old friendships fade. New ones bloom. Jake takes me on many dates, including the opera for our anti-prom. I graduate from high school. Friends and I go on a road trip to Denver. I attend Warner Pacific College in the fall. It is the perfect fit, as I am blown away in my philosophy, psychology, religion, and sociology classes.

2007 - School continues to go well. I’m an A student. My new found beliefs and faith are being explored and developed. I fly to Denver to visit Seabrooke. I come back, and Jake proposes. I say yes. Wedding plan drama begins. Beach house trip for spring break, Sunriver trip for summer. I get drunk on New Years Eve, and meet a vampire before they became trendy.

2008 - I learn about Jainism, and grow a deeper appreciation for religion. I have my first internship experience in Social Work. I get hired to work at a summer camp. Jake graduates from college with an associates in Nursing. We are married July 17, I become a Nicholson. For the honeymoon we travel to Gold Beach, Northern California, and Crater Lake.  Passing the RN licensing test poses a challenge, but Jake conquers. In the fall, I take what is most likely my favorite class in my undergraduate studies, and it has to do with imagination. After much stressing, Jake lands a job at a nursing home. We have our first holiday season together as husband and wife. It snows, a lot.

2009 - Jake and I take a winter beach trip. We contemplate moving to Bend and buying a house. We decide it’s best to wait. Jake applies to lots of internships. He’s rejected, most hurtfully from Salem’s OR Program. We buy tickets to fly out to Pat and Bekah’s wedding. Jake gets a call saying he gets a second interview, Salem mistakenly sent out a rejection letter to everyone. He gets the job. We are thankful. We pack up and move to Wilsonville. We miss pass the Jacks wedding. Pepper moves in. I start my final year as an undergrad. Jake and I have our second holiday season together. He buys me a fuzzy hat for Christmas, I get him a funny shirt. I drink prosecco on New Years with good friends.

The beginning is obviously more fuzzy than the end. Maybe I’ll find pretty pictures to go with this post. We’ll see.