What my twenties are teaching me: Diana

Diana came to stay at my house a few weekends ago and I truly felt I was in the presence of an angel.  She's the definition of a lamb.  She's also a talented photographer, blogger, wife, and mom to be.  I'm so glad you all get a little dose of Diana today.  I think it'll start your day off nicely (:


Hello, there fellow fairy-tales-are-truerers! If you’re like me, you’ve enjoyed this lovely series that the beautiful Sarah has put together for all of us to reflect back on and if you’re really like me, you don’t want them to end. But we all know the saying about good things coming to an end… and just the same, so will the most beautiful time in my life thus far, my ever thrilling-confusing-gracious-wouldn’t-have-it-any-other-way 20’s.

 I remember being in my early 20’s, with a boyfriend I couldn’t get enough of (I mean, really… see for yourself below), plans I could fill pages and pages of books with, and a dorm room of four friends that shared late study nights, drama, and each other’s canned soup. During that time, I was in college for pre-med school and had big plans of becoming a doctor, earning a very good living, marrying my then boyfriend, buying our first home, getting a Pomeranian (those furballs just kill me), and eventually starting a family, all in that order. Little did I know that my plans? They were about to meet with a thing called fate in a head-on collision. 

As a sidenote, one of my plans did pan out the way I had hoped. Looking back , my wedding day was the single happiest day of my life and the best part of all the plans God has had for me. My now husband, aka handsome-face, is my very own, real life fairy tale come true. I’m not quite sure how I managed to lock him in for life, but I did. And I’m thankful every. single. day

 The rest of my well thought out plans, however, didn’t quite work out so well. I graduated with my bachelor’s in biology, quickly learned I hated hospitals (never a good thing for doctors), was sick to my stomach at the idea of continuing on a career path for the sake of financial security alone, my dream of a white-picket fenced home was replaced with a tiny condo, and handsome-face husband was allergic to dogs. Fabulous.  

My early twenties taught me that I didn’t know myself very well. That my dreams, desires, and goals, weren’t actually my own and that I needed to grow, learn, and as cheesy as it sounds, trust the instincts within me. As my husband got the job that would soon pave his own way and enrolled in a Master’s program, he encouraged me to pursue my dreams. My dreams. Whatever they may be, he gave me the permission to stand up strong, confident, and encouraged me to pick myself back up each time I failed and try again. And fail I did. Many times.

But I also succeeded… I learned… I grew… I found a passion within me that I didn’t know I had… and mostly, I dreamt dreams that I was no longer afraid to pursue. I look back on the last 8 years and smile. They were years of confusion, tears, frustration, head over heels love, pure joy, friendships, failure, success, travels, and best of all, discoveries. 

Simple discoveries like my mother being right 98% of the time (especially when it came to the sun… darn you, SPF), exercise and diet are just as important as the occasional indulgence of rocky road ice cream, and family truly is everything. And  then there were the not so simple discoveries that took years and years to reach (and am still reaching), like my career. But I smile back on all of that because I wouldn’t trade any of it (okay, maybe the beginning signs of wrinkles). I smile because I got the chance to go through the best part of my life so far, with the best person by my side. I smile because I’m still discovering. Today, at 28, I am a photographer, a blogger, a wife, and a mother-to-be for the first time. Today, I get to experience life like never before and though I know that life will continue to teach and shape me with each passing day, I feel more excited than ever to begin the next chapter, my 30’s. And my plans? Well, I don’t make many these days… We just live, dream, and thank the good Lord for each “today”. 

Find Diana on her Website / Pinterest / Twitter / Facebook

and don't forget that I'll be linking up with anyone who would like to share what they've learned / are learning when I share my own lessons tomorrow!