Closing the chapter of the 2010s and looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities and LIFE to come in the 2020s.
The 2010s were incredibly special to me. I was a mere CHILD at the start! And now, I am a 23-year old young woman. I’ve played, I’ve laughed, I’ve cried, I’ve learned. I grew up. I went through high school, college, dating, my first job…it’s quite amazing when you take a step back and reflect on the years!
As a tribute, Here are some photos from over the past decade. BONUS: Read till the end to see Michael’s recap too!
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my past decade. To the ones who have supported and loved me, to the ones who have laughed and smiled with me, and to the ones with whom our paths have crossed but we don’t keep in touch anymore.
Cheers, everyone, to the next decade.
2010
+ At the beginning of 2010, I had just finished middle school. A major feat. Jokes aside, middle school was a truly pure, happy, simpler time
+ I started high school – Lots of purple Wednesdays, lunches in AP human geo, giggling at the physics teacher’s famous accent and after school runs, & eating my French teacher’s delicious ratatouille~
+ I made the dance team! 2010-2011 was full of typical dance family dinners, initiation, competitions, the dreaded summer practice, morning practice / first period practice / after school practice, post dance practice shenanigans…there really is nothing like being a part of a dance/sports team
+ I started my OG Tumblr, the glory days
+ & for fun, this is my boyfriend from 2010!
2011
+ Sophomore year. This year, I found out that I was already in the lead of the class! I had no idea until someone pointed it out to me
+ I got braces (I was so excited to get rid of my gap) & I got my learner’s permit (my friend’s and I were invincible in my 15-year old car!!)
+ My pains started to spread to my arms. My mom got scared that they would spread to my head so I started going to the doctor’s quite often. Maybe one day I will share more about it!
+ My great grandma had an accident and passed away. She was 100 years old
2012
+ Our Co-Ed Hip Hop team was undefeated! We went all the way to the final round of Nationals and got 2nd place in the Hip Hop category. I had a special feature in our final piece 🙂
+ I received the holy sacrament of Confirmation and became a junior facilitator at church. I loved getting closer to God while having so much fun (pranks with Michelle) at the same time
+ Junior Year – SAT preps, volunteering, school musicals, football games, and always taking Spirit Week seriously! Years later, they make for the cutest pictures!! I was first in my class (tied) and was taking all 6 honors/AP classes #APUSH!
2013
+ The start of SENIOR YEAR!!! I took a lot of stupid photos for AP Photography and made a lot of silly YT videos with my friends. I was also the only SENIOR in a SOPHOMORE’s class lol (AP World Hist). I basically had to force the school to let me take it because it was the only AP class I hadn’t taken yet (besides AP Music Theory).
+ I got my first “real” boyfriend! We had the cutest little “Notebook” relationship. Definitely young, stupid, crazy love.
+ College app nonsense! I got accepted into all of the colleges I applied to & I was offered a free ride to SDSU! Locked myself in as an Aztec!
2014
+ Grad nite, some serious senioritis and skipping class to getting melted chicken sandwiches, double dates, lots of awards ceremonies, scary movie nights…we did senior year well
+ GRADUATION!! I graduated with a 4.77 cumulative GPA and as the Class Salutatorian. (short rant: long story short, the AP Calculus teacher was ridiculously unfair and unethical, he got fired a year later so justice was served for him giving me a B (: )
+ I started college (I was so intimidated!), I did two unpaid internships (do yourself a favor and never do unpaid internships lol), & I switched my major from PR to accounting (oh god)
2015
+ I started working at the fitness studio and to this day I still want to open my own fitness studio!
+ I landed my first accounting internship! It was my first time working and I had amazing bosses. It was a great experience overall
+ I met my sister and my niece for the first time!
+ Matthew passed away. I will never forget seeing all of our old friends lined up to see him in his casket, something we were all too young to go through
2016
+ I had my first heartbreak! But then I started dating and I met some great fellas. This is also when I met Michael!
+ I was finishing my bachelor’s and got accepted into my university’s master’s program. I also found out the secret to scholarships and started winning them left and right (extra pocket money!)
2017
+ By this point, I graduated with my bachelors (in 2.5 years!), I was working three jobs, and I was a full-time grad student!
+ Michael & I became official and went on our first Disney Trip together (soon we became AP holders), had many doggy dates, and I lived the musician-girlfriend life at his band’s shows lol
+ The dean of the college asked me to be her research assistant! I was also asked to teach the Fundamentals of Financial Accounting course. I love learning and I love teaching, I hope to one day get to teach again!
2018
+ I finished my master’s! What a way to close out school
+ I started my new job. I had a rough beginning but soon established a name for myself!
+ & of course, I started my blog Sundays with Emily 🙂
+ You can read more about 2018 here
2019
+ I helped launch one of the biggest programs in the firm!
+ I got the opportunity to travel to India and Japan for work!! I also went to Thailand, Nepal, Taiwan, and the Maldives.
+ I ended the decade with a vacation of a lifetime for my dad – I am so happy we got to have these memories together!
+ You can read more about 2019 here
2020 & The Next Decade
In ten years, I’ll be 33, probably married and with one, maybe two, little mini emilies (oh gosh, I’m in NO rush for this lol). It is my dream to own a home, but I also want to open a business of my own. I guess we will see which one I get to do first! Of course, I hope that I am still doing the blog – I am excited to see what kind of content I’ll put out! And lastly, I hope I get to a place where I am truly happy, stress free, and living my dreams.
FT. Michael!
“Wow 2019 was transformative! I started the year with no job, no school (as I had graduated), and no true certainty of what I was going to do. All I knew was that I wanted to be a teacher. So, I got a job at an afterschool program at an elementary school (which I loved) but sadly I had to quit… TO GO EXPLORE INDIA!! When I returned, I was jobless again. But I have always wanted to do substitute teaching and got the opportunity to sub all grades. I subbed at an elementary school, middle school, high school, and special needs class. Then I had to stop subbing…TO GO TO PERU!! When I returned from Peru I could have continued subbing but I GOT ACCEPTED TO MY TEACHER CREDENTIAL PROGRAM!! I am ending this year on a high note! I am in Japan (stress free because I got through my first semester of my credential program) and I passed the dreaded CalTPA. I went from no job and no certainty to on track to doing what I love most – being in a class with students who I truly care about and want to help.
A decade ago I was a goofy, awkward 16-year-old boy. Not much has changed with the goofy or awkward part BUT one huge difference is past Michael would just go with the motion of life with no vision or ambitions. Today I am able to say at the age of 26, I have started to gain 2020 vision (BOOM BEST PUN). I am awkward, and I am embracing that with both arms now. Before, those feeling would have prevented me from trying new things. My goal for the next ten years is to be more organized, driven, and focused. I will do everything to my best ability and I want 26-year-old Michael to look back and be amazed of what he is capable of when he tries his best with a clear, set goal. The first goal of 2020 is to be more organized!!”
– Michael
Thanks everybody for reading! It’s a long one, but it was so fun to take the time and reflect back on the years! See you next Sunday!!
Sundays with Emily 
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