When I was younger, I always classified myself as an extrovert. I thought I liked talking to people, being involved in all kinds of clubs and organizations, and constantly wanted to have multiple conversations going on at once across a multitude of social media apps. I never truly felt like I was as popular as I thought I wanted to be since I was always seen as the smart girl in school, and we all know there’s an unspoken ceiling to just how cool you can be with that title.

It’s the day after my 27th birthday, and whoever said when you start getting older, the years start flying, wasn’t lying. I’ll try not to get too sentimental, but it’s honestly difficult not to when I remember all the different phases of my life that I’ve gone through to make me into the person I’m proud of today. In true Jessica Marie fashion, I like to stay lowkey and out the mix as much as possible. To celebrate 10/10, I’d like to share 10 of my favorite memories from this past year. 

Being an adult is tricky, especially when trying to be a responsible adult. There are often times when I’d love to completely change my life, but because of my pre-existing responsibilities, I have to be more strategic with the moves I make. While I don’t think dreams always have to be put on the backburner, it’s important to learn the beauty of timing that makes sense.

From an early age, kids idolize superheroes and villains in shows and aspire to have certain special abilities. Some want to fly over cities or have superhuman strength to fight crime while others want to be part spider and swing through the sky to save the world. I never connected deeply with one particular superhero over another, but if I had a superpower, I would want the ability to control time just so I could get more sleep.

It’s crazy to think that just 5 years ago, I was a sophomore in college trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Fast forward to now, and I would’ve never guessed I’d be married with two dogs by now. I also never thought I’d have my own small business and publishing a weekly blog. While I’m still figuring things out, I can say I understand more of what I want in my world and life.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get an urge to make a big change in my life. I’ve recently been thinking about finding a new job. I don’t have the worst job in the world, but I would love the opportunity to experience a new organization and get a change of pace. Thankfully, we live in a world where leaving a company after just a few years isn’t unheard of. Long gone are the days of being loyal to a company for 20 to 30 years of your life.

Every person we come across, situation we face, and conversation we have adds to our repertoire of knowledge. Everything we do helps us to learn more about ourselves, the world we live in, and the people around us. It’s important to pay close attention to hopefully avoid repeating certain lessons multiple times. Trust and believe, if you don’t grasp a concept the first time, the powers that be - the Lord, the Universe, whatever higher being you believe in - will present the lesson in different formats until you finally get the idea.

The love of my life will be turning 26 tomorrow. It’ll be our sixth time celebrating his birthday together and I vividly remember each year. Pretty soon we’ll look up and realize we’re knocking on a decade of being together. It’s truly crazy how fast time flies when you’re having fun. Every year I want to do these cute, elaborate displays of affection and this is the year that I finally decided to put my thoughts into action.

January has been one of the coldest months ever. Off the top of my head, I don’t remember one month in particular having this much consistent arctic air in my lifetime. The lows have been brutal and the highs haven’t necessarily been any better. Of course, since I was always closer to Florida than Atlanta, I never really experienced true cold weather like I experience now.

With 2023 rapidly coming to an end, it’s hard to remember all the highs and lows of the year. As my husband and I prepare to welcome the blessings of 2024, it’s time to take a look back on all we’ve accomplished and experienced.

There are very specific situations under which college makes sense. The pros and cons must be carefully analyzed to ensure all the effort on assignments and money on tuition is actually worth it in the long run. Certain majors like communication studies, psychology, history, art, social work and others of the like are useless degrees that won’t really recoup an investment. Unfortunately, these degrees either lead to jobs that pay less than $60,000 per year or require additional schooling to really get into the field to make more money.

Birthdays are a joyous occasion and typically include lots of fanfare. Some people dread turning older while others fully embrace their additional wisdom. Before my 26th birthday, I’d like to share 25 things that I’ve learned throughout my short lifetime.

My vision changes from time to time since I see new ideas to incorporate in the plans. I make sure to write down my ideas so when it’s time to flesh out the design and features, I won’t have to try and remember things from years past. As time passes and Kris and I identify the things that work and don’t work in our current house, we can feel confident choosing a basic structure that will work for our family in the future.

There’s a lot of things they never tell you about marriage until you’re deep in the midst of a long term, committed relationship. Things like disagreements, finances, kids, pets, and even daily struggles can become landmines if there’s not a solid foundation and a mutual understanding. It’s important that two people are working towards the same goals as a team and not detracting from the overall good of the family.

Although it’s not the blatant, in your face propaganda like we were taught in history class, it seems as time goes on, we are fed information to fit certain narratives. Companies, politicians, and other individuals absolutely produce marketing and advertising to push certain agendas to the masses. Sometimes the agendas are harmless and focus more on promoting certain products, but most of the time they are more sinister to try and uproot your way of life or undermine a certain group in America.

Jury duty is both a legal and patriotic requirement that some people go their entire lives avoiding while others get chosen to decide the fate of a case by analyzing the facts and evidence presented. Stereotypically, jury duty is seen as a drag and a requirement that everyone would like to be excused from. Interestingly enough, I didn’t quite understand why until I got summoned to report for duty this past Monday.

Time is an interesting concept. It’s one that’s both here and gone in a second. It’s also one of the hardest resources to acquire since it’s always in motion. Time is of the essence in life threatening situations but somehow manages to stand still in certain situations. We must carefully find the balance of time that works best for our individual lifestyles and families.

No matter what I do, I never want to make a decision that’s not in line with the plan Jesus has for my life. I know that whatever is written in my life story is designed to teach me lessons, provide me with life skills, and sometimes even test my faith just to strengthen it. With that in mind, when I’m thinking over a major life decision, it calms my nerves to just give all my trepidation, worry, and anxiety about the situation over to God.

When the world shut down, companies had to adapt and change. People couldn’t physically get together in fear of sickness so developing ways to continue work remotely was very important. It opened a global market for remote work in a way that no one could’ve foreseen or predicted. And now, three years later, remote work has increasingly grown in popularity.

Personally, there are few things that I despise more than the HOA in my neighborhood. For those of you lucky to not know, most homes built in subdivisions today have a Homeowners Association that you can’t opt out of. My biggest gripe is that the HOA isn’t run by the actual homeowners, but instead run by an outsourced community management company that’s usually far removed from the neighborhood itself.