This August 16 marks 10 years since our engagement. I remember this because two very big things happened that day for me.

We were at the beach when my then-boyfriend, now-hubby proposed. We were building sand castles and I was going back and forth getting water for the sand when he told me to come around and sit near him. Me, being the bitch that I am, got annoyed and almost started a fight because hello?! Do you not see I’m doing work here?! Then I walked around and saw this boy had placed a ring box inside one of the sand castles. I was annoyed because I was annoyed, lol. How are you supposed to save face and be happy now when the boy was trying to do something adorable.

And because we were on the beach, we had no service. It wasn’t until we left that I could call all my friends and family and tell them the news and post it on the interwebs. When I finally got service, one of my notifications was from a college friend informing me that my NYS pharmacy license had finally went through on the state website. And then within minutes, like clockwork, the red devil CVS called me and assigned me my first shift. It was crazy. I felt torn. On one hand, I was like finally after all the studying and time spent locked away from the world, this was finally done. But on the other hand, I was absolutely terrified because it meant this was it, I really had to grow up and this was the next step in adulting into a real career. It felt surreal. I was engaged and a fully licensed health care professional in the same day.

10 years later, I honestly still have no idea what I’m doing sometimes. I still feel like I have imposter syndrome in my field. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing and other times I feel like I’m way more competent than a lot of my colleagues and I wonder how these people were allowed in this field considering we’re handling people’s very lives. It’s not something to play with and there’s no room for error. But here we are. Sometimes it’s crazy to see how far I’ve come. Especially escaping retail and breaking into hospital since I was really apprehensive for the longest time to make the transition, thinking I could never pick it up. I don’t know why, I just felt really intimidated by learning hospital drugs. Now I realize my fears were unfounded, as everything was fairly easy to pick up and learn. But at the same time, to this day, I’m always still learning since this is a field that relies on continuing education to keep up to date and medicine and guidelines are always changing. The one good thing I learned after all these years is despite my parents forcing me to give up my dreams of fashion and go into something medical, I actually do enjoy it and I am good at it. So that’s something. Part of me worried about being stuck in a job I hated but I also learned that it’s also your work environment and the dynamics of your work team that can make or break whether or not you like your job. I’ve been fortunate in this aspect that I have a good rapport with my coworkers.

And also 10 years later, so much has changed in my relationship since marriage and beyond, and yet so much has stayed the same. We took it back to where it began and spent it at the beach, around the same time the moment happened. Except this time, we have a new addition. While my mother is probably pissed that I still refuse to pop out a child, we have recently fell in love with Banh Mi and we love taking him to one of my favorite summer spots to relax. It was a very lowkey chill day and it helps to remind me that I don’t always need to be doing a million things on my itinerary or be productive all the time. Sometimes it’s nice to just take it slow, enjoy things and take in the moment. And that’s a big part of my relationship over the past 22 years altogether. No matter what we’re doing together, whether it be a full packed itinerary day at Disney, on vacation in Japan or Paris, or a staycation chill at home day, the bigger picture is to just enjoy each other’s company. It’s nothing if it isn’t just with the person you love. It makes all the difference.

Speaking of vacations, our next adventure is also finally officially booked for the fall! I’m excited to be heading back to the West Coast again. There’s something about Cali that’s always calling my name. I always say, I think I was meant to be a California girl. I’m in the stages of finalizing my itinerary and planning outfits. I’m also really stoked to share my Halloween costume finally! I received it back in May and I’ve been dying keeping it secret this whole time. I’m also trying to work on cute couple outfits for Disney but I have too many ideas and I need to narrow it down and get stuff soon. I’m also excited to finally see the Disneyland castle again after my last time in 2019 with it being covered up. I can’t wait to see everything in all it’s glory and experience the Oogie Boogie Bash for the first time. I can’t wait to be there in 60 days. Summer feels like it’s going by so quick and before you know it, it’ll be here!