How to know you've offically entered the adult world: Early 20's edition

1.  You look forward to your work commute because you get a chance to listen to your favorite talk radio show
2. You change your emergency contact from an immediate family member to your significant other
3. You start to get calls from bill collectors at least once a week
4. You get EXTREMELY upset when your daily routine is thrown off 
5. You get stupidly excited about being able to buy a good week of groceries (anything outside of the frozen food section)
6. You hate shopping (it means spending money you don't have)
7. But you LOVE online shopping (internet money isn't real money.... right?)
8. You make projects out of nothing on the weekends because you can no longer have a "lazy weekend"
9. Your joints and bones have begun to crack and ache in the mornings and randomly throughout the day
10. You find new things on your body (a new freckle here, a new, very large dark spot there as you are twisting and have become a body contortionist in the mirror looking at your back side)
11. You ask your significant other to become your doctor and ob-gyn when something funky is going on
12. You go to bed at 9:00pm and can no longer sleep in
13. You ask your aunt and other family members for hand-me-down clothes
14. You get excited about trying out new recipes
15. You have to make one "adult" phone call a day whether it be to the bank, work, paying bills, etc.
16. While sitting at dinner you pretend you're playing on your phone when in reality you're online banking trying to figure out how you're going to pay for the bill.
17. Having to decide between groceries and food for the week or to pay that one bill that you've pushed off for a *cough cough* month or two
18. You go to the gym not only to "look good" because you know it's actually good for your health 
19. You have a real, legit dining room table set
20.  Instead of looking forward to a weekend of drinking at the bar with friends you get excited for a weekend of Netflix and Pinterest projects. 
21. You have to sit and mentally prepare yourself before looking at your dwindling bank account
22. You get excited/nervous when you have ten extra dollars after paying off all your mandatory bills (which one did I forget?)
23. Cleaning and organizing your apartment is no longer a chore because you enjoy not tripping over bottles and clothes on your way to the bathroom
24. You've revised your big list of goals and dreams to a much lower standard, realistic set
25. You start buying good quality, classic pieces of clothing rather than that Forever21 sweater that will shred after one wash.

You promise?

Oh boy, where to even begin? Happy one year anniversary Nater! How in the world did we get to one year?

For those who are unaware, Nate and I have quite the back story to our relationship. Let us journey back.

Freshmen year of college and I was a scared little freshmen, he President of his fraternity. Oh lala. A month or two of us messing around and he wasn't having it and moved on to the next lassy of his choosing (or so I like to tease him for). I then dated another brother of the fraternity for about year, oh the cluster-fuck that was the relationship (that's a whole different blog post)!

Nate and I rarely talked since freshmen year other than the polite conversation that we had to endure being that my boyfriend of the time was roommates with him... awkward, I know.

Nate moved out to Colorado and was having a bit of a rough time after he graduated. Out of the blue one day he texted me asking my opinion on a tattoo he wanted to get.

And this began our 2 year long friendship.

For two years we texted- every day, all day. Good morning's first thing when we woke up and good night's when we went to bed. Everyone thought that we were having a secret relationship when in reality is I would change in front of him, we would sleep in the same bed without even a kiss. How he kept his sanity during this time, I don't know (props).

I then left for Malawi for a study abroad for the entire summer. He was the one person who would send me emails and Facebook messages to stay in contact with me (hey, when you talk to someone all day, everyday for two years, you get a bit attached). He even went as far as getting a very large phone bill from me drunk texting him one night while I was out at the bar... THOUSANDS of miles away, a whole ocean between us and he is my go to person. We then decided that upon my return to America we would discuss giving "us" a-go.

That happened and he said he couldn't do the long distance (I was still going to school at Michigan State and he was working in Detroit). Of course, like any girl being rejected I got pissed and didn't talk to him for a few days and had to play the jealousy card to get him to realize what he was really doing.

He invited me to come to Detroit that day to stay with him for the weekend.

A week later was the U of M vs. MSU game. I wasn't feeling like tailgating so Nate stayed out drinking with friends and I met him at his fraternity house later in the night. We went to the back parking lot so I could put my purse in his truck for safe keeping and he asked me in the cheesiest, cutest, DRUNKEST way possible "Will...will you beeeeee muh gurlfrand?"

