It's My Birthday and I'll Cry If I Want To

Alright so I won't be crying on my birthday (which is tomorrow!) but it's such a classic song!
Break out the walker, though, 'cause I will be 19 years old!!! Aaah I feel so old, I know I'm not but still it's my last year of being a teenager...now that's a scary thought. Although I'm sure my parents are doing a happy dance of sorts (just kidding...I hope).
Much like the new year, my birthday always makes me reflect on the past year and I usually comprise a list of things I did in the year that I felt were important or new or changed me in some way and here it is!

In the Past Year I Have.... 

1.  Learned how to fence, and have wielded a dagger and a sword at the SAME time.
2. Saw the Broadway Musical The Lion King for the first time...it was INCREDIBLE!
3. Learned who my true friends are.
4. GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL!
5. Missed my grandpa. <3 you Grandpa Renstrom "Go out there and give them heaven!"
6. Become a University of Utah Ute (I know I am as shocked about it as you are)
7. Left my home ward and started to attend a Singles Ward, and basically I am loving every second of it!! Really though...no joke. Props to Lexi for making me go in the first place!
8. Fallen in love..................
   with the show Supernatural
9. Started college with some of my best friends in the entire universe!
10. Seriously missed, and still miss, all of my friends that went away to school
11. Started a blog, even though I said I never would...things change :-p
12. Become a classic movie buff
13. Watched a lot of the boys I grew up with go on missions (Seriously though, when did we all get this old?!?!?!) knowing they are and will be fantastic elders!
14. Been pushed totally and completely out of my comforst zone on many occasions
15. Discovered new genres of music and new artists that I am now OBSESSED with!
16. Got a new phone <3
17. Made new, awesome friends
18. Figured out that not every professor you have in college is incredible at their job
19. Also figured out that many of my professors are truly brilliant people
20. Joined the MUSS for next year...I know right?
21. Learned what "I'll sleep when it's done" truly means
22. Found new role models in people around me
23. Gained a new respect for people who are nice even when they don't have to be
24. Voted for the first time
25. Been placed on the Dean's List
26. Realized college is only hard if you don't schedule your time well
27. Found out that getting A's on your papers for college classes feels way cooler than A's on high school papers
28. Figured out that Spanish may or may not be the sexiest language...depends on who is speaking it
29. Baked banana bread all by myself
30. Improved my journal writing habits.
     

 And as much as all of these things have changed me a few things have definitely stayed the same:

1. Breakfast at Tiffany's and Rent are still my favorite movies
2. I still drink Diet Coke like it is going out of style
3. My iPod is still dominated by showtunes
4. I act like a complete dork with my friends
5. I endulge in my guilty pleasures of America's Next Top Model, Law and Order: SVU, Intervention and Castle at least once weekly.

Really though, I cannot believe that I am 19 in a few hours...it's such a surreal thought to me. Sometimes I feel like Peter Pan, in that I don't want to grow up but then the majority of the time I am seriously enjoying the perks of adulthood. Here's to growing up!