Top 25 of 25

In honor of my birthday month, I decided to reflect upon the first 25 years of my life and write down what I consider to be the most rewarding, adventurous and fun times I have had during the first quarter century of living. Obviously, I don't remember a good part of it due to the fact that I was just a wee little baby incapable of a superior thought process. But here is a list of the things I can remember...

1.       Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social work

2.       Swearing in as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala

3.       Back packing through 7 countries in Europe: France, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands

4.       Jumping out of an airplane in Florida at 14,000 feet attached to a guy named Slim

5.       Handing out food vouchers in an African village

6.       Teaching English in Brazil for a summer

7.       Moving to Washington DC for my undergrad internship

8.       Taking a candlelight tour through caves in Belize and sneaking a kiss from a good looking boy

9.       Attending Auburn Tigers football games during undergrad and being a part of a tradition

10.   Going on a road trip to the Grand Canyon with my grandparents

11.   Going on a road trip with my best friends to New York and Niagara Falls

12.   Learning the Spanish language

13.   Marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama with the first African American President of the United States of America

14.   Working on a social research project with a professor

15.   Being a camp counselor and an outdoor educator

16.   Living abroad: learning from a different culture and learning to appreciate my own

17.   Learning to drive and totaling my first car after two weeks on the road

18.   Reading hundreds of books like Animal Farm and A Tale of Two Cities and attending hundreds of concerts like Lady Gaga and Deathcab for Cutie

19.   Graduating salutatorian from high school and giving a speech in front of my graduating class

20.   Applying to graduate school and finally deciding in which direction I want my life to go

21.   Working on a political campaign to reform the broken healthcare system in the U.S.A

22.   Cruising to Mexico and wasting away in Margaritaville

23.   Being a waitress and developing a greater respect for the people that handle my food

24.   Going on an African safari and being close enough to touch a hippo

25.   Knowing that the first 25 years were only a drop in the bucket that is my life, appreciating the fact that my life has been an adventure up to this point and realizing that the best years are still to come.