18

As some of you may know, tomorrow is my 18th birthday! To celebrate, I have decided to write about 18 of my favorite memories from the first 17 years of my life. Here is my little disclaimer. Obviously I have many amazing memories and I have only chosen 18 of them to tell you all about. If there's something missing, don't take offense because every memory I have is special to me. These are just some of the best. I realize that most of them are from recent years but that's because I remember them the most. I realize that this post is very long but I think it's a great one so I hope you read all the way to the end. We're just going to go in chronological order because it's the easiest.

Also, here's a little name run down. Noni is my maternal grandmother. Popi is my maternal grandfather. Uncie is my mom's brother and Ash is his wife. Lala is my dad's sister and Ben is her husband. Grama is my paternal grandmother. Papa is my paternal grandfather.

1. I have always loved animals (most of the time more than I love people) and in 2002 I went with my dad to adopt a cat. We found the cutest black and white kitty ever and adopted him right away. Dad chose to name him Dweezil. When we got Dweezil back to the apartment he was super freaked out and very confused. It's important to understand that the apartment had a balcony with a sliding glass door. Alright, so Dweezil decided he was going to run full speed at the glass door and bash his head! Then he backed up and rammed into the door again like a little dummy. I know it sounds painful but it was hilarious and adorable all at the same time. What a silly cat, that boy.

2. Coming from the Southwest side of Chicago, my family has always been huge White Sox fans and seeing as my favorite baseball of all time just retired, this memory is fitting to share. My mom got tickets for us and we were sitting right along the first base line. Paul Konerko was (and still is) my favorite baseball player so I made this huge sign that said "We love you Paulie!" and I brought it with. I was cheering and shouting the entire game. Between innings, the boys play catch to stay loose and Paulie saw me and walked over to give me the ball he had. He tossed it to me and this man jumped in the way and took it from me. Paulie stood there and yelled at the guy until he gave the ball back to me. I swear, to a little girl like me, it felt like he had just given me a diamond ring.

3. In 2006, my dog Shelby died. It took a few months but by the summer of 2007 I was able to convince Noni and Popi to let me bring another dog into their home. My mom and I went looking at various animal shelters and eventually we ended up in Naperville. There was this one pen that had two little dogs in it. One of them was a little 6 month old baby girl named Cassie. She was the cutest thing ever and I just had to meet her. My mom and I went to this little room and the shelter worker brought Cassie in. Cassie instantly ran and jumped in my mom's lap. Then she started playing with one of those mouse cat toys. She was so cute and sweet and affectionate and completely crazy but she was the one. That's how we got my little princess and dang I miss that dog so much.

4. Obviously, I am a Steelers fan and I have answered the question "why?" so many times, but I'm gonna tell that story again right now. I was watching the 2008 Super Bowl and they were doing a special on Troy Polamalu and his Coke Zero commercial and I saw his hair and fell in love. It wasn't long before I fell in love with the entire team. As much as they piss me off sometimes (Tampa Bay?! Really?!) I will always love them. Call me a bandwagoner all you want, but those are my boys and my love for Steeler Nation is real. And that 2008 Super Bowl is still the best football game I've ever seen.

5. My mom had always wanted to throw me a 13th birthday luau. In 2009 I turned 13 and we had the best dang luau ever. My mom is the most amazing woman I've ever met and she went above and beyond to give me the greatest birthday ever. Cassie wasn't so sure about the whole thing and maybe that's why she climbed up on the table to eat the middle of the pineapple cake...but that birthday party was amazing and I am so grateful to my mommy for busting her ass to make it incredible.

6. In 2010, it was time to start a new life. Mom and I packed everything up and headed to P-Town. Aside from coming to college at DU, going to high school in Palatine was probably one of the best decisions we've made. It was definitely scary and I was really nervous, but that first night in our own place was amazing. Again, my mom is awesome for having the strength and courage to take that leap to give me the best life possible. Oh and PHS is the best darn high school in the entire country so get lost Fremd. 'Nuff said.

7. A few weeks after we moved into Kingsbrooke, it was time for my favorite man to get married. I was so excited to be a bridesmaid for Uncie's wedding and I was so happy for him to be happy. It also was great that my uncle was about to marry one of the best people I've ever met. If matches actually are made in heaven, these two are the perfect example of God's matchmaking abilities. The ceremony was beautiful. It was the first time I saw Uncie cry...but I was crying way more. Of course, the party was super fun too! Honestly, all I want is a love like theirs.

8.  In fall of 2011, I FINALLY got to visit NYC with Lala and Ben. NYC is seriously one of my favorite places on the entire planet and when we first drove into Times Square with all the lights and all the people, my jaw dropped and my eyes were huge. It was absolutely magnificent. Only picking one memory would be cruel so it's honestly a tie between vodka pizza and Daniel Radcliffe acknowledging my existence. I can't decide which I love more. That was definitely one of the best vacations of my life and just the thought of going back to New York makes me so insanely happy. There's no place like it.

