Thirty, Flirty and
Thriving…
…Or so the saying goes. But actually, this statement could
not be more accurate to describe where I currently am in my life.
We spend so much time in our 20s going through drastic
change: the transition from the teenage years to the young adult years.
Finishing the university years. First jobs, first loves. Gaining friends,
losing friends. Gaining weight, losing weight. Second jobs. And third. Moves to
different cities. Moves to different apartments. Moves to different countries.
I spent the last 8 years waiting to turn 30. This does not
mean I didn’t enjoy my 20s to the fullest, because believe me, I did. It just
means that, to me, 30 seemed to be that age where your life really begins. And for mostly
professional reasons, I couldn’t wait
to no longer be the ‘youngest one in the room.’ (Although looking back, I realize just how grateful I am to have been
given so many opportunities at a young age professionally to be the youngest
one in the room…way more on that at another time).
Like the crazy over-planner that I am, when I started my
first job at Emanate, I made a list. I set goals. Professional and personal. I gave
myself until the age of 30 to accomplish them. And then I did what any
overachiever would do. I accomplished (most
of) them between the ages of 26-28.
But, there are two goals that remain unaccomplished. One
personal and one professional. Twenty-something Dayna would be distraught right
now. How could I have failed…especially when I had 8 years?! But grown-up Dayna
is laughing.
I am laughing because I know myself, and I know these goals
will definitely be accomplished. But
the change is, I know they will not be accomplished right now. One day. I’m
laughing because I can hear the voices of mentors, friends, and family who have
been telling me over the last 8 years that it’s ok to slow down, that some
things are going to take longer to achieve, and that there is no timeline for
certain things. There have been many who have taught me that along the way. Many
of those people who let me be in the room, and again, for that I am grateful.
Over the last year I’ve learned to appreciate the ride. And
while enjoying the ride wasn’t always top of mind until more recently, thinking
back over the last decade, what a ride it has been!
There’s a million
things I could list, but here’s a brief look at 30 top memories from the last
10 years…
1.
Interning in London at the ripe age of 20. My
favorite memory? It’s a toss-up between the completely insane night where we
met three gentleman in red velvet top hats in a sketchy Chinese restaurant at
1am in Leicester Square and then willingly followed them back to their South
Kensington town house to go swimming in their indoor swimming pool OR meeting
another sketchy character – whom we shall call Big Al – in Ireland. Ask me the
story privately if you want to hear more. Ohhh to be young and carefree.
#sorrymom
2.
Spending the summer of 2008 appearing in every
TV show filmed in NYC.
3.
Going back to Chapel Hill after London: rushing
Franklin Street after the Tar Heels won the National Title, living on Noble
Street with my best friends, eating alllll the Franklin Street Pizza &
Pasta I wanted, working at Top O, many, many nights out, and of course, graduating
from UNC’s Journalism school. I’ll never forget packing up my car to make the
trek back to NY for the last time in May 2010. It was one of the saddest
moments of my life.
4.
Accepting my first job at Emanate – albeit under
extremely strange interview circumstances that ranged from being called the
wrong name even to this day (don’t worry MB, I’m sort of over it) to my
interviewers being late, to the office being a ghost town because everyone was
in a conference room eulogizing the office pet frog. Or frogs? Who knows. It
was weird, and for some weirder reason, I accepted the job. Turns out to have
been one of the best decisions of my life. Not only will Emanate hold a special
place in my heart for helping me launch a career in PR, it also introduced me
to several life-long friends. Some of which have become family.
5.
After much searching, finding and living in the
perfect West Village apartment with Emily. It truly was perfect. Perfect until
the mice moved in, at least. But we were in the heart of the West Village, had
exposed brick in a recently renovated apartment, two bedrooms AND a dishwasher.
We still relied on our parents to get our groceries. And do our laundry. We
were living large.
6.
Bopping around NYC with Steph…after she learned
how to make it from Penn Station to my apartment in 2010 ;-) In all
seriousness, when she finally moved
back to NY in 2012, it was amazing having my best friend right up the street. Countless
dinner/shopping/movie/gym dates – and of course, exchanging date night stories
7.
DC reunions each MLK weekend with my UNC girls
and trips to Deep Creek (well, in the early days, before we completely
destroyed Casey’s parents’ house and became uninvited…)
8.
Watching the Tar Heels win 2 (almost 3) National
Titles. Traveling straight from Japan to meet my sister in Houston in 2015 (calling
my boss mid-way to say after almost two weeks of holiday in Japan, I wouldn’t be
making it to work on Monday. What’s one more day?!) only to witness the
heartbreak of Villanova winning in the last fraction of a second.
9.
Celebrating 4 (or 5?) amazing birthdays at the
Boat Basin in NYC. Hearing from everyone it’s going to be too cold, and then
beating the odds with picture perfect springtime NYC weather each and every
time (except for the one minor downpour)
10.
