Yesterday I turned 27, officially joining the “upper 20s” club! It’s funny to think back on how I once believed people at this age had everything figured out. I also imagined I’d be a mother by now and certainly never thought I’d be living in Europe.

Reflecting on the past year, I’m amazed by the experiences I’ve had and the things I’ve accomplished. I checked off the number one item on my bucket list: hot air ballooning in Cappadocia. I visited six new countries, hosted nine visitors, stood by four of my beautiful friends on their wedding days, joined one of those brides on part of her honeymoon in Greece, prioritized my health, earned an “Exceeds Expectations” on my performance review, and made countless memories in Brussels.

Birthdays have always been significant for me, thanks to my mom, who always went above and beyond to make them special growing up (we’re talking ponies, water parks, camping, crowns, karaoke, etc.).

Ben continues this tradition, and thanks to him I had an incredible birthday weekend! In our friend group here, three of us have birthdays in the same week. On Friday night, we celebrated at a Middle Eastern restaurant that serves food family style and turns into a party after 9 pm. Saturday was perfect: Ben and I went out to brunch, visited the farmers market, took a walk in my favorite park with Mallow, and he made me a southern meal with an adorable printed menu!

BBQ food is hard to find in Brussels, so he made his own BBQ sauce and found a butcher to get pork for slow cooking on the grill all afternoon. On Sunday, we visited Pairi Daiza, known as “Europe’s Best Zoo.” It was a unique experience, feeling like we were truly walking through the animals’ habitats rather than seeing them behind cages. A lemur almost jumped on my shoulder! My favorite animals were the elephants and the giant pandas. We ended the day with our favorite animal, Mallow.

I’m so grateful for the friends who celebrated with me, everyone who texted or called, and especially my husband for his thoughtfulness and efforts to make the weekend special. We’ve now celebrated (at least) one of each holiday here, just the two of us, and he always makes it memorable. Despite my worries about feeling homesick, I felt all the love and support from everyone important to me. Plus, I have visitors coming this week that I’m VERY excited about!

May and June were incredibly busy with work and personal travel. I spent a week in Italy for work in May with our Senior Leadership Program, then took a personal trip to NYC/NJ for a family wedding, road-tripped to Virginia to see my mom, grandma, and auntie, and then flew back to Chicago for another wedding! After returning, I went straight back to work and four days later left for a week in Sweden with our European Master Program. 

There’s no slowing down in July either. (Are we shocked?) Two of my high school best friends (Alex and Sam) arrive this week, and we’re heading to Austria for a long weekend – Sound of Music tour, here we come! The following weekend, my friend Marisa and I will meet in Milan for Taylor Swift’s ERAS TOUR!!!! We’ll also take a day trip to the famous Lake Como. A few days after that, my cousin Sarah and her husband arrive, and we’re going to Amsterdam for the weekend. Although I don’t typically repeat cities, Amsterdam is one of my favorites and only a 2.5-hour car ride away! It will be both of their first times in Europe, and I am so excited to show them where we live. Then, the weekend after that, I’m going to Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest and most exclusive electronic dance music festivals, which I somehow managed to get tickets to. Finally, my mother-in-law comes to visit the day after and I’m looking forward to the quality time together. 

With so much happening in the world—the ongoing war in Ukraine, the crisis in Palestine, the uncertainty in America with the upcoming election— I acknowledge the privilege of such experiences and express my empathy towards those facing hardship. I make it my goal to never take any day of this life for granted. Thankful thankful thankful!