9. The 2011 winter was my second season on the speech team with my truest love, Prachi. We were at the Buffalo Grove Tournament of Mittens and PP and I snuck into the auditorium and ran onto the stage. We broke out into "A Whole New World" and we were just singing and dancing like complete idiots. That moment basically describes our friendship: crazy, insane, and full of love. I love that girl so much.

10. Over spring break 2012, I went to visit Uncie and Ash in Colorado and I was so excited to see them but also to go skiing! I had always wanted to try out skiing and I was pumped. On my very first run down the mountain I was doing alright...until there was a curve. Somehow I managed to go over the edge and slide down this huge hill near the trees. Thankfully, I didn't get hurt. Ash came over to help me up but every time I tried to climb back up the hill I would slide right on down. She told me to take off my skis so I did. I was able to make some progress getting back up the hill but then the ski I had taken off slid all the down. It was absolutely hilarious. We would have made better progress if I hadn't been laughing so hard but it was so funny. Skiing is the best.

11. A few months later, it was my best friend's 16th birthday and her parents were taking Madi and 4 friends up to Door County, Wisconsin. It was so relaxing and so much fun to be with friends right after school ended. We had absolutely nothing to worry about. We were just having fun. The stars up there were amazing. One night we walked down to the beach and stood on the sand just looking up at the stars. It was so beautiful. Another cool thing about that camping trip is that it brought all of us even closer together.

12. During the summer of 2012 (at least I think that was the year), mom and I were on a road trip to visit Uncie and Ash in Colorado Springs. Road trips have always been something I enjoy but this moment takes the cake. We were driving through a storm in Iowa and there was absolutely nothing around. "The Final Countdown" was on the radio and I shit you not the lightning in front of us struck exactly to the beat of "DA DA DA" and it was EPIC! Seriously. One of the coolest things ever.

13. Some kids get cars for their 16th birthday...but I got something even better. I was lucky enough to travel to Buffalo, NY to see my Steelers boys kick the Bills' butts. I was so insanely excited but when Popi led me down to our seats and we were sitting in THE SECOND ROW behind the Steelers' bench I was so happy I started flatout bawling! That moment was one of the greatest ever. I was just so completely happy. Halfway through the game, my Troy got an interception right in front of me. And let me tell you, he is even more incredible in person. Troy wished me a happy birthday with that pick. Towards the end of the game, one of the best free safeties to ever play for the Steelers, Ryan Clark, came over and signed my Terrible Towel. Best. Birthday. Ever.

14. Summer 2013 was such a great summer. My Grama and Papa took the whole family on a Disney cruise to the Bahamas and it was surreal. I'm a tad bit Disney obsessed and I have always had a love for the ocean. Combining the two of them was incredible. I got to spend time with my grandparents, my aunts, and my cousins and it was so so so much fun. I swam with dolphins, I went on a waterslide through a shark tank, I listened to Disney music 24/7, I watched the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup on the top of a giant cruise ship! Oh and I constantly made references to Titanic. I cannot wait until I get to go another Disney cruise because it was honestly 4 of the best days ever.

15. Shortly after I returned from the cruise, I went to Madi's house to watch the Blackhawks Stanley Cup game with our families. It was a super intense game and watching it with good company only made it better. The 3rd period was so nerve wracking because we were losing and a game 7 would be terrible....but then Bick scored! And then Bolland! 17 SECONDS! I was jumping on the couch and screaming like a fool and hugging everyone. I watch a lot of sports but the ending of that game is unreal...it's tied with Santonio Holmes's game winning grab from Super Bowl XLIII. Completely amazing. Gosh I love the Blackhawks.

16. At this point, Uncie and Ash were living in South Carolina. Mom, Noni, Popi, and I were going to have Thanksgiving at their new home in Charleston. The only catch was somehow I had allowed Uncie to talk me into running a 5k Turkey Trot with him. I had been training pretty hard for a few weeks but the furthest I had run was 2.5miles. I was seriously worried, but I was excited and ready to go. By the time I had 2 miles, I was exhausted. I just wanted to stop and sit down and pass out, but Uncie wouldn't let me. He pushed me to keep going even when I thought I couldn't go anymore. I finished in 30 minutes and although I was completely drained, I am so happy that I kept going. And it is so cool how he always believes in me even when I don't.

17. Junior prom was fun but senior prom was even better. All of my friends were there and it was our prom! We danced all night and laughed so much. Not to mention that I had the most gorgeous dress I have ever seen and that I felt like a princess. Having one last hurrah with my friends, the guy I loved, and the PHS class of 2014 was simply the best.

18. This past summer, I received the most incredible graduation present in the history of the world. I got to go to Italy with all of my favorite people! I was there with Noni, Popi, Uncie, Ash and my mom and it was the greatest experience I have had so far. I am completely in love with Italy and the culture there. It is the most beautiful place I have ever seen and the food is incredible. It was a complete dream come true. I'm taking an Italian class at DU right now because of my Italian adventures. Every day I sit down in class, I hope that one day I'll get to go back to Italy. And hopefully by then I'll know how to say something more than flavors of gelato.

I hope the next 18 years provide me with some more amazing memories!