Legally 21!

21 had a rough start. The day after my 21st, Stefan and I broke up for good. It was super hard for me to do because I loved him deeply, but knew us together was not what I wanted for my future. Also, since I had started dating him only a month after getting out of a 2 year relationship with Stu, I basically felt like I was processing almost 4 years of relationships. I remember crying the whole way to work, praying all through the day that I would make it through without any tears, crying the whole way home and climbing into bed when I got there. My parents were very supportive during that time and luckily I worked with Jessica who is the best in situations of pain like that because she is not afraid of pain and spending time with her is always like therapy to me. I actually remember friends coming to visit me in my bed during that time. Ricci and Jeremy found out they were pregnant that Christmas. We spent that Spring adjusting to our new situations we found ourselves in. I would go spend every weekend at their apartment.

That New Years was no Times Square, but Rachel was home on break and we New Years painting each other's nails, singing, and watched the ball drop twice, once at Eastern Time and then again at Central Time.

Easter morning I woke up. My mom was out of town so it was just Pappy and I home. I walked out in my normal morning oblivious haze, poured myself some cereal and plopped down on the couch. Pappy was sitting at his desk and asked me if I noticed anything. I didn't, but as I looked harder, I realized that he had done an easter egg hunt for me before I woke up. His hiding places were SO creative that I have no clue how long it would have taken me to notice it if he hadn't told me. I had so much fun running around collecting the eggs!

One thing that I was excited about with my new singleness was going and getting my nose pierced. Jessica came with me and when we arrived at the place, there was a big burly biker dude who pierced my nose. Jessica was in massage therapy school at the time and she gasped when she saw him because he was in her class. Her next day back in class she was running late and when they had to partner up to practive massaging each other, she got stuck with him.

Ricci and Jeremy really wanted me to hook up with their friend Ryan Brown who I had met at Thanksgiving, but I was not ready for a new relationship at all. They were always trying to arrange for us to spend time together, but it only worked out one time.

That summer my parents had to move to England to work on the renovation of the newest Mercy Ship. I stayed in TX in their house by myself.

That fall Liz and Jordan were getting married. I decided to fly to CT for the wedding, then take the train to NJ to visit Jill & Micah, and I decided last minute to then take the train to PA to visit Selena, Crissy, and Wesley. At the time I really wanted to move back to CT. I got there and had such an amazing time with all of my friends at the wedding and in New Haven. Then I got to Jill's and had such a great time with her and Micah and they were talking about where they were thinking about possibly moving and I thought it would be fun to live near them. Then headed to PA. And I knew that that was where my heart was. I had always dreamed of living there near my friends and I had nothing tying me down. I didn't say anything to them, but I just knew what my decision was. While I was in New Haven I received a call from Jess saying that there was a new guy that had been hired in Fulfillment when I was away that everyone wanted me to hook up with. I started asking about him and she said, "Well, it's kinda confusing because he has a real name, and then a seperate name that he goes by." I said, "Michael Rogich, but goes by Ryan Brown?" Sure enough Ryan had started working there while I was away. I knew he had a girlfriend by that point and let all the ladies who were trying to set us up know, but he added so much fun to our lives at work and after work.

Jessica and I were both feeling alittle blue about life and living in TX. We cheered ourselves up with many dance parties and we decided that we were going to have tons of fun over the holidays. We decided to get a group together to go to Six Flags when it was decked out for Halloween. I am not sure what I was thinking because I hate scary Halloween things, but we had a great time for most of the day and Ryan came along which was our first time hanging out with him outside of work. For some reason a bunch of us decided to go through this haunted house. They paired us off and I ended up with Jessica's friend Reese who I had just met that day. We start walking through and I grabbed onto him in fright of the house and he wrapped his arms around me and said, "Sorry, I know I just met you, but this is scary!" I was so terrified that I literally ended up INSIDE his shirt to hide from all the horror by the end of the tour. : ) Talk about quick and embarrasing friendship bonding!