FOR ALWAYS

Well, we are coming up on the end of the year, and more importantly, the end of the decade. it's hard to believe that it's actually been almost TEN YEARS since we were all singing 1999 and waiting for the world to end when the clock struck midnight - but here we are.

I have been lucky to experience an incredible decade, potentially the most influential one of my life - particularly the last couple of years. It is hard to concretely pinpoint what has made these past ten years so fufilling, but I gave it my best shot. Thusly, the top 10 moments of the last 10 years of my life, in no particular order.

001 - graduating from cosmetology school // receiving my cosmetology license. I went from a bonafide loser who had nothing in life, save a shitty hostessing job in a mexican restaurant, to a certified hair champ in a matter of eleven months, and since then, nothing has been the same. There are things that I learned about human nature in the hallowed halls of hair hell that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and people I will hold in my heart from that time forever. Passing my state board exams & becoming a licensed cosmetologist forced me out of my little girl shell and into the real world. If I continue to do hair for the rest of my life or quit tomorrow, i will always be so thankful for this experience.

002 - Flying for the first time. I flew from Atlanta to Miami in early 2009. I have never been so scared to do something as I was to step onto that plane and surrender all self control to fate and destiny. It was a big deal for me. I don't think I will ever truly get over the fear of flying, but overcoming that first hurdle is a great personal success, and is one of my proudest moments, and thus far, the bravest I have ever had to be in my life.

003 - NYC & Disney World. Even if you took away the naked boy wizard, I would still have had the time of my life. It is everything and nothing you think it will be, good, bad & everything in between. I miss it every single day of my life. Disney World. I went to Disney World for the first time in my life at age 23, and couldn't have been more pleased with my first dabble in the happiest place on Earth. I will never forget the view from the ferry of the Cinderella castle, and how we rode in silence, just staring as that magical view came closer and closer & finally became a reality. Disney is ageless and limitless, and, most importantly, unforgettable.

004 - Meeting Lady GaGa. We cut it close, but it made the list just in the nick of time - and what a way to close the decade. Lady GaGa is the first person to really excite my senses musically and get my blood flowing again for the first time in a long time. Madonna will always been the queen & Britney will always be the keeper of my heart, but GaGa shook things up & reinvented what it meant to be a Britney or a Madonna in the first place. Meeting her was impowering and gratifying.

005 - Las Vegas. Not only did I go to Sin City with my mother, and get to spend a week with her not only as her daughter but also as her friend, I also got to see one of her biggest dreams come true - and to be able to stand witness and watch that happen for someone, especially your mother, is an incredible priviledge.

006 - 23rd Birthday. I have had a history of shitty birthdays, and have come to expect as much year after year - but on my 23rd birthday, I was overwhelmed and blown away by how much the people I love did for me. I think it was this night that I finally realized that it has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the quantity of people by your side - it's the quality of the ones who have been there all along, and I could not love you guys more than I do & could not be happier to call you all my best friends. That being said, the fact that we were all dressed in 80s-wear & that it was the party of a lifetime doesn't hurt, either.

007 - Elton & Paul. I have seen Elton John three times in the past decade, and if I never had another shared moment with him for as long as I live, that last image of him that I hold in my heart, as he literally sparkled off of the stage in Las Vegas, would be enough for the rest of my days. His music has changed my life, opened my eyes, and stolen my soul.

Paul McCartney. I was sick, dehydrated, and almost ready to throw in the towel and head home - but then this legendary man walked onstage and I was stuck, unable to move, and hyponotized by what I saw before me. It is still so surreal - Paul McCartney standing 10 feet away from me, talking about John Lennon. What? I doubt I will ever find a music moment to top that experience for the rest of my life, and if i never do, that would be okay.

008 - Meeting CiCi. I actually met Ciera while I was still in high school - she was a mutual friend of one of my best friends, but our paths never really truly crossed. By the magical ways of music fate, we ended up agreeing to go see Tyler Hilton together at The Handlebar when our shared best friend wasn't able to attend, and the rest immediately fell into place backstage at the show. The fact that our friendship was born backstage at a show speaks volumes for what was to come, and the lessons that I have learned from Ciera are innumerable, and what we have shared is irreplaceable. She has seen my highest of highs (GaGa) to the lowest of lows (The ***) & felt every heartbeat & mile right along with me. With Ciera, I have learned how to be unstoppable, respected, feared, and revered - and also how to navigate the highway ... most of the time. I can walk into a room alone & be terrified, but walk into a room with Ciera by my side & feel unchallenged. There is no one in my life other than her than knows how to stretch $20 all the way to Virginia and always believes that we can have whatever we want and be whatever we want to be.

009 - Nova. I was seventeen when the most precious gift I've ever been given arrived literally on my doorstep, and every day that has gone by since then has been a miracle. There is nothing in this world that I wouldn't do for my canine partner in crime, and my heart swells to bursting every single time I think of her.

010 - Meeting Hanson, my cliched biggest dream to ever come true. It is hard to believe that there was a time before I realized how easy it was to reach up and pick your stars out of the sky, and this was a moment sent to me from the heavens. If anything has ever happened expressly for me, it was Hanson coming to Greenville to perform a free show & me winning a meet & greet from the radio station. I will never forget rounding the corner & seeing the three men who changed breathed life into me & started this whole crazy chain of events that woud become my day to day life. I have had many beautiful moments with them since, but the first pure & unjaded time will always remain the most special.

I have gone from 13 to 23 in the last decade, and felt every moment in between. If this is how good it gets in the beginning, i cannot imagine the greatness of the middle & the end. Happy 2010, guys & dolls.

It doesn't seem like it could possibly be so, but this week brings the first year anniversary of the night that Ciera & I became certified lunatics & began toting a cardboard cutout of Edward Cullen around everywhere that we went. For the past year, Edward Cullen has lived, folded and ready for an adventure, in the trunk of my car. Edward has made celebrity friends, has been the target of jealous haters, and most importantly, (besides remaining sexy), Edward has taught Ciera & I one of the greatest lessons in life - how to erect and pose a 6ft tall cardboard cutout in 20 seconds flat. Thank you, Edward Cullen cutout, for the laughter you have brought us - we salute you with this post on a look back on your first year of greatest hits!! here's to many more! well, as many as you can hope for, what with him being cardboard and all. cardboard love does have an expiration date, it would appear - as we have already broken his legs and ripped his stand off of him. ah well ... to Edward!