My Birthday: Reflection on Year 24

                I am writing this on the eve of my 25th birthday on this beautiful Earth, and can't help but reflect on the seemingly imaginary past 365 days I have enjoyed. I count my blessings every night and find it hard to believe that age 25 can get any better than my life has already proved. The truth, however is that I earnestly  feel that this quarter century marker in my life is going to blow the past years out of the water. While I may be a dreamer, I'm also a doer. Life throws us curve balls and introduces people into our existence for specific purposes, whether it is to lead us to our next chapter, for us to help guide them to theirs, or to begin to walk forward together. I am beyond grateful for all of the people I have met to this point.

                One year ago to this moment I was sitting in the Staples center at the 2012 Grammy awards ceremony  thinking how incredible the previous year had been. I posted a photo on Instagram stating that age 24 was going to be my best yet. And oh, it was. That night, I had the honor and privilege of personally meeting Sir Paul McCartney backstage. As an extreme music enthusiast, I really thought I was on cloud nine! That night went down in my history book as one of the most memorable nights of my life.

                Last April, my beautiful sister and best friend, Megan married the love of her life. Between her, my brother, and myself, she was the first to cross that bridge. I was honored to serve as her maid of honor and welcome a new member into our family. 

                Not too long after that, I experienced the bitter sweet moment of passing on my title of Miss Dallas USA to my gorgeous friend, Christina Entsminger. This feat was an extremely significant accomplishment in my life, as I had placed 1st  runner up 5 different times between the Teen and Miss category while striving to obtain the title. My reign as Miss Dallas USA was everything I hoped it would be and more and taught me so much about myself as a human and what I stand for.

                Age 24 also marked an enormous geographical change in my life, as I moved 1,300 miles from my family  to my newfound home in Arlington, Virginia. While being apart  from my family and my boyfriend is by no means easy, I have become absurdly familiar with airplanes this past year. I honestly think my average for the year was at least one plane ride a week. Thank goodness I conquered my fear of flying long ago!

                The sweet icing on this birthday cake I enjoyed all year was my life-changing win of the Miss Virginia USA title. Finally after, years of aspiring to become Miss USA, I am finally in the position to make this dream a reality when I compete later in 2013. With this title, I gained a new family and feel unbelievably grateful to have them in my life. From my amazing directors, Kim and Steven to my one-of-a-kind little sister, Caelynn, I have been welcomed with open arms and know in my heart I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

                Other notable mentions include my amazing boyfriend Ryan placing in the World Series of Poker for the second year in a row, getting to see my gorgeous friends Ali and Jessica win the Miss Texas USA and Miss DC USA titles, my wonderful brother proposing to his girlfriend, winning a Mercedez Benz for the year (THANK YOU, Rick Hill Imports), getting to root on VCU in the Bahamas at the Battle for Atlantis, and attending the Miss Universe pageant for the first time.

                After the millions of things to be thankful for and opportunities I have been given, I feel this silver jubilee will be an anniversary marking my turn to give back; to begin to really fulfill my destiny and live to help others reach their dreams and goals. While I always tend to see the bright side of life, I have never felt this optimistic or positive about what lies ahead. It's been a winding road so far, but I also feel my life is just beginning to take flight... and the view is much more beautiful from above.