Annnnnnnd here we are today, a year later. I don't know about you but it's been one hell of a ride and I couldn't imagine being on it with anyone but you. So in honor of our big accomplishment, I decided to come up with 10 characteristics I love most about you (I'm mushy-gushy and THAT girlfriend... so what? Get over it!).

May we?

1.  Understanding. You know those couples who ask how their partner's day went and don't really listen? We are not one of those couples. When I walk in the door at the end of the day, you genuinely want to know how my day was. Most of the time, I word vomit on you about everything and every little detail of my day down to my bathroom trips (because that's just how I am) and you listen to every little part of my word vomit. You understand me in a way that most people don't get. You leave me alone when you know I need "me" time to recoup, you hold me when you know I need to be held, and you say the most perfect things at the most perfect time, all because you understand me as a person.
2. Compassionate. When I was first getting diagnosed with kidney disease and didn't know what was happening to my body, I was scared and confused like no other. The day we went to the doctor to get the diagnosis, I was brushing my teeth and started to cry because my face was not my own, I was swollen and uncomfortable and nervous and every other emotion you can think of. You came up behind me, hugged me, gave me a kiss on the check and said "You are beautiful, I love you." and then literally held me up while I finished brushing my teeth and cried. If that is not the definition of compassion, I don't know what is.
3. Sense of humor. From dancing and screaming songs in the car to burps, farts, and every other disgusting body function- you get my sense of humor and I get yours. You make me laugh every day.
4. Patient. During my month of unemployment you were incredibly supportive of every job venture I wanted to tackle. It took a lot longer than expected to find a job and you were patient and understanding and supportive to know that I had to do it. You also are incredibly patient when dealing with Drunk Dana, who can either be quite the bitch or an emotional wreck (remember the time in East Lansing when we were trying to find my friends house and I started crying out of the blue and you asked why and I responded with "I don't know, I just am" and you just knew I was drunk and needed to cry it out? PATIENT mother-fucker. Well done). 
5. Caring/supportive. You got us both awareness gear for kidney disease. SUPPORTIVE ASS BITCH. You come to my doctor's appointments with me and ask questions that you are concerned about or I forget to ask, you put oil on my stretch marks every night because you know how much they bother me, you deal with my anxiety and talk things out with me at 2:00 in the morning when I can't sleep. You support me when I can't afford to support myself. 
6. Kind. On our trip to DC I was a miserable wreck. I was swollen and walking all day and just in incredible pain but I endured it because I knew it would make you and my Aunt happy. To return the favor, you walked in an unknown city to get me my favorite meal, Noodles and Co. 
7. Ambitious. Anything from fitness to your career, you always want to better yourself and I admire that about you. You push me to want to be better. Having someone in my life who moves you forward instead of being stagnant is someone I want to keep in my life for a long time.
8. Protective. Emotionally and physically, I know you never want me get hurt. It's funny because I even find myself reaching for you when I am scared or nervous and your already there with open arms because... well, you just know. Like that time we had date night in downtown Detroit and all of a sudden the storm of the century came rolling in and within ten seconds we were in the midst of the apocalypse. I don't know how you knew, maybe it was the look on my face, but you opened your arms and I ducked on in while we ran for a block along with the rest of the Detroiters trying to survive. 
9. Outgoing. Seeing that I am a big, ole, fat introvert and like to stay in bed all day by myself, your restless personality and extrovert-ness is a perfect match. You push me socially, in a way that is needed. At parties now days, I find myself always by yourself and letting you lead the conversation. I admire the way you can take a conversation and lead a group of people without hesitation. 
10. Future Oriented. One of my fondest memories of all our time together is when we went camping, just the two of us. We didn't have cell reception so we spent all night talking. We talked about how if we get a dog it needs to be good with kids and where we want to live and how we're going to get a house together. Knowing that we are both in this for the long haul puts the biggest smile on my face. We love each other equally and I know neither of us will ever do anything to fuck it up (even though I make you promise that to me at least once a week). I don't know if you remember this but there was one day we were listening to "our song" in the car and I asked you if you will love me long term. Your response: "You make it easy to imagine long term baby." MELT MY DAMN HEART.

I love you an insane amount and couldn't be happier to be in love with my best friend. You put up with my blunt honesty and weird, strange ways.

Here's to another year of laughter, smiles, cries, long night talks, bumps in the road, adventures, and falling in love with you all over again. 

You've made me happier during one of the hardest years of my life and I thank you for that. I love you endlessly (I promise).