It's funny to think that as children, cousin Kendall and I were almost positive the apocalypse would occur by the time we were nineteen and sad that we would never have the chance to marry or have children.  Don't ask me why ten-year-olds would be speculating such things, but around that age we were also writing a book about the Titanic and formulating plans to start a political blog.  A lot has changed since then, and I'm fairly certain the world is not about to end.  Still, it's crazy realizing that I only have one year left to be a teen!
    Friday night I was sick of Netflix, lacking creativity for my book, and aching to get out, but hadn't heard from anyone all day.  Finally I just slipped on some shoes and took a walk, where I soon noticed a dance going on and slipped inside.  Within minutes I bumped into my friend Jade, who quickly tugged me back outside.  "Come with me, I want you to meet someone!"  Suddenly my night of boredom turned into an impromptu double date!  The four of us walked back to their beach house deck for stargazing followed by a cheesy movie.  After getting back at 2:30 AM, I knew my birthday was off to a great start.  I immediately broke into the candy stash that I hadn't touched since my diet and opened my presents and letters I had barely had the maturity to save until this moment.
     Saturday morning I slept in and woke to find my phone overflowing with messages from countless loved ones back home. Then Lexi and I headed out to Honolulu.  Can I just say that I absolutely ADORE this girl and am so grateful to Dallin for introducing me to her back at prom last May?!  During the 2.5 hour bus ride, we scrolled through each others' phone photos, swapped stories, talked life and watched Taylor Swift music videos for the sake of nostalgia.  But when we finally reached Waikiki, the adventure had only just begun.  We didn't even know where exactly we were going, but we just started out in a random direction and began what was one of my favorite weekends since I've come to Hawaii.
  Honolulu is an entirely different world from the North Shore.  Although I typically prefer the raw nature that can be found closer to where I live, I was absolutely head-over-heels for this city.  Contemporary architecture and artistic interior design... live music and street performers... palm trees and tiki torches... the relaxed and romantic aura of a vacation town... We walked and walked until our feet ached, then we chilled on the beach for a little before resuming our explorations.  This is a modern American city with an exotic Hawaiian twist, although apparently the two of us seemed exotic enough be requested some pictures with a pair of Japanese men!  When our stomachs grumbled, we ordered pumpkin pecan and oreo chocolate cheesecakes topped with a free birthday sunday to split from the Cheesecake Factory before buying Japanese curry and pina coladas from the food court.  When the sun went down, the lights came up and suddenly the city thrived off the nighttime enthusiasm of thousands of people from all over the world milling around the shops and streets.
    The day was so memorable and only reaffirmed my knowledge that 1) design is definitely the field for me and 2) moving to Hawaii was one of the best decisions of my life.  Thank you so much to everyone for the birthday wishes!