Traveling to 30+ countries – including beyond epic
trips to Australia, Thailand, Greece, Turkey and Japan with my childhood
besties Rachel and Gillian. There’s absolutely no one else I’d rather do all of
the below with than with my twin best friends from K-garden. Truly meant it
when I told my fam on day 1 “I met twins, and I like them”: Bushwalking and
feeding kangaroos in Australia, getting trapped on a boat in Thailand in the
middle of water, cooking authentic Thai food in Chang Mai and riding elephants
through the jungle, getting coerced into buying Turkish rugs in Kusadsi,
spending 5 hours freezing and eating dumplings in the Beijing airport, and then
almost missing our connecting flight back to the States…also in Beijing, seeing
the cherry blossoms in Japan and so much more…
11.
Meeting and becoming work soul sistas with
Carolyn (see #4). Couldn’t have survived without this girl, who was right there
next to me making a list of goals at the ripe age of 22. All the late nights at
the office. Frequenting the sushi and Italian places on 2nd avenue
right near the office. And our epic news recording of Hurricane Sandy, live
from the Upper West Side.
12.
Forming the Codell family (See #4 again). This
absolutely absurd crew that is also one of the most amazing things that
happened to me (thank you, Emanate….and Dawn Ray!!!).
13.
Falling in love with do-it-yourself frozen yogurt
and sharing this love with two best friends, Jaime and Steph
14.
Visiting Jaime in the middle of nowhere
Pennsylvania when doing her residency and experiencing Hershey as an adult (and
the AMAZING Turkey Hill ice cream factory. You can make your own ice cream!
Seriously, the best). As fun as that was, I was so glad when you moved back to
NYC so we could resume our Tuesday night Dance Mom + Italian/Chinese food
dinner dates, shopping sprees, yogurt-runs-in-blizzards
15.
Long Island summers… in the Hamptons with Em and
Amanda and Dix Hills with Steph
16.
Standing alongside Casey and Clay as they got
married. Watching them buy their first home in DC…and so much more!
17.
So much pride watching my friends grow alongside
me. My friends are seriously awesome! From journalists to psychologists to
social workers to architects to actors to fellow PR practioners and probably
the profession I have the most respect for – teachers – I enjoy watching my
friends absolutely kill it in whatever they have decided to do
18.
Skipping around the fountain from the Sound of
Music in Salzberg, Austria singing Do-Re-Mi with Amanda.
19.
Moving to my very own apartment on the Upper
East Side.
20.
Being the maid-of-honor at my sister and
brother-in-law’s wedding and being a part of the day. I have never been in a
room filled with so much love. It was incredibly special!
21.
Dinner dates at every diner in NYC with Diana!
Our catch-ups that didn’t happen often enough, but were always the highlight of
my week when they did happen. Watching her fall in love with Matt, and then
watching them get married.
22.
Getting to participate in the Nudge Global
Leadership Challenge in Amsterdam in 2015. You can only have so many
life-changing experiences in your lifetime. This was one of them.
23.
Broadway shows with my family or Em! And Em and
I taking our love of theatre to the next level by subscribing to every single
discount tix outlet the city has to offer. Getting tickets to Hamilton. Yes, I’ve
seen Hamilton in New York ;-)
24.
Or just casually watching your friend on
Broadway – such a special treat to see Blair as Nicola in Kinky Boots! (Also in
the Blair bucket from this decade: Your beautiful wedding and watching you and
Adam raise the most adorable child!)
25.
Traveling the world with my mom – from summer
trips throughout New England, to trips to Florida to see my grandparents, to
England, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands (before I moved!), Russia,
Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Switzerland, Monaco, Greece,
Croatia, and Austria (I think that’s it?) all in one decade.
26.
Celebrating the 90th birthdays of my
nana and papa. And the countless trips to Florida not just in the last decade,
but my whole life, to spend time with them.
27.
The birth of my niece and watching her grow into
the smart, adorable, French-speaking toddler she is today.
28.
The “Miami WhatsApp Chain”. Not a day doesn’t go
by that I wake up hoping there’s something absurd waiting to be read in the
group chat.
29.
My Florida “cousins”. Jackie’s amazing cooking
for the Jewish holidays, babysitting Sebastian, shopping sprees in NYC and
Florida, watching Jackie/Zach, Matt/Lara, Amanda/Jeff and Melanie/Adam get
married.
30.
My move to Amsterdam. The scariest, yet hands-down
most rewarding thing I did this decade.
31.
(I get one for good luck, right?!) Last, but
not least, cooking a full Thanksgiving dinner for my colleagues in Amsterdam. Introducing
everyone to the gloriousness that is sweet potatoes with [American]
marshmallows and making 13 non-Americans go around the table and saying what
they are grateful for J
And so, so much more. I absolutely cannot wait to see what
this next decade has in store!
