thanks for twenty-one - Cassidy Culp

(tried eight beers and hated them all happy twenty-first to me)

Today I am twenty-one years old. I have no idea where the time has gone. This is such a monumental birthday you look forward to since day you knew what the number twenty-one was. But as this day approaches I have been feeling scared and anxious. I have literally waited for this day and now it is finally here and I do not know what to do. Turning twenty-one doesn’t just mean I get to drink. During my year of being twenty-one I get to spend part of my summer studying abroad. After studying abroad, I go back to Houston to look for a “real job”… No, HRM doesn’t count nannying as a real job so I have to get one for class credit. This is also the year I start my senior year of college. Then within this year I have to look and interview for my big girl job (and hopefully get hired lol). Then to top it all off, within this year I will graduate Alpha Chi Omega and the University of Houston.

This is going to be the biggest and hopefully most rewarding year of my life. It is hard to believe where the time had gone. I remember just yesterday being in Catholic School and wanting to switch to public school in second grade so I could ride the big yellow school bus to school… lol yes true story. What happened to those days where my biggest concern was getting to ride on a school bus!? I wish that was my only worry now. Being (or trying to be) an adult is hard. When I post my funny memes on Facebook about not wanting to adult, I am serious. The big world ahead of me is scary. Yes, it can be so rewarding to adult but with that comes a greater deal of responsibility. I find myself to be very responsible. I make good grades, I work 40+ hours a week, I have a social life and I always make time for my friends and family.

Don’t get me wrong I am happy to turn twenty-one it’s just shocking to me that this time is here now. It is sad in a way that I am not home in the US to celebrate with all my friends, family and sorority sisters. But that’s okay because I am living it up and having the time of my life in Peru. Not too many twenty-one year olds can say they are hiking Machu Picchu for their twenty-first birthday! Btw, I am leaving for it Saturday morning at 9am!!! We are going to Sacred Valley first then spending the night in a hotel and waking up bright and early Sunday morning to go hike one of the seven wonders of the world OMG. But, I am so fortunate and blessed to have a wonderful Mom and family who support me in everything I do. If it wasn’t for them I would not be where I am today.

Thank you to everyone who has played a part in my life. Because of you I have made it to turning twenty-one! It does not just take a village for me, it takes an army LOL. I count and lean on my friends and family so much. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends that would do anything for me at the drop of a hat. I am also so lucky to have amazing employers who always encourage me and don’t getting mad at me when I left them last summer and part of this summer. I am even more lucky like I said to have the family I have, immediate and extended. Literally I owe my twenty-one years of life to y’all for everything you have helped me with.

As I type this I am literally crying because we all know how emotional I am. I can not thank y’all enough for all the support you give me. Thank you also to all the people still reading my blog. I really enjoy making my posts and I really appreciate all the positive feedback I get from y’all. It means the world to me. I’ll be back in Texas soon and we can all celebrate my birthday together. But until then…