Looking back on my 20s: Year by Year.

I went through a lot in my 20s.  I shed a lot of tears and made a lot of very important friendships.  Below I look at every year in my 20s and talk about the good things and bad things that happened at each age.  If you ever attended a Jillapalooza event, you know I love my birthday so I also write about what I did that year to celebrate. There is a picture of me from every year so I could see how I've changed. Some are quite embarrassing, but that's ok because I am the "Hot Mess Express."

20:  I went to the main campus at Miami University.  The two years prior I went to the branch campus in Middletown, which was smart.  I wasn’t mature enough to go to college right after High School.  It was the first time living away from home.  I also started playing rugby which was the beginning of a great relationship. 

Melissa (Borders) Gross and I at that restaurant I can't remember for my 20th.  Sept. 2001.

20th Birthday Celebration: My 20^th birthday get together was at that place off of 275.  I can’t remember the name of the place and it has since closed down.  My friends stole random things from there…plates, silverware, cloth napkins, and salt shakers.  Oh to be 20 again and stealing things from restaurants. 

ETA: Bahama Breeze was the name of the restaurant!  THANKS ALICIA!!!

21:  I graduated from college, but my father was too sick to watch me accept my diploma.  He died a few weeks after commencement.

Mom and me at my graduation from Miami.  May 3, 2003.

21st Birthday Celebration: My brother took me out for my 21^st birthday in Oxford.  Chris “Farfy” Jessee joined us.  It was a great night until the end.

22:  I fell in love.  I remember my 22^nd birthday because I couldn’t stop talking about this boy I had gone out on a date with. I knew I liked him, but didn’t think I would fall in love with Monroe.  I also moved in with my BFF Brandy that year.  The “Crack House” on Crawford St was a great party place!  Oh the crazy antics that would go down in that place. 

I'm kind of adorable. Dinner at Dave & Busters in Cincinnati, Sept. 2003

22nd Birthday Celebration: We went to Dave and Busters to celebrate my birthday because I love Skee Ball!  Yeah Steve-O, I celebrated my 22nd Birthday at D&B.  Be jealous!

23:  This was yet another hard year in my young life because my mother died and I was orphaned.  I was thankful to be living with Brandy who comforted me as soon as I got home from the hospital that night.  Monroe came over and held me all night while I cried.

Me and the Jokers Comedy Club Comedian. Sept. 2004

Poker game on my 23rd. Sept. 2004

23rd Birthday Celebration: To celebrate my 23^rd we went to Joker’s and then had a party at the Crack House.  My mother was in Kentucky that weekend. She bought me a papasan chair for my birthday before she left to visit my Aunt Eunice and it will always be my favorite chair. 

24:  I started my first job that used my skills I learned in college and during my internships.  I was underpaid and it was frustrating, but I do appreciate the Greene County Combined Health District for being a great stepping stone.  I also met the Co-Founder of Wineaux Wednesday through GCCHD!

Toasting with champagne. Sept. 2005

NOT 42. Sept. 2005

The Speakeasy.  Yes people not from Middletown, Ohio, that's Dale Jr. Sept. 2005

24th Birthday Celebration: Monroe threw a party for me at his mother’s house.  He thought he was funny and switched the 24 candles to be 42. We went to the Speakeasy after that.

25: I lived by myself for the very first time. Although I lived in Middletown for nearly 25 years, I call Yellow Springs my hometown. I had gone from my parents' house, to the dorms, back to my parents' house, to an apartment with roommates and then lived with my boyfriend.  I never had a place that was strictly my own.  The new found freedom told me I needed to spread my wings some more.  I believe this was why I broke up with Monroe.  I needed to find out who I was and what I wanted to do.  I didn't give him enough credit as I thought he just wouldn't understand.  I didn't think I could make both of us happy.  I was lost and made some poor decisions in regards to relationships after I left him.  I did start to find myself though and luckily I met a lot of great friends thanks to Dayton Rugby.

Lovely Rugby ladies at the 2007 DARC Banquet. May 2007.

25th Birthday Celebration: I moved into my apartment in Yellow Springs that weekend.  That’s how I celebrated my 25^th.  On my actual birthday, Monroe took me to Peach’s. It was the last birthday I would spend with him. 

26: I began working for EDvention and started to realize that I really do belong in Higher Ed.  The job helped me to learn more about the administrative side and how legislative affects education.  The sweet and beautiful Danica was born this year to my great friends Nick and Angela and I was so very honored to be at her birth.  Another great addition to my life happened when my brother Joe married to Megan who I love dearly. My 26th year was probably the best year of my 20s.  

What a crazy fun group of people out on the Peach's patio.  Sept. 2007

I made $2...not on the Carrot Top Wheel though. Sept. 2007

26th Birthday Celebration: This was when I coined the term Jillapalooza to accurately describe the shenanigans during Labor Day Weekend.  Fliers would be made with a schedule of events.  I learned what a motorboat was.

27: I did NOT die a rock star death, but I was diagnosed with MS. My life would forever change and I really needed my mom. 

My awesome X-Town peeps at the Gulch. Sept. 2008

Dinner at Pf Chang's in West Chester.  Mikey got me that awesome Tassel Card.  This is one of my favorite pictures of me because I really look like my mom when normally, I look like my dad. Sept. 2008

27th Birthday Celebration: Jillapalooza really kicked off this year.  I don’t think Yellow Springs knew what was going on. 

28: I went to the Pacific Northwest to celebrate my 28^th birthday, but had no clue I’d be spending many more there.  I lost my job with ReadySetSoar/EDvention due to lack of funding.  I applied all over the Midwest, but couldn’t even get an interview.  After falling in love with the PNW, I applied to Oregon State and U of O thinking they wouldn’t even look at me twice.  I was wrong.  OSU believed that I would be a great addition to the College of Science.  I turned down grad school at the University of Dayton to work for Oregon State.  The biggest and hardest decision I have ever made.

Jeff and I at Cannon Beach on the Oregon Coast on vacation a year before I moved to Oregon. Sept. 2009

28th Birthday Celebration: Before I went to the PNW, we had a Jillapalooza in Yellow Springs.  Julie was the number one Jillapalooza enthusiast because she attended every event.  A few days later, we joined Jeff and Michele on a trip to the Pacific Northwest that my brother called “Crippled Jill’s Big Crippled West Coast Birthday Bash.”  Jeff is sweet in his own weird way.   

29: My first official birthday as an Oregonian.  Months later, I was in the hospital with the worst MS relapse to date.  I spent 3 months in a rehab facility learning how to walk again.  It was not fun and I started to look forward to my 30s. My family grew once again.  Jeff married Michele and we also welcomed Logan into the Wells family.  I am very lucky to have them both in my life.

Lindsay's yummy cake.  A candle for me and a candle for Kevin.

Birthday buddy Kevin toasting to a great new year with Bradford. Sept. 2010

Logan and I at Jeff and Michele's Rehearsal Dinner for the Wedding.  We kind of have the same cheesy grin. May 2011

29th Birthday Celebration: My first birthday as an Oregon resident was celebrated at my now house.  Lindsay and Eric threw a combined birthday party for Kevin and I since Kevin is also a Sept. 4^th baby.  I’m about 12 hours older though.  Lindsay made a delicious chocolate cake.  It may not have been a crazy Jillapalooza like year’s past, but it was fun.

There you have it.  My 20s are summed up in a nice little package for you.   I am excited to see what stories I'll get to tell about my 30s.