CheekyChicago

A few weeks ago, I went on a trip to Costa Rica with two of my girlfriends. In short, it was the most incredible vacation I’ve ever taken in my life thus far. Nothing tops it. Maybe it was because I was with two of my favorite women who inspire me and make me laugh; maybe it was because Costa Rica is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen; maybe it was because I took part in some pretty intense, adrenaline-pumping adventure-seeking activites; maybe it was because I left my Blackberry and laptop at home and didn’t check a single voicemail or email for five days (a HUGE feat for …  Read more

Birthdays always bring out the nostalgic in me. I am pretty much always in awe of how fast time flies, but a birthday—for me—is that inescapable ticker on the time clock that inspires a bit of hard core reflection. It forces me to look back and feel my years. Not my age in years, but my experiences in years and what I’ve learned from them. Each year of my twenties has been its own chapter in this book of life with a question mark title. And every mini-chapter has brought with it a mega-lesson. At 22, I moved to the city and quickly learned my suburban perspective wouldn’t fly. At …  Read more

The other day, someone I hadn’t seen in a while asked me the simplest, most ordinary question on the planet. “How are you?” my long lost acquaintance said. “I’m doing great,” I replied. And just like that – it dawned on me. I am doing great. Like – really, exceptionally great. Flashback to just a few months ago and those three little words of “I’m doing great” seemed like a complete and total impossibility. I guess I could say it seems like yesterday I was staying in bed until 5 pm, not eating, not showering and crying for hours on end. But it doesn’t. In fact, it seems …  Read more