zwanzig.

In an hour here, and 8 at home, I will be twenty years old, or umm Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt. Two decades!! How did that go by so quickly? Granted I wasn't aware for a good bit of it, but I can remember a lot.

My earliest memory is when I was three, having a dream about a painting in my grandmother's (memaw mac) dining room turning into the evil witch from Snow White, and to this day I can't watch that movie without thinking about that dream.

I remember lipsyncing to Aladdin songs at Disney World when I was 4, but maybe that is just what I got from video tapes, though I can still vividly picture my mom getting mad at me for not being still enough to take a picture.

I remember this 4 piece outfit I had in Kindergarten with pants, a skirt, a t shirt, and a vest and I would take off the pants because I just liked the skirt, but Mrs. Newman wouldn't let me. I remember every girl having 2 piece windbreaker suits that year, and the little chinese girl getting stuck in a chair, and Robin Lynch getting a bean stuck in her ear.

I remember being in the hospital and the broth being my favorite thing because it was the only thing with practically any taste. I remember the ridiculous amounts of balloons and flowers I got and watching Heidi on tv.

I remember countless Gatlinburg trips in the fall, the numerous Beanie Babies bought (and later stuffed into plastic boxes, because they WOULD pay for our college someday!!!), the ridiculous amounts of fudge and rock candy consumed, and the cheesy pictures with my toothless smiles.

Learning multiplication and division and how to write in cursive, the countless recesses and learning to get on top of the monkey bars, the numerous crushes and Mary Kate and Ashley videos. Wanting a scooter so badly because everyone else wanted one but never using it. American Girl dolls every Christmas. Barbies, bikes, swimming birthday parties, and a trip to the ER.

Friends that stuck with me from Kindergarten til now. They're few, but I treasure them so much more for that. LBL, Disney World (finally made it back after 8 years! and now it's been another 8, wink wink! ;) ), graduation to middle school.

Braces, belts, and getting into our now incredibly awkward bodies. Awful awful teachers and an even worse principal, and probably the worst two school years of my life.

Loving school and everything else that went along with it. Numerous hours spent on asphalt but fewer performing. Loving every trip I ever took. Making friends and being ridiculously social. Class secretary and later ASB Historian. Learning that I had to do SOMETHING with graphic design as a major. Developing a passion for photography. Being given a chance to find my voice and learning that the stage is where I feel most at home. Having the greatest senior year I ever could. And finally making it to big kid school where yes it took me a while to fit in, but by the end of the year I felt right at home. And now, here I am turning twenty in a foreign country. I think three people actually know it's my birthday, but that's ok, I think as we get older birthdays just aren't as fun anymore.

I guess if I could blow out candles on a cake I would wish for true happiness and safety on this trip.

I hope that everyone has a fantastic October 3rd. :)