2014...A Part of Growing Up

2014 has been one hell of a ride.  I have grown so much this year and experienced some of the best and most difficult times.  If there's one theme to this year, it has been adaptation.  I've learned that our lives aren't supposed to be perfect.  We are meant to ride the hills and the valleys, learn to accept change, and take an active part in shaping our own lives.  2014 was all about balance- friends, training, family, fun, and the pressure of figuring out what I will be doing in the next 6 months.  Finishing my undergraduate time at the University of Arizona came way too quickly.  Although I've known for a while that I would be finishing college in 3.5 years, it's hard to prepare yourself for the change that ensues after graduation.  If there's one thing that's been more apparent to me these past couple of weeks, it's that I need to stop waiting for the future to come, because as these past months have shown me, time goes by all too quickly.  I realized that I spend time waiting for my future, waiting for the next big race, waiting for the next 'big' thing.  This waiting is a time thief, and although the future isn't clear, I know that time will bring incredible highs and lows, and it will shape my future.  

After spending a summer in Europe I realized just how quickly you forget the seemingly insignificant memories and experiences, so I started this blog.  With 2014 coming to an end, I wanted to remember what made this year one of the best of my life.  


In 20 years, when I look back on this year I'm going to remember the good and the not so good.

The not so good- Moving into a house that breaks almost monthly (dishwasher, AC, sink....), getting fired form Dirtbags in the same day(yep, it's possible), my first real bike crash, and run crash.., getting on the wrong train, missing the right train, seeing my grandmother struggle with Alzheimer's but admiring her ability to always remember her family, and losing my grandfather in March.  My grandad was always so proud of all of his grandkids for graduating college, and I wanted nothing more than to call him and tell him "I did it!"  Although he isn't here, I know he's looking down and smiling at my family as we're all getting out and following our dreams.  

 The good- My first time at disney land(and spending 15 hours there), living in Kappa with 85 other girls for one last semester, signing the lease for our first house in the Caddyshack with 5 of my best friends, being elected as President of TriCats, waitressing at Dirtbags Bar, getting to know Jimmy Riccitello and Doug Friman as the new coaches for TriCats(and realizing just how lucky we are to have them, Seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time ever during the best Spring Break trip with the team, turning 21 with my best friend Rosie and getting Iced 6(or 7?) times in one day, training over 5,000 miles this year, watching TriCats become one of the best Triathlon teams in the country at USATCN 2014(and looking forward to seeing even more improvement in 2015!), riding 140 miles with two incredible athletes and women, crying my eyes out during senior year recruitment when we all realized that our time at Arizona was coming to an end, Spending a week on homecoming court with some of University of Arizona's finest, Spending a betchy burque weekender in Albuquerque with my roommates for the Balloon Fiesta, Vegas, Vegas, Vegas, Spending a day in my brothers shoes and trying out downhill MTB, learning to cook healthy italian food from the 3 most adorable old Italian women, drinking Jameson in Ireland, riding bikes in France with Jimmy, canyoning in Switzerland, wine tasting in tuscany, getting lost doing all of those things, and finally finishing my undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona in 3.5 years with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.  

I'm looking forward to the change that is to come in 2015!  Although I don't quite know where I'm going, I know that I have control of my future.  I look forward to growing the relationships that I have and meeting new people along the way.  Cheers to the new year! 

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”

―Hunter S. Thompson