I’m officially in my 30s! Today is my birthday and after I get off work, my husband and I will drive up to Duluth to spend time with family. My husband’s family has never been to Duluth before, so acting as a tour guide and showing them around will be fun. Since I’m entering a new phase of my life, I wanted to share some of my favorite moments from my 20s in chronological order.

Junior Year – Fall 2014

My early 20s began when I was entering my junior year of college. When I think back on my college years, junior year will forever be a standout. This is the year I met my husband, although I didn’t know that then. I was living with a good group of girlfriends in an off-campus apartment. I was starting to get further into my degree and becoming more involved in Winona State’s Astronomy Club. This year was a great start to my 20s.

Buying My Car – December 2016

For the first few years of college, I did not have a car. I think that was for the best since my school was known for not having enough parking spots and trying to get a parking pass was an extra expense. Eventually, I did bring a car with me to school. I drove a Ford Windstar Blue mini-van that my friend named Bertha.

In my final semester before graduation, I had to do an internship. My internship site was 35 minutes away from my college campus. Unfortunately for Bertha, my car was an older vehicle and I had concerns as to whether my car would withstand the extra miles. I wouldn’t consider myself a car person meaning I don’t have strong opinions as to what type of car I wanted. With my mom’s help, we purchased a Subaru Forester in Jasmine Green. We named our car Ripley Rey. Ripley after Alien and Rey after Star Wars.

Since 2016, I have taken my car on countless road trips including frequent trips to Chicago and Kansas City. I plan on driving my car as long as I can.

Graduating From College – May 2017

This is easily one of the greatest achievements from my 20s. Graduating from college was a longer journey since I spent five years getting my degree. By the time graduation rolled around, I was so ready to be done. I counted the days until I could move home to be closer to friends and family. The weekend I graduated, the weather was gorgeous! It was sunny, but not too hot. It was a lovely weekend when some of my extended family came to see me walk across the stage. I showed them around both Winona and La Crosse. Winona will always have a special place in my heart.

Visiting NYC – Summer 2018

I went on so many trips throughout my 20s and each trip was fun in its own right. I decided to highlight the time I went to New York City. Everything about this trip was perfect. We walked around Central Park, ate a lot of good food, had a few boozy moments, and took tons of pictures. This was also my first adult flight. The only other plane I was on was when my family flew to Atlanta when I was in middle school.

I would love to go back to NYC someday. There’s so much to explore and while we had a blast, there was no way we had time to see everything.

Orlando – February 2019

Orlando was a great trip. It was the first time I left Minnesota in winter which I would definitely do again. It made winter less long. It was a jam-packed week as we spent most of the time at Universal Studios. Our hotel was within walking distance which was convenient and there was a shuttle in case we were tired and didn’t want to walk back. Unbeknownst to us, this was the last trip we took before the pandemic. It took a while before traveling became safe again and these memories kept me going throughout quarantine.

Mini-Moon – California Trip – Fall 2021

I wanted to add this trip to the list since this was the first trip after the pandemic. While Europe was always going to be the honeymoon trip, there were still limitations with flying and taking Covid tests. I did not want to be stranded in another country because I tested positive for Covid. This was my and my husband’s first time in California. We spent time in LA, Santa Monica, Disneyland, and San Francisco. The fun part about visiting Disneyland in the Fall was seeing all the Halloween decorations. It was great to spend time at the beach and walking across The Golden Gate Bridge was a great thing to check off my travel list.

Europe Trip – September 2023

I can’t forget to mention Europe! This trip was a dream come true. I had been wanting to go to Europe for so long. This trip was everything I wanted it to be and so much more.

New Mexico – April 2024

I wanted to end with a memory from this year. The road trip I took with my mom was so much fun. The best moments of this trip were sitting at breweries and spending quality time with her. As I have gotten older, it feels more difficult to juggle all of my friendships, relationships, regular exercise, getting good sleep, and hobbies. This trip gave me time to spend with my mom which I will treasure forever.

I am looking forward to my 30s. While my 20s have been fun, I’m fully okay with putting these years behind me.