Goodbye 23....

In a few short hours I will be 23 no longer. AUGH! It has become ritual for me to get anxious on March 31 of every year. Even though I enjoy my birthday, I don't like the finality of it all. I can never be 23 again. It's weird but every year I sort of mourn my age. Am I the only one that does this? Probably.

For example, I remember literally crying on our livingroom couch while my mom stroked through my hair on March 31, 2003. I was turning 17, and I was NOT ready. I remember feeling as though I had not fulfilled all that 16 year old Sonja was expecting me to do. I had only gone on two very mediocre dates (and one was the ultimate pity date....his mom made him ask me)and I had yet to obtain my driver's license. I felt very similar on March 31, 2006 when I was about to turn 20. Me? In my TWENTIES? I'm not mature enough for that! I needed more time to let teenage Sonja live!

One thing that is different this year is that I feel as though I have fulfilled 23. This age has been one of the most important of my life so far. Between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010 I...

* graduated from BYU
* received my endowment
* got MARRIED!
* went on my first (of many, hopefully) cruises and went to two different countries
* moved to Oklahoma
* moved into my first non-student housing...with a BOY!
* began grad school
* went to Graceland!
* did a family counseling internship (do you know how weird it is to overhear someone in a waiting room say, "Hello, I'm here for my appointment with Sonja." Whaaat? That's meee!)
* most importantly, I have NOT had a job for the majority of this age...and I love that!

It really has been an incredible year. I don't say this to brag, but to give 23 year old Sonja props before she disappears into the past. And for the first March 31 in a very very long time, I am a little excited to meet the newer, older me.