When I Was...

This week is all about the year I turned 21.  If you missed last week, you can also check out what happened the year I turned 20.

When I was 21...

I turned 21 before basically all of my friends (go October babies!)  I celebrated in Minneapolis with 3 of my cousins, some of my boyfriend's friends, my bf, & a couple of my friends.  It was still a blast.  So much so that I basically re-enacted the entire thing for my 22nd & 23rd birthdays as well...but those are coming later.

The cousin's on a stripper pole pose began.  I learned a couple of months ago that that bar closed :(.  I have some good memories, and just memories, from that place.

2 of my roommates & I decided to have matching costumes that year & went as slutty lumberjacks (because that's what you do when you're 20/21 & from Minnesota...)  We had another roommate but she hardly ever hung out with us.

I went to my first (& only actually...that's gotta change) Minnesota Wild game.

I belonged to a military s/o online forum at the time & these were 2 of the girls (the only 2 actually) I met from there.  I'm still Facebook friends with both but I talk to the one in white way more.

Remember what I said about cousins on poles...this was Kickass Cousin's birthday...

We had a Christmas party at our apartment & this was supposed to be our Christmas card...pretty sure we never actually sent one...

We celebrated Favorite College Roommate's 21st birthday.  Prior to the 2 of us turning 21 we were always like "bars are a waste of money!  Why do people go to the bars all the time?  House parties are so much better because they're cheaper."  After the 2 of us were both 21 & living in the same apartment we went to the bar...a lot...

Ok so I'm not one for PDA all up on my blog but I needed to post this because this was the last New Year's Eve kiss I had up until this past one.  It's also the last one I had a boyfriend.

It should be noted that I fell off of a chair for the first & last time this night.  I can still see it happening in slow motion...despite the fact that I lived it & didn't see it...and it definitely didn't happen in slow motion.  Poor First College Roomie wasn't 21 yet but this is me & Favorite College Roommate & our illusive other roommate (jk...kinda...)

I started my blog!!

(Here's the first post)

I went back to St. Louis for Spring Break but this time with my boyfriend.  If you read the blog post about it, it seemed like a dandy little trip (& like I have a boring life...) but in reality what I remember 5 years later is fighting in the hotel room.  Yes, parts of the trip were still fun.  But the part that I always remember is fighting & crying one night at the hotel over stupid dinner... (I just rolled my eyes...)

I finally got my boyfriend to do something random with me.  We had a picnic in Minneapolis.  There is so much I want to point out about this.  First of all, I was clearly in college because our picnic was PB & J, kool-aid, worms in dirt, pickle roll ups, & potato salad (ok so maybe middle school ha).  Also, that phone...it was one of those slider phones & I'm pretty sure it's twice as thick as my current phone & doesn't even do half the stuff my current phone can.  And finally, again what I remember from this day, despite the happy go lucky post, was fighting because we would get lost and he was late for practice. (we broke up 6 months later)

I started a new job, that to this day is my favorite job, & worked with an awesome group of people.  I'm still good friends with the one right next to me.

I got to see Brooks & Dunn on their final tour.  Jason Aldean opened.

I became closer with one of the girls from the military s/o site & even got invited to her bachelorette party.  I'm pretty certain it was my first one too because, well I was 21 so it's not like I knew a ton of people getting married.

I also attended my boyfriend's sister's bachelorette party.

My baby (only) brother graduated high school!!

 
Finally in June First College Roomie turned 21!

You should know that this wedding was the same day as my brother's graduation party & FCR 21st birthday.  I managed to attend all 3.

My boyfriend's sister got married.  I know I previously mentioned that my boyfriend & I were fighting already, but this day really was the beginning of the end...and should've just been the end.  That night we got into a huge fight because he kept disappearing & I found his phone laying outside somewhere (& because I was a crazy 21 year old gf...I read his phone...& he had told some girl that I was just his friend.  At that point we had been together for 4.5 years).  Mostly I wish that 21 year old Bri had been strong enough to walk away right at that moment rather than somehow feeling like the bad guy for reading his phone & sticking around another 4 months...

I went to Vegas for First College Roomie's 21st birthday.  It was so much fun!  Keep in mind this was also just like a year after The Hangover had come out.  I'm pretty sure Favorite College Rommate & I watched that movie every day for like a week or 2 before the trip so we could "prepare ourselves"

This pretty much sums up Aug-Oct.  Move in weekend (bigger than homecoming at my college), nights out at the bar, the MN State Fair (the #1 state fair in the nation.  That's not just my opinion either.  I read an article about it somewhere...Texas is #2), a weekend at the North Shore, & bonfires.

It's also the only year I've missed WeFest since 2009...

This one comes so close to being in the year 22 recap but 6 days before my 22nd birthday my boyfriend & I officially broke up for real & forever.