2015 will go down as an EPIC YEAR! I experienced some of the highest of highs (wedding, I’m looking at you!) and the lowest of lows (ongoing symptoms from a virus that took over my life back in May). There was a lot of joy, there were a lot of tears, and there were what felt like an overabundance of lessons to be learned. I think I will look back on this year as one that really pushed me into a period of immense personal growth in preparation for a monumental 2016. While the entire year was incredibly eventful, there are five memories that really stick out…
AC/DC Weekend One of Coachella
I went to dozens of shows and festivals this year and saw some truly mind blowing performances in 2015, but nothing quite compares to AC/DC completely bringing it Weekend One of Coachella. I have never seen any one individual, let alone an entire band, perform with the amount of energy, enthusiasm and passion those aging rockers did. I really can’t imagine anyone ever being able to top it…and I’m not even a die hard AC/DC fan! From Brian Johnson hitting EVERY.SINGLE.NOTE like he was thirty years younger to Angus Young literally tearing his knees to bloody shreds by sliding across the stage, it was a show to beat all shows. It was one of those times where your body just tingles because you know you are witnessing something close to magic.
A Surprise Private Performance by Kanye West
As a day and night of music at Weekend Two of Coachella was winding down a friend said, “Hey, want to go to an after party? There’s a rumor Kanye is going to be there.” To which we all said, “Yeah right, Kanye isn’t just going to show up at a random party, but sure let’s go!” Talk about falling down a rabbit hole. We pulled up to a nondescript location situated alarmingly close to a prison and went inside. There was a small group of people milling about in an open room. There was music playing, there were drinks flowing and suddenly I looked up at the stage and saw Kanye Freaking West in a black hoodie. Suddenly he was rapping “All Day” while trying to get us all to scream along.
As if that wasn’t surreal enough, Kanye was SMILING throughout the entire performance. What?! To cap things off, Kanye jumped into the crowd attempting to crowd surf, landed on a poor twig of a girl and broke her wrist. His performance was directly followed by a set by Skrillex. Supposedly The Weeknd was there too. It was one of those nights that the after party massively exceeded the main event. Little did I know my husband had my engagement ring in his pocket the entire time, ultimately deciding that perhaps we didn’t want “All Day” to be the soundtrack to our engagement…
Our Engagement
…which leads me to the next amazing event of the year. Just a few short days after getting home from Coachella when I was not so subtly sulking because I thought he was going to propose over the weekend, my now-husband got down on bent knee and asked me to be his wife. I knew it was coming at some point in the near future but the actual timing of it caught me completely by surprise. It was absolutely perfect and I am so thankful he chose to wait until we could share the occasion between just the two of us. It was such a sacred, private moment involving unbelievable amounts of elation and emotion…I love that it is something only the two of us fully experienced and understand.
Flying Cross Country to See The Rolling Stones
After going to see The Rolling Stones in San Diego at Petco Park and having an experience that can only be equated to a comedy of errors, my husband and I made a crazy last minute decision to give it another try. The only upcoming weekend show however was in Pittsburgh. We debated the choice for all of five minutes, booked late Friday night flights and headed East, landing in Pittsburgh at 6:00 AM. We spent the day exploring Pittsburgh on zero sleep, then headed to Heinz Field for the show.
We had decent seats for the San Diego show but the acoustics in Petco Park were so lousy that we might as well have had nose bleeds. Pittsburgh was an entirely different story. We had field level seats about twenty rows back from the stage. We were RIGHT THERE and the acoustics were absolutely amazing. We had a Stones experience of a lifetime…in fact we were having so much fun that we missed our 6:30 AM flights home on Sunday morning. Alas.
Our wedding
And finally the best memory…ever. When I was a little girl I did not dress up as a bride, plan my future wedding or dream of Prince Charming. I was too busy doing gymnastics and climbing trees; those just weren’t things I was thinking about. When I grew up that did not really change, though I always held out hope that one day I would find someone I felt that, “when you know, you know” feeling about. I chased that feeling for a decade before finally finding it in the most unexpected of places. Pledging my life to that feeling and to my husband on Friday, October 23, 2015 was the most special thing I have ever done.
Our wedding was our dream…it took place in San Francisco’s grand City Hall and was shared solely with our two sets of parents. We went out for a beautiful dinner after we were married and then the two of us went to Top of the Mark for drinks. It was done our way and was completely, authentically us. It was absolutely perfect and each day of marriage has been better than the one before.
Thank you 2015 for so much beauty and happiness. 2016 indeed has a lot to live up to. Here’s to new beginnings and fresh starts. Make the most of it guys!